Heavyweight Football Champsdot com

The Beginnings

1869 to 1899

Rutgers won the very first recorded college football game against Princeton in November of 1869, becoming by default the very first heavyweight football champ.  They also became the first team to fail to hold their crown by being shut out by Princeton just a week later. 

This could easily be called the Princeton Yale era.  For the first 25 years of college football, those two schools dominated the heavyweight football championship.  There were only 4 exceptions in all of this time.  Rutgers was obviously one, with the very first championship.  Harvard managed to beat Princeton in 1882, only to lose a week later to Yale.  It was another five years until Harvard managed to break into the mix again, this time beating Princeton, and successfully defending the title against Penn before losing to Yale.

Princeton will probably always hold the record for the greatest length of time on top.  They held the title from November 13, 1869 until November 30, 1876.  Of course, they only played a total of 11 games during this stretch.  They had a stretch of 37 straight wins from November 27, 1890 until beaten by Princeton November 30, 1893.  Howver, they are only credited with 26 straight title defenses, as some of these wins were against various athletic clubs and thus were not counted as title matches.

Then, in 1894, Pennsylvania broke the ice for good.  Penn had been a perrenial doormat for Princeton and Yale, losing three straight games to Princeton in 1886, and then losing two title matches to Princeton and one to Harvard in 1887.  During this stretch, Penn had the most losses in title matches, 27.  The only team to come close was Wesleyan with 24.  Finally, they were able to defeat Princeton on November 10, and held on to the title for 2 years. 

Princeton would never challenge for a title for the rest of the century.  Yale would only challenge twice. 

By the end of the 1890's, the shift was beginning.  It wouldn't be long before the title started moving west.  Schools that present day college football fans are more aware of today just started making appearances in title games, Michigan twice, Penn State three times, Virginia twice.  Football was heading into a new era.

1869-1899

1869	6-Nov		Rutgers	6		Princeton	4
	13-Nov		Princeton	8		Rutgers	0
1870	5-Nov		Princeton	6		Rutgers	2
1872	16-Nov		Princeton	4		Rutgers	1
1873	15-Nov		Princeton	3		Yale	0
1874	7-Nov		Princeton	6		Columbia	0
	18-Nov		Princeton	6		Rutgers	0
1875	18-Nov		Princeton	6		Columbia	2
	20-Nov		Princeton	6		Stevens	0
1876	1-Nov		Princeton	6		Pennsylvania	0
	11-Nov		Princeton	3		Columbia	0
	25-Nov		Princeton	6		Pennsylvania	0
	30-Nov		Yale	2		Princeton	0
	9-Dec		Yale	2		Columbia	0
1877	3-Nov		Yale	1		Tufts	0
	21-Nov		Yale	7		Trinity	0
	24-Nov		Yale	13		Stevens	0
	8-Dec		Yale	0		Princeton	0	Tie
1878	2-Nov		Yale	2		Amherst	0
	9-Nov		Yale	2		Trinity	0
	13-Nov		Yale	3		Trinity	0
	16-Nov		Yale	1		Amherst	0
	23-Nov		Yale	1		Harvard	0
	28-Nov		Princeton	1		Yale	0
1879	18-Oct		Princeton	6		Pennsylvania	0
	1-Nov		Princeton	2		Columbia	0
	8-Nov		Princeton	7		Stevens	0
	15-Nov		Princeton	1		Harvard	0
	27-Nov		Princeton	0		Yale	0	Tie
1880	23-Oct		Princeton	6		Stevens	0
	30-Oct		Princeton	1		Pennsylvania	0
	2-Nov		Princeton	8		Rutgers	0
	13-Nov		Princeton	2		Harvard	1
	25-Nov		Princeton	0		Yale	0	Tie
1881	15-Oct		Princeton	3		Rutgers	0
	22-Oct		Princeton	7		Stevens	0
	29-Oct		Princeton	7		Pennsylvania	0
	4-Nov		Princeton	1		Michigan	0
	5-Nov		Princeton	4		Pennsylvania	0
	10-Nov		Princeton	1		Rutgers	0
	12-Nov		Princeton	1		Columbia	1
	19-Nov		Princeton	0		Harvard	0	Tie
	24-Nov		Princeton	0		Yale	0	Tie
1882	11-Oct		Princeton	5		Princeton Alumni	0	Non Title
	14-Oct		Princeton	5		Rutgers	0
	28-Oct		Princeton	9		Pennsylvania	0
	7-Nov		Princeton	8		Columbia	0
	11-Nov		Princeton	10		Pennsylvania	0
	14-Nov		Princeton	3		Rutgers	0
	18-Nov		Harvard	2		Princeton	1
	25-Nov		Yale	1		Harvard	0
	1-Dec		Yale	2		Princeton	1
1883	26-Sep		Yale	60		Wesleyan	0
	29-Sep		Yale	94		Wesleyan	0
	6-Oct		Yale	59		Stevens	0
	6-Nov		Yale	92		Rutgers	0
	14-Nov		Yale	49		Brookly Poly	0
	17-Nov		Yale	93		Columbia	0
	21-Nov		Yale	64		Michigan	0
	24-Nov		Yale	6		Princeton	0
	29-Nov		Yale	23		Harvard	2
1884	1-Oct		Yale	31		Wesleyan	0
	11-Oct		Yale	96		Stevens	0
	18-Oct		Yale	63		Wesleyan	0
	22-Oct		Yale	76		Rutgers	10
	25-Oct		Yale	113		Dartmouth	0
	5-Nov		Yale	46		Wesleyan	0
	19-Nov		Yale	18		Yale Alumni	0	Non Title
	22-Nov		Yale	52		Harvard	0
	27-Nov		Yale	0		Princeton	0	Tie
1885	10-Oct		Yale	55		Stevens	0
	14-Oct		Yale	14		Wesleyan	0
	28-Oct		Yale	71		Wesleyan	0
	31-Oct		Yale	51		MIT	0
	3-Nov		Yale	52		Crescent A.C.	0	Non Title
	14-Nov		Yale	53		Pennsylvania	5
	21-Nov		Princeton	6		Yale	5
	26-Nov		Princeton	76		Pennsylvania	10
1886	9-Oct		Princeton	58		Stevens	0
	13-Oct		Princeton	61		Stevens	6
	16-Oct		Princeton	30		Pennsylvania	0
	23-Oct		Princeton	55		Pennsylvania	9
	6-Nov		Princeton	28		Pennsylvania	6
	13-Nov		Princeton	12		Harvard	0
	20-Nov		Princeton	76		Wesleyan	6
	25-Nov		Princeton	0		Yale	0	Tie
1887	8-Oct		Princeton	47		Laffayette	0
	12-Oct		Princeton	30		Rutgers	0
	15-Oct		Princeton	80		Lehigh	0
	19-Oct		Princeton	57		Princeton	0
	22-Oct		Princeton	42		Pennsylvania	0
	29-Oct		Princeton	69		Wesleyan	0
	5-Nov		Princeton	95		Pennsylvania	0
	12-Nov		Harvard	12		Princeton	0
	19-Nov		Harvard	42		Pennsylvania	0
	24-Nov		Yale	17		Harvard	8
1888	29-Sep		Yale	76		Wesleyan	0
	6-Oct		Yale	65		Rutgers	0
	13-Oct		Yale	34		Pennsylvania	0
	16-Oct		Yale	46		Wesleyan	0
	19-Oct		Yale	39		Amherst	0
	20-Oct		Yale	30		Williams	0
	24-Oct		Yale	68		MIT	0
	27-Oct		Yale	69		Stevens	0
	3-Nov		Yale	54		Pennsylvania	0
	6-Nov		Yale	28		Crescent A.C.	0	Non-title
	10-Nov		Yale	70		Amherst	0
	17-Nov		Yale	105		Wesleyan	0
	24-Nov		Yale	10		Princeton	0
1889	28-Sep		Yale	38		Wesleyan	0
	2-Oct		Yale	36		Williams	0
	9-Oct		Yale	63		Wesleyan	0
	15-Oct		Yale	56		Cornell	6
	19-Oct		Yale	42		Amherst	0
	24-Oct		Yale	64		Trinity	0
	26-Oct		Yale	62		Columbia	0
	30-Oct		Yale	20		Pennsylvania	10
	31-Oct		Yale	30		Stevens	0
	5-Nov		Yale	5		Crescent A.C.	0	Non-title
	9-Nov		Yale	70		Cornell	0
	12-Nov		Yale	32		Amherst	0
	13-Nov		Yale	70		Williams	0
	16-Nov		Yale	52		Wesleyan	0
	20-Nov		Yale	18		Crescent A.C.	0	Non-title
	23-Nov		Yale	6		Harvard	3
	28-Nov		Princeton	10		Yale	0
	30-Nov		Princeton	57		Columbia A.C.	0	Non-title
1890	1-Oct		Princeton	33		Franklin & Marshall	16
	8-Oct		Princeton	27		Rutgers	0
	11-Oct		Princeton	0		Orange A.C.	0	Non-title
	15-Oct		Princeton	18		Pennsylvania	0
	18-Oct		Princeton	12		Crescent A.C.	0	Non-title
	22-Oct		Princeton	26		Lafayette	6
	25-Oct		Princeton	50		Lehigh	0
	29-Oct		Princeton	60		Columbia A.C.	0	Non-title
	1-Nov		Princeton	115		Virginia	0
	4-Nov		Princeton	85		Columbia	0
	8-Nov		Princeton	6		Pennsylvania	0
	15-Nov		Princeton	46		Wesleyan	4
	27-Nov		Yale	32		Princeton	0
1891	30-Sep		Yale	28		Wesleyan	0
	3-Oct		Yale	26		Crescent A.C.	0	Non-title
	7-Oct		Yale	36		Trinity	0
	10-Oct		Yale	46		Williams	0
	14-Oct		Yale	28		Springfield	0
	24-Oct		Yale	36		Orange A.C.	0	Non-title
	31-Oct		Yale	38		Lehigh	0
	3-Nov		Yale	70		Crescent A.C.	0	Non-title
	7-Nov		Yale	76		Wesleyan	0
	11-Nov		Yale	27		Amherst	0
	14-Nov		Yale	48		Pennsylvania	0
	21-Nov		Yale	10		Harvard	0
	26-Nov		Yale	19		Princeton	0
1892	5-Oct		Yale	6		Wesleyan	0
	8-Oct		Yale	22		Crescent A.C.	0	Non-title
	12-Oct		Yale	32		Williams	0
	15-Oct		Yale	22		Manhattan A.C.	0	Non-title
	19-Oct		Yale	29		Amherst	0
	22-Oct		Yale	58		Orange A.C.	0	Non-title
	26-Oct		Yale	50		Springfield	0
	29-Oct		Yale	44		Tufts	0
	5-Nov		Yale	72		Wesleyan	0
	8-Nov		Yale	48		New York A.C.	0	Non-title
	12-Nov		Yale	28		Pennsylvania	0
	19-Nov		Yale	6		Harvard	0
	24-Nov		Yale	12		Princeton	0
1893	4-Oct		Yale	18		Brown	0
	7-Oct		Yale	16		Crescent A.C.	0	Non-title
	14-Oct		Yale	28		Dartmouth	0
	18-Oct		Yale	46		Amherst	0
	21-Oct		Yale	50		Orange A.C.	0	Non-title
	25-Oct		Yale	82		Williams	0
	28-Oct		Yale	28		Army	0
	7-Nov		Yale	42		New York A.C.	0	Non-title
	11-Nov		Yale	14		Pennsylvania	6
	25-Nov		Yale	6		Harvard	0
	30-Nov		Princeton	6		Yale	0
1894	29-Sep		Princeton	40		Lafayette	6
	3-Oct		Princeton	8		Lehigh	0
	10-Oct		Princeton	48		Rutgers	0
	13-Oct		Princeton	13		Virginia	0
	20-Oct		Princeton	12		Cornell	4
	27-Oct		Princeton	32		Lehigh	0
	3-Nov		Princeton	40		Volunteer A.C.	0	Non-title
	10-Nov		Pennsylvania	12		Princeton	0
	17-Nov		Pennsylvania	6		Cornell	0
	29-Nov		Pennsylvania	18		Harvard	4
1895	1-Oct		Pennsylvania	40		Swarthmore	0	Non-title
	2-Oct		Pennsylvania	40		Bucknell	0
	5-Oct		Pennsylvania	42		Franklin & Marshall	0
	9-Oct		Pennsylvania	32		Crescent A.C.	0	Non-title
	14-Oct		Pennsylvania	54		Lehigh	0
	16-Oct		Pennsylvania	36		Carlisle	0
	19-Oct		Pennsylvania	54		Virginia	0
	23-Oct		Pennsylvania	30		Duquesne A.C.	0	Non-title
	26-Oct		Pennsylvania	30		Lafayette	0
	30-Oct		Pennsylvania	12		Brown	0
	1-Nov		Pennsylvania	12		Chicago A.C.	4	Non-title
	9-Nov		Pennsylvania	35		Penn State	4
	23-Nov		Pennsylvania	17		Harvard	14
	28-Nov		Pennsylvania	46		Cornell	2
1896	26-Sep		Pennsylvania	24		Franklin & Marshall	0
	30-Sep		Pennsylvania	30		Gettysburg	0	Non-title
	3-Oct		Pennsylvania	40		Bucknell	0
	3-Oct		Pennsylvania	10		Pittsburgh	4
	7-Oct		Pennsylvania	8		Navy	0
	10-Oct		Pennsylvania	16		Dartmouth	0
	14-Oct		Pennsylvania	20		Virginia	0
	17-Oct		Pennsylvania	34		Lehigh	0
	21-Oct		Pennsylvania	14		Amherst	0
	24-Oct		Lafayette	6		Pennsylvania	0
	31-Oct		Lafayette	18		Dickinson	0
	10-Nov		Lafayette	17		Bloomsburg	0	Non-title
	11-Nov		Lafayette	23		Wyoming Seminary	0	Non-title
	14-Nov		Lafayette	38		Franklin & Marshall	0
	21-Nov		Lafayette	18		Wesleyan	0
	26-Nov		Lafayette	18		Navy	6
1897	27-Sep		Lafayette	14		Bloomsburg	0	Non-title
	28-Sep		Lafayette	26		Wyoming Seminary	0	Non-title
	2-Oct		Lafayette	24		Penn State	0
	6-Oct		Lafayette	8		Franklin & Marshall	0
	9-Oct		Lafayette	64		Temperence A.C.	0	Non-title
	16-Oct		Lafayette	4		Cornell	4	Tie
	23-Oct		Pennsylvania	46		Lafayette	0
	30-Oct		Pennsylvania	40		Brown	0
	6-Nov		Pennsylvania	20		Carlisle	10
	13-Nov		Pennsylvania	22		Wesleyan	0
	20-Nov		Pennsylvania	15		Harvard	6
	25-Nov		Pennsylvania	4		Cornell	0
1898	24-Sep		Pennsylvania	41		Franklin & Marshall	0
	28-Sep		Pennsylvania	50		Gettysburg	0	Non-title
	1-Oct		Pennsylvania	40		Penn State	0
	5-Oct		Pennsylvania	50		Mansfield	0
	8-Oct		Pennsylvania	18		Brown	0
	12-Oct		Pennsylvania	40		Virginia	0
	15-Oct		Pennsylvania	40		Lehigh	0
	19-Oct		Pennsylvania	17		Wesleyan	0
	22-Oct		Pennsylvania	32		Lafayette	0
	29-Oct		Pennsylvania	23		Chicago	11
	5-Nov		Harvard	10		Pennsylvania	0
	12-Nov		Harvard	17		Brown	6
	19-Nov		Harvard	17		Yale	0
1899	30-Sep		Harvard	29		Williams	0
	4-Oct		Harvard	13		Bowdoin	0	Non-title
	7-Oct		Harvard	20		Wesleyan	0
	11-Oct		Harvard	41		Amherst	0
	14-Oct		Harvard	18		Army	0
	18-Oct		Harvard	29		Bates	0	Non-title
	21-Oct		Harvard	11		Brown	0
	28-Oct		Harvard	22		Carlisle	10
	4-Nov		Harvard	16		Pennsylvania	0
	11-Nov		Harvard	11		Dartmouth	0
	18-Nov		Harvard	0		Yale	0	Tie

 

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