Today's Tidbit... Football Training Camp In The 1910s

A Yale letterman heads off to training camp as his mother cries. ('When Duty Calls,' Puck, September 24, 1913, Library of Congress)

It is that time of year. College football training camps are opening nationwide, almost all filled with hope, if not optimism, since we are one month from launching a new season. Most camps are held on campus nowadays, though some venture off for bonding and other purposes.

Still, the modern training camp differs from that of the 1910s. Today, athletes remain on campus and condition year-round. Even the freshmen arrive months before fall classes start to get into the flow. Players work with ten on-field coaches, all of whom are full-time employees, as well as strength and conditioning coaches, analysts, and trainers, and teams start camp with their offenses fully installed or nearly so. Training camp hones football skills rather than preparing teams to do so.

"Training camp" was first tied to college football in the late 1890s. At the time, the season began in the third or fourth week of September when classes were in session, and teams often did not start serious football training until a week or two before their first game, which is much of the reason big-time teams scheduled lesser foes early in the season. Before regular practice began, however, many teams held training camps that received their name because they occurred at remote locations where the teams often camped in tents. Resorts with permanent cabins hosted some camps, but many were found on land owned by an alum with open spaces, hiking trails, and a swimming hole.