Football history generally focuses on the stars, the winners, and the championship teams from prominent programs. However, most who played the game did so in obscurity, with some leaving a record of their football days in the form of Real Photo Postcards (RPPCs). Despite most RPPCs showing those who played before teams huddled regularly, we refer to them as The Huddled Masses.
Previous Huddled Masses: 1905 | #2 | #3 | #4
When most of us hear someone mention a football lineup, we think of a game’s starting players. In days gone by, however, a football lineup could also mean the way in which teams posed for their photos. I enjoy RPPCs of old football teams lined up in various orders, perhaps because my paternal aunts and uncles had many family photos taken over the years for which they lined up from oldest to youngest. I suspect lots of families did the same.
In the old days, football teams often had a limited number of players, allowing them to pose in a line rather than the typical chorus formation. Teams commonly lined up from tallest to shortest, right to left or left to right and, like other team photos, the captain often holds a ball with the year or the big game score stenciled on it.
Anyway, here are a handful of football lineups for your viewing pleasure.
Enjoy the lineup of games this weekend and may every team win!
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