1883 Michigan-Harvard Game

Michigan's 1883 team was the only non-Eastern team playing football at their level. This series uses period publications to cover Michigan's trip east to play Wesleyan, Harvard, Yale, and the Stevens Institute in nine days.

Previous posts in the series: Intro | Wesleyan ($) | Yale ($)

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Michigan traveled east from Ann Arbor and arrived in Hartford shortly before their Monday afternoon game with Wesleyan. They played Yale on Wednesday in New Haven and then traveled to Cambridge for a Thursday game with 7-0 Harvard. Though tired, bruised, and confused about recent rule changes, they were eager to test themselves against the Harvard eleven.

These are turtles, but I’m not confident in that assessment. (University of Michigan Palladium)

The game started at 3:45 p.m. on Harvard's Jarvis Field. Each team appointed an umpire, and Henry S. Mahon of Michigan acted as referee. The game accounts suggest it was a back-and-forth affair, but Harvard won. Dott, Gemmons, and Killilea played well for Michigan, with Dott running well throughout the game.

('College Foot-Ball,' New York Times, November 23, 1883)

Harvard scored a touchdown within the first 15 minutes but did not catch the puntout, so the score stood 2-0. Harvard soon kicked a field goal, which their umpire claimed was good, which Mr. Mahon negated because it was a "poster," meaning the ball had flown over one of the goal posts.

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