''The First Game'' is a painting by
Arnold Friberg, and was commissioned in 1968 by
Chevrolet Motor Division as one of four paintings to commemorate the then-upcoming centennial celebration of
college football in the United States. It depicts the famous
first game of American intercollegiate football, played by
Rutgers College
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
(now Rutgers University) and the visiting College of New Jersey (by then more commonly known as
Princeton College
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
) on November 6, 1869, at College Field in
New Brunswick, New Jersey. The game was played in front of 100 spectators, who were also depicted in the picture.
The picture
In ''The First Game'', Friberg extolled the fight and physical strength of the game. His painting shows how bruised players collide each other. Some of them even have blood stains in their uniforms. Rutgers players wear a headscarf that resembles a
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
-style. The ball is small and round, like an
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
. The field is covered by dry leaves, as usual in November, when the game was played. Spectators are seen at background, some are sitting on a fence, and others run along the players.
Spectators depicted include a Rutgers professor who is reported to have waved his umbrella at the participants while yelling, "You will come to no Christian end!"
Friberg included the man with the umbrella in the painting as a tribute.
[Arnold Friberg]
on Arte e Football.com
See also
*
Early history of American football
References
1968 paintings
Paintings by Arnold Friberg
Princeton Tigers football
Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
1869 college football season
Sports paintings
American football culture
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