The 1909 season
411 games on file. The AP poll didn’t exist yet. Share
Scoreboards
Conference champions
Major college
- Eastern Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- William & Mary
- Missouri Valley Conference
- Missouri
- Rocky Mountain Conference
- Colorado
- South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association
- Virginia Tech
- Western Conference
- Minnesota
Small college
- Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Kansas 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
- EAdrian Regnier, Brown
- EJohn Kilpatrick, Yale
- OTHamilton Fish III, Harvard
- OTHenry Hobbs, Yale
- OGAlbert Benbrook, Michigan
- OGHamlin Andrus, Yale
- CCarroll Cooney, Yale
- QBJohn McGovern, Minnesota
- RBStephen Philbin, Yale
- RBWayland Manning Minot, Harvard
- FBTed Coy, Yale
Players picked by enough of the major selectors to count as consensus, shown in bold in Wikipedia’s 1909 All-America article. Every selector’s teams, first to last, are on the 1909 All-America teams page.
From the newspapers
Read the text
CAPT. COYS GREAT KICKING GIVES OLD ELI THE GAME, 8 TO 0. Yale Easily Wins the Big College Football Event of the Season at Cambridge===Cap= tain Coy Covers Himself With Glory ByKicking Two Goals from the Field. long time the only organized express sion of the game was a sort of rush between the two lower classes, until in 1S49 the Class of 1852. as Sophomorcs, refused to play the Freshmen, appalentity acting under the influence of a sudden @paSn of virtue. In tho Civil War days the Yale faculty took Il hand. It was the same old story even thcn-the game was too rough. From 1850 to 1870 there was practically no football at Yale, although Harvard was kicking the bail about. But il 1872 the Yale Football Associaton was organized Samuel Elder was one of the prime movers in tnls or ganiZation. Another was David Schaff. The game they played again rcsembled association football more than ii did Rugby union but the players, although they could not pick up a pass if they mutfcd it, or carry the ball, could bat it in any direction with III” haHd, or dribble it along with the foot. \ relic of this old game still survives. In the up-tC-Gate rule-book it is stated that player may bat the ball in any lirccton, except Ca more mOdern no ificatom toward his opponents goal. No Spectator of the modern gam, la ever seen Il player Intentionally exercise this privilege. In 1872 Yale played one match and beat Columbia by three goals. In 1873 football convention was held in New York. Harvard sent regretS. But Princeton, Columbia and Rutgers attended. Under Slightly mod fled rules, Yale beat Columbia and lost to Princeton. But Yale won ~ table victory over a team of English men living in New York, captained by Allen, an Elton player, and known as the Elton team. There was marquis on the team which fact seems to have sent thrill through Republican breasts. Even in those old days the cry was for more weight. Bigger men played for Yale in 1874 than in 1873. Harvard meanwhile had taken up Rugby. And in 1919, under compromise rules, specially devised, a mongrel game was played and Harvard won. In 1876 was played the first game between the Crimson and the Blue under rules resembling those which were destined to prevail. But goals only counted and this was lucky for Yale, for while the Ellis kicked a goal and won the game. Harvard made two touch, downs. In laT there was a disagreement as to the nunibur of players. Harvard, even il the ’70s, had ideas of her own, tcnaciously held. Harvard wanted a game OF 10 men on a side. Yale held out Tor eleven men on a side and no game could be arranged. But Yale gave in to Princeton, although she would not to Harvard. Yale ana Princeton played with IS men on a side and Yale won IN lN’A, Stili with Is men ou a side, Aa’e and Harvard played at Boston. IouchdoWns counted, but not safettes. Yale scored goal and won. In 1879 the game was a tic, safctics nor count ing in scoring IN 1871 II was agreed to play eleven men on Il side. Yale won. getting a goal and touchdown. The game was played at the Boston South End bah grounds IN a pouring ram, and Harward. who was “there” with COMPLAINTS OF 1al”‘s conduct even then. alleged mat Yale tried to drown one of her players by holding him down in a big puddle OF water n curious point in early SCORING is; brought out by the history of this game. Yale made a touchdown at the end of the game. but time was not al lowed in which to kick the goal In 1881 Harvard agreed if neither side made amy other scor. the side which mad” four less safety touchdowns than the other should win In tn” game Harvard made four such safetics Yale none. and Yale was accordingly the winner. This game. like the one before, was PLAYED in a drcnching rain Tho year 1851 marked the end of the block” system. Thereafter a team had to gain five yards in three downs or forfeit the ball. Previously the team kept the ball until it lost it by a tumble or scored a touchdown. In 1852 Yale began to show the SUI reriority of her drill. system, choice of methods and ideas of training. Harvard was beaten by goal and three touchdowns, and the Crimson was forced to make two safeties in addition. In that year Princeton scored by place kick from the so yard line against Yale. but lost. In 1888 came another forward step. The point system, which, though fire. quently altered, has been used in scoring football ever since. was intro duced. Goals from touchdowns count ed six. field goals five, touchdowns falling goal two and safety one point. Yale continued to demonstrate superiority and beat Harvard 23 to >, the Crimson getting a touchdown. Yale was still laying the emphasis on weight and had a 1S5-pound rush line Harvard in this year insisted on GER tain rules of her own being observed and was then. as now, the leader in the path of reform. In 1884 tho value of a touchdown failing goal was increased to A. The score however, was – to in favor OF the Blue. and Harvard was beaten by three other colleges. In 1885 tho Harvard athletic COM mttee forbade the game. Wesleyan, little Wesleyan, formdable then, got into “The intercollegiate Football Associations in 1854. succeed ing Columbia. Yale. Harvard. Prince ton. Penn and Wesleyan continued I’M til 1883 to play for the championship” Harvard, in 1885, not liking the way ~.