The Washington Glee Club's Monumental Season

I cannot tell a lie. As much fun as it is uncovering information about old-time Yale, Chicago, or Stanford teams, doing the same with small-town or neighborhood club teams like the Washington Glee Club is often more fun. The history of those teams and their contribution to football are vastly underappreciated. Youth, prep, town, and semi-pro teams were vital to the quality and growth of the college and pro games, but the contributions of these lesser teams get little play, just as the Power Five teams and the NFL dominate conversations today.

While researching football history, I’ve come across teams representing a range of organizational types. Still, I had not heard of a glee club football team until I came across an RPPC of the 1908 Washington Glee Club champion team, but the name intrigued me, so I bought the image, assuming I could find some information about them.

The 1908 Washington Glee Club championship football team. (Personal collection)

When I started the research, I incorrectly assumed the team represented a choir in Seattle. However, I could not find information about the University of Washington's glee club football team. Widening my search led me to the other side of the country, where it turns out that Washington Avenue is a main thoroughfare running through The Hill neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut. A glee club for adults was formed in the early 1890s. They had junior sports teams by the early 1900s, and the Glees were among the half-dozen clubs to form a football league in 1907 that included teams from New Haven neighborhoods and surrounding towns. Over time, the Glees’ success led them to compete with teams outside New Haven and Connecticut. And that is where things get interesting.