CFB Back in the Day

[Cincydawg]

Who here knows about college football back when I was a tike, say 1920?

Did programs recruit?  Did they have scholarships?  Did coaches wonder around campus looking for larger dudes?  I know some pretty large stadia were built back then, 30,000 or so.  So interest was pretty high.  No TV of course, I'd guess many major teams were on the radio, no?  What kinds of statistics were maintained?  More than just the score in newspaper accounts?  Do we know if QB 1 had a 63.7% completion rate?

I suspect by the time the AP started ranking teams the whole thing was more developed, no?  

Probably better for the off season, I am just under the wire, almost.

[847badgerfan]

Can't help ya. I was born in 1930.

[medinabuckeye1]

Who here knows about college football back when I was a tike, say 1920?

Did programs recruit?  Did they have scholarships?  Did coaches wonder around campus looking for larger dudes?  I know some pretty large stadia were built back then, 30,000 or so.  So interest was pretty high.  No TV of course, I'd guess many major teams were on the radio, no?  What kinds of statistics were maintained?  More than just the score in newspaper accounts?  Do we know if QB 1 had a 63.7% completion rate?

I suspect by the time the AP started ranking teams the whole thing was more developed, no? 

Probably better for the off season, I am just under the wire, almost.

I don't know a lot about this era but I can tell you a little.

Ohio State joined what is now the B1G for the 1913 season. Prior to that their rivalries were with other in-state schools and they had zero national relevance.

Ohio Stadium was built in the early 1920's and opened in 1922. Therefore, Vis-a-vis tOSU, if you went back and attended a game in 1922 things would be at least generally recognizable but if you were to go back to 1920 you'd find them playing on a field with a few bleacher seats and most spectators standing near the sidelines.

Probably the most impactful player in Ohio State's history was Chic Harley who played for Ohio State just before and after WWI. Harley was from Chicago, hence the nickname but his family moved to Columbus when he was a child. The family returned to Chicago while he was in HS but boosters of Ohio State provided money to keep Chic in Columbus to finish HS and then he went to Ohio State.

Harley was a phenomenal player who would have won the Heisman had it existed in his day. Ohio Stadium was known for years as "The House That Harley Built" because it was his play that led to Ohio State's first league titles (1916 and 1917) and first win over TTUN (1919). These accomplishments caused tOSU attendance to surge beyond what Ohio Field could accommodate. Ohio Field wasn't a Stadium, just a field.

Anyway, that addresses some of your questions. At least some of the athletes were recruited but I don't know if that was limited to uber-talents like Harley or if the coaches were recruiting the entire team.

[Cincydawg]

Yeah, UGA played on "Herty Field" on campus until 1929, or they played in Columbus or Atlanta (Tech had a stadium).  The photo below is from 1892, a game with Auburn played in Piedmont Park.  The players look normal sized, they seem to be in a scrum.



I know by the 40s UGA was not exactly recruiting in places like PA and IL but they got players from there, great ones at times.  The story is someone would call the UGA coach and tell him about Charlie Trippi and I guess the coach offered a ship over the phone, or something.

Sanford Stadium opened in 1929 and the first game was with Yale, I suspect there were no scholarships on either side.  UGA has a connection with Yale, including the Bulldog moniker.  A lot of the early academic leaders at UGA hailed from Yale, including Sanford himself.  This gave rise to the slogan "Them Dawgs ez Yale."  Or something.

[Cincydawg]

But it wasn't until legendary football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg arrived at the University of Chicago in 1892 that the idea of scholarships – or "student service" payments – took hold. University of Chicago President William Rainey Harper charged Stagg with developing a football program that would gain the school national attention. Under Stagg's tutelage, the University of Chicago established a football powerhouse and an athletic department that brought big money into the university's coffers and served as a model for other schools to emulate.

The History of Sports Scholarships | Sapling

[847badgerfan]

But it wasn't until legendary football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg arrived at the University of Chicago in 1892 that the idea of scholarships – or "student service" payments – took hold. University of Chicago President William Rainey Harper charged Stagg with developing a football program that would gain the school national attention. Under Stagg's tutelage, the University of Chicago established a football powerhouse and an athletic department that brought big money into the university's coffers and served as a model for other schools to emulate.

The History of Sports Scholarships | Sapling

He also championed the community college idea.

I went to William Rainey Harper College.

[LittlePig]

I hear Red Grange was quite popular in the 20's.  Known as the Galloping Ghost, as soon as he finished at the University of Illinois, he signed with the Chicago Bears and immediately went on a Profesional barn storming tour.    No waiting for next year's NFL draft.  No set limits on NFL games.  I get the impression it was pretty wild times without a lot of established rules.

[Cincydawg]

1920 College Football Schedule and Results | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

Interesting how often the losing team was shut out. 

There were two bowls that year, one in Fort Worth, and the Rose.

[Cincydawg]

Sports in the 1920s (from Tar Heel Junior Historian) | NCpedia

he 1920s has been called the Golden Age of American Sports. It also has been called the Age of the Spectator. The United States had a strong economy for most of that decade. Many workers had more leisure time. New and bigger stadiums and gymnasiums were built. The introduction of radio made it easier for fans to keep up with their favorite teams. Newspapers increased their coverage of sports.  Improvements in roads made it possible for fans to travel to athletic events in distant cities. For the first time, large numbers of Americans began to pay money to watch other people compete in athletic contests.

Baseball was the “national pastime” in the 1920s. More people went to baseball games, more people followed baseball, and more people played baseball for fun than any other sport. The most famous athlete in the United States in the 1920s was baseball star George Herman “Babe” Ruth, the right fielder for the New York Yankees. The colorful Ruth hit more home runs than any player had ever hit before. He excited fans with his outgoing personality. Ruth was the perfect hero for the Roaring Twenties.

The 1920s also was a decade when college football became more popular. Notre Dame, coached by Knute Rockne, became the most famous college football team.  Illinois star Harold “Red” Grange became a household name. The best college teams could compete in bowl games, such as the famous Rose Bowl, held in California.


Many colleges had football teams in the 1920s. The University of North Carolina built Kenan Stadium in 1927. Duke University built its football stadium, which is now called Wallace Wade Stadium, in 1929. These schools still use these stadiums today. The best football teams in North Carolina weren’t as famous as teams in the North or Midwest, but local interest was high. Local teams sometimes would board trains and go north to play schools such as Yale or Michigan State. By the end of the decade, many games were broadcast on the radio.