The 1903 season
468 games on file. The AP poll didn’t exist yet. Michigan and Princeton claim the national title. Share
Scoreboards
Conference champions
Major college
- Colorado Football Conference
- Colorado
- Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
- Clemson and Vanderbilt (shared)
- Western Conference
- Michigan, Minnesota and Northwestern (shared)
Small college
- Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
- Michigan State
From each program’s Wikipedia article, with the conference’s name that season. Titles come from the articles of today’s FBS and FCS programs, so a title shared with a school outside them lists only one champion.
Consensus All-Americans
- EHoward Henry, Princeton
- ECharles D. Rafferty, Yale
- OTDaniel Knowlton, Harvard
- OTJames Hogan, Yale
- OTFred Schacht, Minnesota
- OGJohn DeWitt, Princeton
- OGAndrew Marshall, Harvard
- OGJames Bloomer, Yale
- CHenry Hooper, Dartmouth
- QBJames Johnson, Carlisle
- QBMyron E. Witham, Dartmouth
- RBWillie Heston, Michigan
- RBDana Kafer, Princeton
- FBRichard Shore Smith, Columbia
- FBLedyard Mitchell, Yale
Players picked by enough of the major selectors to count as consensus, shown in bold in Wikipedia’s 1903 All-America article. Every selector’s teams, first to last, are on the 1903 All-America teams page.
From the newspapers
Read the text
DEWITT The HERO Princeton’s Captain Makes All Scores for His Team and Defeats Yale. Costly Fumbles Prevent Scores for the Blue-Elis Play Sloppily at Times. New Haven, Conn, Nov. 16.-John r. Dewitt of Eagleville, Pa, captain of the Princeton football eleven, Saturday proved his title as the greatest in dividual player in the world by win ming his own game from the much Wanted Yale eleven, and probably cinching for the tigers the American football championship for 1908. In the first half of the game he grabbed the ball on an attempted field goal by Mitchell, the Yale halfback, and ran eighty yards for a touchdown. In the second half, with only one min ute left to play, after missing field goal from the twenty-yard line. he kicked goal from placement which gave Princeton it’s winning score. The final figures stood: Princeton IL; Yale, 6. Yale played sloppily and stupidity at times. but took the lead at the start when Hogan scored Yale’s first touch down after the blue backs had smashed the ball down the field from center to Princeton’s goal, Hogan being the particular star at rushing. 1t was kicking game from start to finish, both teams being unable to gain and punting on the third down fncessantly. Dewitt missed two field goals and Mitchell who did Yale’s kicking, missed the same number. Honors were even in the first half, but In the second Yale was completely outplayed. both in the punting and rushing game. Driven back steadily during the last twenty minutes of play, the wearers of the blue found them and with the ball In Princeton’s pos session in Yale territory Dewitt made his two attempts at goal. The last of them was from exactly the same spot that Poe kicked his famous field goal four years ago. win ming the last game Princeton has taken from Yale until Saturday. All Blue at the Start. In fourteen minutes from the time play began Yale had torn thru Prince tons line consistently and sent Hogan across the line for a touchdown. princeton could not cope with Yale’s stone wall defense, and the play was largely in the orange and black terri rory. Yale followed up the advantage &nd again pressed toward the tiger goal line. A tumble gave the ball to Princeton, when Yale was on the verge or crossing the line for another score. Again Yale pounded Princeton’s line TOT snort, consistent gains. and again yale was within striking distance. A tWenty-yard penalty lost the chance. ana the Yale quarterback signaled for an attempt at a goal from the field. Mitchell dropped back, but the pass was bad, and he fumbled the bali on Prlnceton,s twenty-yard line. Dewitt broke thru, snatched the ball from the ground, and. protected by fine inter- Terence, covered the rest of the field FOR touchdown. The goal was kicked and the score tied. -n – Costly FumbIes Prevent Scores ~. Again at the outset of the second half Yale’s superiority of offense was apparent, for the blue kept the play In Princeton’s half of the field most of the time. Twice Captain Rafferty, men rushed the ball with Irresistible force toward the orange goal line, and twice with touchdowns in sight Yale hurled themselves thru the opposins line, only to lose their last hope of victory thru holding in the line. The. Yale men were the first to show the effects of the struggle Prince ton, meanwhile. never wavered and the orange and black line became stancher Yale could not gain, but its forwards were sturdy on the defense and Princeton could not penetrate the blue line for substantial gains. Accordingly. Princeton resorted to kick Ing and with five minutes left to PLAY announcer Yale tumble placed Yale in serious trouble near it’s own goal line Crowd Waits Breathlessly Bowman was forced to kick from b@‘iihS1 ebiC . o”il Sodl line. lie punted we’ll to Yale’s forty-two-yard line. Vetterlein, who was playing back, caught the ball and with great presence of mind, heeled fair catch With the score still at 6 to 6, the great crowd was GREATNESS while De. witt prepared to try for goal 1t q slight angle. The distance was for. bidding, but Dewitt was equal to the occasion, and shot the ball between the goal posts in superb style, thereby insuring Princeton it’s victory.