President Theodore Roosevelt, a great fan, insisted that the colleges ban mass momentum plays like the Flying Wedge because they were too dangerous. I broke out in 1914, American football was very nearly the complete modern sport. In the old days, as now, advertisers looked at any new fad, especially in sports, as a way to hustle products. The new game of football earned its share of such attention. Most of these early promotional items are lost forever, but a few survive.
Collectors eagerly seek material from football's formative years.
The Tuck player came equipped with a little easel for standing him upright. Although the issue date of the Tuck piece isn't established, an educated guess might put it around 1880. Sports memorabilia expert Bill Mastro leans toward the idea that rugby is the game the Tuck issue celebrates. Small hats were popular among rugby players back then. Noted football collector Chuck Walsh thinks the essential clue lies in the abbreviated pants the player is wearing.