1891 Cornell Big Red football team

1891 Cornell Big Red football
ConferenceIndependent
Record7–3
Head coach
  • None
CaptainCarl Johanson
Seasons
← 1890
1892 →
1891 Eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Yale   –   13 – 0 – 0
Harvard   –   13 – 1 – 0
Princeton   –   12 – 1 – 0
Tufts   –   7 – 1 – 0
Penn   –   11 – 2 – 0
Colgate   –   4 – 1 – 0
Army   –   4 – 1 – 1
Navy   –   5 – 2 – 0
Cornell   –   7 – 3 – 0
Geneva   –   4 – 2 – 0
Washington & Jefferson   –   4 – 2 – 0
Lehigh   –   7 – 4 – 0
Delaware   –   5 – 3 – 1
Rutgers   –   8 – 6 – 0
Brown   –   4 – 6 – 0
Springfield YMCA   –   5 – 8 – 1
Fordham   –   1 – 2 – 1
Syracuse   –   4 – 7 – 0
Massachusetts   –   2 – 5 – 0
Western Univ. Penn.   –   2 – 6 – 0
Lafayette   –   2 – 9 – 1
NYU   –   1 – 4 – 0
Columbia   –   1 – 5 – 0
Wesleyan   –   1 – 6 – 0

The 1891 Cornell Big Red football team was an American football team that represented Cornell University during the 1891 college football season. The team compiled a 7–3 record and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 298 to 34.[1][2]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultSource
October 3 Syracuse Ithaca, NYW 68–0
October 10 Bucknell Ithaca, NYL 0–4
October 17 Stevens Ithaca, NYW 72–0
October 24 Lafayette Ithaca, NYW 30–0
November 7 Lehigh Ithaca, NYW 24–0
November 14at Princeton Princeton, NJL 0–6
November 21vs. Michigan
W 58–12
November 23at Detroit Athletic Club Detroit, MIW 32–0
November 25at Chicago University Club
L 4–12[3]
November 28vs. Michigan
  • South Side Park
  • Chicago, IL
W 10–0

Game summaries

Michigan (Detroit)

The 1891 season included two games against the 1891 Michigan Wolverines football team, played in Detroit on November 21, 1891, and in Chicago on November 28, 1891. In the first game, played at D.A.C. Park, Cornell won by a lopsided score of 58-12.[4] The Detroit Free Press reported that the game was played in the rain and, while the crowd of 2,300 persons was "made up of the best class of people including many ladies, the rain doubtless kept fully as many away who would have been on hand but for the thought that the game would be played in the mist and mud."[5] Michigan's scoring came on touchdowns by Van Inwagen and Rittinger, and two successful goal kicks by Dygert.[5]

Despite the lopsided score of the first Cornell game, the Chicago Daily Tribune reported: "The Cornell-University of Michigan football at D.A.C. Park this afternoon was undoubtedly the finest exhibition of sport ever seen in Detroit. The game was one-sided, but was by no means a walkaway for the victors."[6] Michigan coach, Mike Murphy, also saw some positive signs in Michigan's performance, as the Free Press reported: "Michigan has the greater weight on the rush line and with practice will be far stronger than at present. In fact Murphy is jubilant and thinks that next year he can hustle them all."[5]

Michigan (Chicago)

The final game was played on November 28, 1891, at the South Side Baseball Grounds in Chicago, with Cornell winning 10-0.[7] The New York Times called it "one of the prettiest foot-ball games ever played in the West" and described the wintry conditions of the game: "The field was covered with a six-inch blanket of snow, the air was icy, and frosted feet and hands were among the thousands of spectators ... Three minutes after the game began the ball was covered with ice, but the dazzling white ground soon began to look as though a herd of elephants had been tramping on it."[8]

The Detroit Free Press reported that Michigan gave Cornell "a sharp tussle" and that six of Cornell's points "were scored on a fluke, the ball being fumbled on a pass back."[9] Powers, left end; Mowrey, left tackle; Thomas, left guard; Jeffries, center; Tupper, right guard; Griffin, right tackle;Hayes, right end, Sherman, quarterback; Van Inwagen, left half; Riitenger, right half; Dygert, fullback.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Cornell Yearly Results (1890–1894)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  2. ^ "1891 Cornell Big Red Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  3. ^ "Cornell Beaten". The Indianapolis Journal. November 27, 1891. pp. 1, 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "CORNELL WINS THE THIRD: The U. of M. Football Players Beaten and Dragged in the Mud". Detroit Free Press. November 23, 1891. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c "Football: Cornell Was Victorious Again". Detroit Free Press. November 23, 1891. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  6. ^ "MICHIGAN TOO LIGHT FOR CORNELL: White and Red Victorious at Detroit by a Score of 58 to 12". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 22, 1891. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  7. ^ "FOUGHT IN THE SNOW: CORNELL DEFEATS MICHIGAN IN A HARD STRUGGLE; An Interesting Game in Which an Absence of Slugging Was a Noticeble Feature--The Yellow and Blue Beaten by a Score of 10 to 0--Ann Arbor's Strong Play-Cornell's Work Better than That of Thanksgiving Day". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 29, 1891. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  8. ^ "On a Snow-Covered Field: Cornell Defeats Michigan in a Very Brilliant Game" (PDF). The New York Times. November 29, 1891. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  9. ^ a b "FOOT BALL". Detroit Free Press. November 30, 1891. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2011.