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Today's Tidbit... Cornell Dances in the Streets
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Today's Tidbit... Cornell Dances in the Streets

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Football Archaeology
Nov 18, 2022
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Today's Tidbit... Cornell Dances in the Streets
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Princeton had a pretty good ball club in 1899, despite not having a coach. The team went 12-1 and was later credited with a national championship by some services, as captain "Big Bill" Edwards ran the show.

It looked like a well-run operation on November 1, 1899, when the 7-0 and unscored-upon Tigers stepped onto Cornell's Percy Field to face the 6-1 Cornell Big Red, who had shut out six opponents and suffered a lone loss at Chicago. Tiger fans in Philadelphia who could not trek to Ithaca hung around outside the Philadelphia Inquirer's office to monitor the mini-gridiron simulating the game as reports came in.

'Crowds Watching The Inquirer's Miniature Gridiron,' Philadelphia Inquirer, October 29, 1899.

Cornell had never beaten Princeton, and Cornell was led by first-year head coach, Percy Haughton, last year's Harvard captain, so the Redmen fans realistically thought Princeton would get the best of the Ithacans.

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