1881 Princeton Tigers football team

The 1881 Princeton Tigers football team represented the College of New Jersey, then more commonly known as Princeton College, in the 1881 college football season. The team finished with a 7–0–2 record and was retroactively named national champion by the Billingsley Report and as co-national champion by Parke H. Davis.^[1][2] This season marked Princeton's 11th national championship in a 13-year period between 1869 and 1881.^[3] P. T. Bryan was the captain of the team.^[4]

1881 Princeton Tigers football
National champion (Billingsley) Co-national champion (Parke H. Davis)
Conference	Independent
Record	7–0–2
Head coach	None
Captain	P. T. Bryan
Seasons ← 1880 1882 →

1881 college football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
MIT			–					3	–	0	–	0
Richmond			–					2	–	0	–	0
Georgetown			–					1	–	0	–	0
Yale			–					5	–	0	–	1
Princeton			–					7	–	0	–	2
Penn State			–					1	–	0	–	0
Columbian University			–					1	–	0	–	1
Dartmouth			–					1	–	0	–	1
Harvard			–					6	–	1	–	1
Massachusetts			–					2	–	1	–	1
Kentucky University			–					2	–	1	–	0
Columbia			–					3	–	3	–	1
Rutgers			–					2	–	4	–	1
Stevens			–					1	–	2	–	1
Kentucky State College			–					1	–	2	–	0
CCNY			–					1	–	1	–	1
Amherst			–					0	–	3	–	2
Lewisburg			–					0	–	1	–	0
MIT			–					3	–	0	–	0
Wesleyan			–					0	–	1	–	0
Randolph–Macon			–					0	–	2	–	0
Michigan			–					0	–	3	–	0
Penn			–					0	–	5	–	0

No goals were scored against the Tigers in 1881 and the season ended as it had for the fourth time in five years; a 0–0 tie against Yale in or near New York.^[5]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 15		Rutgers	Princeton, NJ (rivalry)	W 3–0		[6]
October 22		Stevens	Princeton, NJ	W 7–0
October 29		at Penn	Philadelphia, PA (rivalry)	W 7–0
November 4		Michigan	Princeton, NJ	W 1–0
November 5		Penn	Princeton, NJ	W 4–0
November 10	2:15 p.m.	at Rutgers	New Brunswick, NJ	W 1–0		[7]
November 12	2:38 p.m.	Columbia	Polo Grounds New York, NY	W 1–0		[8][9]
November 19	2:30 p.m.	vs. Harvard	Polo Grounds New York, NY (rivalry)	T 0–0	2,500	[10]
November 24		vs. Yale	Polo Grounds New York, NY (rivalry)	T 0–0	10,000	[11]

Game summaries

November 4: Princeton 1, Michigan 0

The Michigan Wolverines toured the east in 1881, playing the first games between western and eastern teams.^[12] Michigan played at Harvard on October 31 and at Yale on November 2, 1881, losing both games.^[13] The trip was planned to end after the Yale game, however a Princeton representative attended the game in New Haven and challenged Michigan to a game in two days. Michigan's captain and quarterback Walter S. Horton did not want to accept, but the team over-ruled him. Horton then refused to play, and substitute Henry S. Mahon had to fill in for him.^[14]

Michigan forward Fred Townsend wrote about the game in 1901, reporting that Princeton scored a goal in the first half on a long kick aided by the wind. Michigan could not score any goals or touchdowns throughout the contest, while late in the second half Princeton scored two touchdowns.^[14] A New Jersey newspaper reported: "The Princeton College team were victorious Thursday [sic] in a football match with the team of the University of Michigan after an exciting struggle."^[15] The Daily State Gazette wrote: "A finely contested game of football at the University grounds Friday, between Princeton and University of Michigan resulted in a victory for the home team, Princeton 1 goal, 2 touchdowns; University of Michigan 0."^[16]

References

1. "National Poll Champions" (PDF). NCAA Division I Football Records. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2017. p. 110. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
2. "1881 Princeton Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
3. "Championships - Tigers Football". princetontigersfootball.com. Princeton University. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
4. "All Time Captains". www.princetontigersfootball.com. Princeton University. September 24, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
5. "All-Time Princeton Results" (PDF). goprincetontigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
6. "Princeton Beats Rutgers At Football". Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. October 18, 1881. p. 1. Retrieved March 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
7. "Collegians At Foot-Ball". The New York Times. New York, NY. November 11, 1881. p. 1. Retrieved May 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
8. "College Men At Football". New-York Tribune. New York, NY. November 13, 1881. p. 2. Retrieved March 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
9. "Columbia's Boys Beaten". The New York Times. New York, New York. November 13, 1881. p. 7. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
10. "Fine Foot-ball Playing". The New York Times. New York, New York. November 20, 1881. p. 16. Retrieved September 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
11. "Princeton Faces Yale: Playing Foot-Ball in a Freezing Wind". The New York Times. November 25, 1881. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Football - A Timeline of Tradition". Harvard University. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
13. "1881 Michigan Football Team". University of Michigan. Retrieved February 17, 2009.
14. Townsend, Fred (1901). "The First Eastern Trip" (PDF). Inlander. University of Michigan.
15. "Foot Ball". The Daily Times. New Brunswick, NJ. November 5, 1881.
16. "Princeton Items". Daily State Gazette. New Jersey. November 7, 1881.