1896 Lafayette football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 1896 Lafayette football Lafayette football team 1896.jpg 285 Independent 11–0–1 Parke H. Davis 2nd George Waldbridge Lafayette Field Co-national champion (NCF, Davis) The 1896 Lafayette football team was an American football team that represented Lafayette College of Easton, Pennsylvania, as an independent during the 1896 college football season. In their second season under head coach Parke H. Davis, Lafayette compiled an 11–0–1 record, shut out 10 of 12 opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 240 to 10. The team was retroactively selected as the co-national champion by the National Championship Foundation and the team's own head coach, Davis, in his later role as a football historian.http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2015/FBS.pdf National Poll Rankings National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2015 NCAA Division I Football Records NCAA 107 January 4, 2016 PDF Lafayette played a scoreless tie with Princeton in the second game of the year and defeated West Virginia three times in three days by a combined score of 56–0. On October 24, Lafayette defeated Penn, 6–4, breaking the Quakers' 34-game winning streak. Lafayette closed its season with an 18–6 win over Navy. Notable players on the team included: Tackle Fielding H. Yost began the season playing for West Virginia and then joined Lafayette for its game against Penn. He later served as the head football coach at Michigan from 1901 to 1926. Guard Charles Rinehart, 6'1", 243 pounds, was described as "the life, genius and inspiration" of the team with muscles "as strong as bands of steel".Lafayette-Wyoming: A Clean Exhibition of Football at Kingston Wilkes-Barre Times November 12, 1896 1 https://www.newspapers.com/article/wilkes-barre-times-lafayette-wyoming-a/166482834/ Newspapers.com Halfback George Barclay. Lehigh refused to play its annual rivalry game with Lehigh in protest over Barclay's eligibility and amateur status. Barclay allegedly played professional baseball the previous summer.March Francis A. Athletics at Lafayette College 1926 272Lewis S. Parnell 100 Years of Football at Lafayette College 1982 23 Schedule September 26 w Volunteer Athletic Club of New York City Lafayette Field Easton, PA 44–0 Lafayette Very Strong: Roll Up the Splendid Score of 44 Points Against the Volunteers The Philadelphia Inquirer September 27, 1896 8 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-lafayette-very/166484252/ Newspapers.com October 7 t Princeton Lafayette Field Easton, PA 0–0 5,000 Princeton's Poor Showing: Lafayette Prevents Her From Scoring and Should Have Beaten Her The Philadelphia Times October 8, 1896 8 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-times-princetons-poor/166483273/ Newspapers.comPrinceton 0, Lafayette 0 The Boston Globe October 8, 1896 5 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98348213/princeton-0-lafayette-0/ Newspapers.com October 15 w y West Virginia Fairmont, WV 18–0 1,600 Good for 'Varsity Wheeling Daily Intelligencer October 16, 1896 2 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wheeling-daily-intelligencer-lafayet/166484705/ Newspapers.com October 16 w y West Virginia Parkersburg, WV 6–0 To-day's Foot Ball Game Between Teams of Lafayette College and the W. Va. University Wheeling Register October 17, 1896 5 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-to-days-foot-ball-ga/166484571/ Newspapers.com October 17 w y West Virginia Wheeling, WV 34–0 W.V.U. Team Outclassed: The University Eleven Shut Out By Lafayette College Wheeling Register October 18, 1896 4 https://www.newspapers.com/article/wheeling-sunday-register-wvu-team-out/166484415/ Newspapers.com October 24 w y Penn Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA 6–4 13,000 Penn's Victorious Career Checked: Not Beaten Since 1893, the Quakers Fall Before Lafayette by the Score of 6 to 4 The Philadelphia Inquirer October 25, 1896 9 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-penns-victori/166483380/ Newspapers.com October 31 w Dickinson Lafayette Field Easton, PA 18–0 Lafayette Runs 18 On Dickinson's Team https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer/163295043/ The Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania November 1, 1896 9 January 17, 2025 Newspapers.com November 10 w y 1896 Bloomsburg Normal Bloomsburg Normal Normal Field Bloomsburg, PA 17–0 Lafayette 17 - Normal 0 The Columbian November 12, 1896 1 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbian-lafayette-17-normal-0/166484098/ Newspapers.com November 11 w y 1896 Wyoming Seminary Wyoming Seminary Kingston, PA 23–0 600 November 14 w 1896 Franklin & Marshall Franklin & Marshall Lafayette Field Easton, PA 38–0 F. and M. Snowed Under: Lafayette Had a Rather Easy Time With the Lancaster Collegians The Philadelphia Times November 15, 1896 8 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-times-f-and-m-snowed/166466810/ Newspapers.com November 21 w Wesleyan Lafayette Field Easton, PA 18–0 Lafayette Wins From The Wesleyan Boys The Philadelphia Inquirer November 22, 1896 8 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-lafayette-wins/166466552/ Newspapers.com November 26 w y Navy Worden Field Annapolis, MD 18–6 1,800 Lafayette, 18; Middies, 6 The Baltimore Sun November 27, 1896 6 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-lafayette-navy/166466244/ Newspaper.com References Lafayette Category:Lafayette Leopards football seasons Category:College football national champions Category:College football undefeated seasons Lafayette football