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Today's Tidbit... Fourth Of July Football In 1895 Butte
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Today's Tidbit... Fourth Of July Football In 1895 Butte

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Football Archaeology
Jul 04, 2023
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Football Archaeology
Today's Tidbit... Fourth Of July Football In 1895 Butte
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From football's beginning in America's Eastern colleges, the game was played almost exclusively in the fall. Only on the West Coast and in the Rockies did 19th-century teams play football at other times of the year, with some playing football year-round.

One team that played year-round at times was the Butte Football Club Miners, who primarily played West Coast club teams and college and club teams from west of the Mississippi. One of their games, a contest against the Omaha YMCA team, was part of Butte's Fourth of July Celebration in 1895.

Butte was a mining town of 25,000 inhabitants in 1895; the number was reduced by 57 after two warehouses storing dynamite exploded in January. A rough-and-tumble town filled with immigrant miners, some appreciated American football as players and fans, so the newly-formed Butte Miners scheduled a football game as part of the city’s broader celebration on the 4th.

The Miners played their first game in April 1895, beating the Spokane Athletic Club 18-0, and followed that by beating the Salt Lake City YMCA 52-0 at the end of May.

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