The 1923 Lincoln Lions football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented Lincoln University in the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) during the

1923 college football season The 1923 college football season saw several teams finish their seasons unbeaten and untied. As such, numerous schools claim a national championship for the 1923 season. Illinois (coached by Bob Zuppke) and Michigan (coached by Fielding "Hurry-U ...

. In their first year under head coach

Ulysses S. Young Ulysses S. "Lissy" Young (1894 – April 22, 1927) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as head football coach at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania from 1923 to 1926, compiling a ...

, the Lions compiled a 5–1–2 record and were recognized as the black college national co-champion along with

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

. The championship game between Howard and Lincoln attracted 25,000 spectators, "the largest crowd in the history of colored football" to that time. The team's players included quarterback Jazz Byrd, left halfback and team captain

Robert Walter Johnson Robert Walter "Whirlwind" Johnson (April 16, 1899 – June 28, 1971) was an American physician, college football player and coach, and founder of the American Tennis Association Junior Development Program for African-American youths, where he c ...

(nicknamed "Whirlwind), right halfback "Butts" Brown, fullback Lee, ends J. W. Lancaster and "Birdie" Crudup, tackles W. R. C. Coston and R. S. Jason, guards Poindexter and Parker, and center Chris "Big Boy" Morgan. Lincoln captured five of eleven first-team spots on the 1923 All-C.I.A.A. football team selected by committee of the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Lincoln's first-team honorees were Byrd at quarterback, R. W. Johnson at left halfback, Chris Morgan at center, and J. W. Lancaster in the line.

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{{Black college football national champion navbox

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

Lincoln Lions football seasons Black college football national champions

Lincoln Lions football The Lincoln Lions are the athletic teams that represent Lincoln University, located near Oxford in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Lions compete as full members of the Central Intercollegiate Athlet ...