1869 New Jersey vs. Rutgers football game - wikipedia 1869 New Jersey vs. Rutgers football game First College Football Game New Jersey at Rutgers New Jersey Tigers Rutgers Queensmen ( 0 -- 0 ) ( 0 -- 0 ) 6 Total New Jersey Rutgers 6 6 Date November 6, 1869 Season 1869 Location New Brunswick, New Jersey Attendance 100 The 1869 New Jersey vs. Rutgers football game was a college football game between the New Jersey Tigers and the Rutgers Queensmen played on November 6, 1869. The game is considered to be the first American football game ever played, but also is seen as being the first college soccer game by some due to the rules under which the game was played more closely resembling soccer. The game 's rules were based on the London Football Association 's early set of rules, which had recently become the most popular set of rules for the game of football at the time. The game, along with the schism between the FA 's rules and the rules of the Rugby Football Union, set in motion the events which would lead to the development of modern American football during the following decades. Rutgers won the game 6 -- 4. Part of the American football series on History of American football Origins of American football Early history of American football First game Walter Camp First pro player First pro league Modern history of American football Close relations : Medieval football Old division football Rugby football Association football Canadian football Black players in professional American football Homosexuality in American football Concussions in American football Rugby union comparison Rugby league comparison Canadian football comparison Pro Football Hall of Fame College Football Hall of Fame Years in American football NFL season - by - season College football season - by - season American football Portal Contents 1 Details and rules 2 Gameplay 3 Aftermath 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Details and rules Part of the first season of college football ever played, the game took place on November 6, 1869 on a field on College Avenue ( now the site of the College Avenue Gymnasium ) in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Because the game was played at Rutgers, it was also played under Rutgers ' rules. They were based on the Football Association 's rules of the time, in which two teams of 25 players attempted to score by kicking the ball into the opposing team 's goal. Throwing or carrying the ball was not allowed. The teams played 10 `` games '' against each other. When a team scored a goal, it counted as the end of that game, and the team with the most goals after 10 games was the winner. William J. Leggett, later a distinguished clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church, was the Rutgers captain ; William Gummere, who later became chief justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, captained the Princeton squad. The game was played in front of approximately 100 spectators. The players from Rutgers wore scarlet - colored turbans and handkerchiefs to distinguish themselves from the Princeton players. The scarlet of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights came from this episode. Gameplay As the first of the 10 games began, two players from each of the teams positioned themselves near the opponent 's goal. This was presumably because the participants were hoping to easily score when the ball reached their territory on the field of play. On each team, there were eleven so - called `` fielders '' who were assigned to defend their own territorial area. There were 12 participants on each team that they named `` bulldogs '' who were the ones playing in the other team 's territory. Rutgers was the first to score a goal, as S.G. Gano and G.R. Dixon successfully kicked the ball across the Princeton goal. At some point early in the contest, the `` flying wedge '' play was first used as the team with the ball formed a wall - like formation of players, allowing them to charge at the defenders. This flying wedge tactic was successful early on for Rutgers because of their size disadvantage over Princeton. However, Princeton countered the tactic when J.E. Michael, better known as `` Big Mike '', broke up the Rutgers ' flying wedge during the fourth game. Princeton took advantage and tied the score at 2 -- 2. A Rutgers player named Madison M. Ball, a wounded veteran of the American Civil War, used his quickness and kicking the ball with the heel of his foot to again take the lead in the contest. Whenever the ball entered Rutgers territory, Ball would get in front of it and use a heel - kick to prevent Princeton from scoring. Ball was able to successfully use that technique to set up Dixon to score another goal which gave Rutgers a 4 -- 2 lead. Rutgers then allowed Princeton to score a goal as one of their players, whose identity is not known, had kicked a ball towards their own goal. It was blocked by a Rutgers player, but Princeton soon was able to take advantage to cut the lead down to 4 -- 3. Princeton scored on their next possession when they used a flying wedge play of their own led by Big Mike to march down the field to score to tie the game again at 4. Rutgers captain John W. Leggett had a strategy for his team at this point. He suggested that the Rutgers team keep the ball low on the ground to counter the much taller players on Princeton 's team. This strategy appeared to work as Rutgers easily scored the final two goals of the contest to win the first intercollegiate football game ever played 6 games to 4. Princeton had more size, which would normally be an advantage on a field with 50 total players, but the Tigers had trouble kicking the ball as a team which is something Rutgers did very well. In an 1933 account, a Rutgers player from the game named John W. Herbert said that he thought Rutgers was the smaller team, but that they had more speed than Princeton. Aftermath The First Game by Arnold Friberg, 1968. In what might be considered a beginning to college football rivalries, immediately after Rutgers won this game, Princeton 's players were literally run out of town by the winning Rutgers students. The Princeton students reportedly jumped in their carriages and quickly made the 20 - mile trip back to their campus. In 1968, Arnold Friberg was commissioned by Chevrolet to create a painting commemorating the game. His work The First Game was one of four works that he created to celebrate 100 years of college football. See also 1869 college football season List of historically significant college football games List of the first college football game in each US state The First Game References Jump up ^ `` NFL History by Decade ''. National Football League. Retrieved 27 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` 1869 Princeton Tigers Schedule and Results ''. SR / College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Our History - Rutgers 250 ''. Rutgers University. Retrieved 27 December 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Rutgers Scarlet Knights Face of the Program ''. ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Hyman, Vicki ( October 23, 2010 ). `` How New Jersey Saved Civilization... the first intercollegiate football game ''. NJ.com. Retrieved 27 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` Rutgers Traditions ''. Rutgers University. Retrieved 27 December 2017. Jump up ^ Pellowski, Michael J ( 2007 ). `` Part One 1869 -- 1949 '' ( PDF ). Rutgers Football : A Gridiron Tradition in Scarlet. Rutgers University. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on March 13, 2012. Jump up ^ David J. Warner ( September 9, 2006 ). `` Good morning, class, and welcome to Football History 101 ''. Fanhouse.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Rutgers in the Civil War ''. Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries. 66 : 99, 120. 2014. Jump up ^ Scott, Ricahrd ( 2008 ). `` Chapter 2 ''. SEC Football : 75 Years of Pride and Passion. p. Page 42. External links # 58.5 -- The First Intercollegiate Football Game That One Sports Show. Princeton Tigers football Venues University Field ( 1876 -- 1913 ) Palmer Stadium ( 1914 -- 96 ) Princeton University Stadium ( 1998 -- present ) Bowls & rivalries Legacy Bowl Brown Harvard Penn Rutgers Yale Culture & lore First American football game ( painting ) 1922 Chicago game Poe brothers The Tiger `` Princeton Cannon Song '' Winged football helmet People Head coaches NFL draftees Seasons 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 National championship seasons in bold Rutgers Scarlet Knights football Venues College Field ( 1869 -- 1890 ) Neilson Field ( 1891 -- 1938 ) Rutgers Stadium ( 1938 -- 1992 ) Giants Stadium ( 1993 ) High Point Solutions Stadium ( 1994 -- present ) Bowls & rivalries Bowl games Maryland Princeton Culture & lore Marching band First American football game ( painting ) People Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders Seasons 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 National championship seasons in bold Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1869_New_Jersey_vs._Rutgers_football_game&oldid=817958407 '' Categories : 1869 college football season College football games Princeton Tigers football Rutgers Scarlet Knights football 1869 in New Jersey November 1869 sports events Hidden categories : All articles with failed verification Articles with failed verification from December 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 31 December 2017, at 16 : 19. 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Question: who won the first american inter-collegiate football game
Answer: Rutgers Queensmen