Football Archaeology

Football Archaeology

Share this post

Football Archaeology
Football Archaeology
Terminology... Two-A-Days
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Tidbits (Paid)

Terminology... Two-A-Days

Football Archaeology's avatar
Football Archaeology
Jan 30, 2023
∙ Paid
2

Share this post

Football Archaeology
Football Archaeology
Terminology... Two-A-Days
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

This is article #20 in a series covering the origins of football’s terminology. All are available under the Terminology tab above. My book, Hut! Hut! Hike! describes the emergence of more than 400 football terms.


Few football terms combine a sense of joy and horror as does “two-a-days.” The term brings delight and optimism in that every team begins practice anticipating a winning season, but the start of practice comes with the knowledge that difficult times on dusty fields are ahead.

Unlike some football terms, there is little mystery about the term since it simply refers to teams undergoing two daily practices.

The first mentions of teams practicing twice a day appear just before the forward pass became legal when Harvard’s 1904 preseason schedule included “two sessions a day.” Trinity held two practices daily in 1905, but Harvard seems to have been the only school to consistently gain attention for their double sessions until Cornell stepped up in 1913.

Harvard’s 1923 football team warming up for practice. (United Newspictures, Personal Collection)

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Football Archaeology to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Timothy P. Brown
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More