Stagg's Eleven vs. Amherst Football Admission Ticket (November 22, 1890)

Item Information

Title:
Stagg's Eleven vs. Amherst Football Admission Ticket (November 22, 1890)
Description:
This is an admission ticket for an at-home football game between Springfield College (whose team was known as "Stagg's Eleven") and Amherst held on November 22, 1890. The members of Stagg’s Eleven were W. J. Kellar, James A. Naismith (inventor of Basketball), J. P. Smith, D. W. Corbett, W. O. Black, W. H. Barton, W. C. McKee, F. N. Seerley, Amos Alonzo Stagg (the captain), A. E. Garland, and W. H. Ball.
Creator:
Springfield College
Date:
November 22, 1890
Format:
Documents
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
College Archives Digital Collections
Series:
Rare Books Collection
Subjects:
Springfield College
Springfield College--Sports
International Young Men's Christian Association Training School (Springfield, Mass.)
Springfield College--Football
Springfield College--Sports--Men
Football
Tickets
Places:
Massachusetts > Hampden (county) > Springfield
Link to Item:
https://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/2721
Terms of Use:
Text and images are owned, held, or licensed by Springfield College and are available for personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that ownership is properly cited. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of Springfield College, Babson Library, Archives and Special Collections. Any commercial use without written permission from Springfield College is strictly prohibited. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, Springfield College may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The publishing, exhibiting, or broadcasting party assumes all responsibility for clearing reproduction rights and for any infringement of United States copyright law.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
Springfield College
Language:
English
Notes:
An All-American Yale player, Stagg brought football to what is now Springfield College and coached the institution’s first team in 1891. After arriving as a graduate student and instructor in 1890, Stagg posted a notice inviting students and faculty to play football for the institution. On an open field overlooking Lake Massasoit, the team would practice and play the less important games, while playing bigger games downtown. The first year ended with a 5-3 record, highlighted by a 26-0 defeat of Amherst College, the game represented by this admissions ticket, and a contest against Yale at Madison Square Garden, the first-ever indoor football game. Yale fielded a team of five varsity players, two substitutes, and a group of Yale graduates. Springfield College, at this time, had less than fifty students from which to draw. Stagg was the only experienced player on the Springfield College squad and found his team outsized by an average of twenty pounds per man. In a great contest, Springfield College showed true courage and pride, but ultimately lost 16-10. The newspapers labeled Stagg’s team the “Stubby Christians,” commending the team for the surprise they gave everyone in attendance and how they outplayed the giants from New Haven. After coaching for fifty-seven years at number of different institutions, he became the dean of college football coaches. Stagg pioneered the huddle, the man in motion, the end-around, and the Statue of Liberty play, among others. During October 2006, the refurbished Benedum Field was renamed the Amos Alonzo Stagg Field. In The Fireside Book of Football, Edwin Pope describes Stagg as “football’s Ben Franklin, Alexander Bell, and Thomas Edison all rolled into one.”
Small pencil marks on left and right side, extremely minimal chipping on top.
Identifier:
specimens-printed-matter-1890-91-staggs-eleven-ticket