1906–1917 Stanford rugby teams

American college football seasons January 2025 thumb|The Big Game between Stanford and California was played under the rugby union rules from 1906 to 1914. Pictured here, one of the last games between both schools before they switched to American football again The Stanford rugby teams of 1906 to 1917 represented Stanford University as the school's only football program during those years, replacing American football with rugby union. The school had played American football from 1892 to 1905, but in 1906, concerned with the growing levels of violence in football, Stanford and other universities changed to rugby. Stanford played twelve seasons of rugby, during which it played other college teams, club teams from the United States, Canada, and Australia, as well as the New Zealand national team and Australia national team. Despite the team's success, it became clear that other schools were not adopting rugby in large numbers, and after rival California returned to football in 1915, Stanford faced a limited number of potential opponents; and after a year of playing neither sport officially due to World War I, the school returned to American football in 1919. 3 Switch to rugby American football in the early 1900s had become increasingly violent; with no forward pass, the ball carrier would be typically pushed and pulled up the field by his own players in massive formations that often resulted in serious injuries.http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH2000/JSH2702/JSH2702f.pdf The Gridiron Crisis of 1905: Was it Really a Crisis? Watterson John S. Journal of Sport History 27 2 Summer 2000 291–298 January 20, 2013 October 26, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20130120053733/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH2000/JSH2702/JSH2702f.pdf deadhttp://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1981/JSH0803/jsh0803b.pdf Harvard and Columbia and a Reconsideration of the 1905–06 Football Crisis Smith Ronald A Journal of Sport History 8 3 5–19 Winter 1981 August 7, 2009 October 26, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20090807004757/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1981/JSH0803/jsh0803b.pdf deadhttp://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1984/JSH1103/jsh1103b.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20100807203402/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1984/JSH1103/jsh1103b.pdf dead 2010-08-07 From Football to Rugby—and Back, 1906–1919: The University of California–Stanford University Response to the "Football Crisis of 1905" Park Roberta J Journal of Sport History 11 3 5–40 Winter 1984 In 1905, 18 deaths, three at the college level, were attributed to football; 159 serious injuries were also reported, 88 at the college level. Reform was demanded by such voices as U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, who decried the brutality and foul play of the game, and called a meeting of school presidents to discuss the issue. As a result, before the next season began, new rules were put in place to discourage such play. The forward pass was also introduced to open up the game and reduce the role of dangerous mass formations. Despite the planned changes, a number of universities banned the sport for the coming year, including Columbia, NYU, and Northwestern. thumb|The Stanford University team that played the All Blacks in 1913 Several universities on the West Coast, led by California and Stanford, replaced the sport with rugby. At the time, the future of football was very much in doubt and these schools believed that rugby would eventually be adopted nationwide. Other schools that made the switch included Nevada, St. Mary's, Santa Clara, and USC (in 1911). However, due to the perception that West Coast football was inferior to the game played on the East Coast anyway, East Coast and Midwest teams shrugged off the loss of the teams and continued playing football. With no nationwide movement, the available pool of rugby teams to play remained small. The schools scheduled games against local club teams and reached out to rugby powers in Australia, New Zealand, and especially, due to its proximity, Canada. The annual Big Game between Stanford and California continued as rugby, with the winner invited by the British Columbia Rugby Union to a tournament in Vancouver over the Christmas holidays, with the winner of that tournament receiving the Cooper Keith Trophy.https://books.google.com/books?id=JAMTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA742 Why California Likes Rugby Goldsmith A. A 742–750 Outing October 1913 – March 1914 63http://www.bcrugby.com/bcrugby/index.php?submenu=HISTORY&src=gendocs&ref=History&category=About_Us History British Columbia Rugby Union October 20, 2011 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120415083752/http://www.bcrugby.com/bcrugby/index.php?submenu=HISTORY&src=gendocs&ref=History&category=About_Us April 15, 2012 Return to football In 12 seasons of rugby, Stanford was remarkably successful: the team had three undefeated seasons, three one-loss seasons, and an overall record of 94 wins, 20 losses, and 3 ties for a winning percentage of .816. However, after a few years, the school began to feel the isolation of its newly adopted sport, which was not spreading as many had hoped. Students and alumni began to clamor for a return to football to allow wider intercollegiate competition. The pressure at rival California was stronger (especially as the school had not been as successful in the Big Game as they had hoped), and in 1915 California returned to football. As reasons for the change, the school cited football rule changes, the overwhelming desire of students and supporters to play football, interest in playing other East Coast and Midwest schools, and a patriotic desire to play an "American" game. California's return to football increased the pressure on Stanford to also change back in order to maintain the rivalry. Stanford played its 1915, 1916, and 1917 "Big Games" as rugby against Santa Clara and California's football "Big Game" in those years was against Washington, but both schools desired to restore the old traditions. The onset of World War I gave Stanford an out: in 1918, the Stanford campus was designated as the Students' Army Training Corps headquarters for all of California, Nevada, and Utah, and the commanding officer, Sam M. Parker, decreed that football was the appropriate athletic activity to train soldiers and rugby was dropped. After the war, Stanford resumed its football program and relegated rugby to a minor sport. Several Stanford rugby players who played during those years—including Daniel Carroll, Dink Templeton, Morris Kirksey, Erwin Righter, John Patrick, and Charles Doe—went on to win a gold medal for the United States in rugby at the 1920 Summer Olympics.http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/olympics.htm Rugby at the Olympics Rugby Football History October 21, 2011 Season results 1906 season 1906 Stanford rugby football 100 Independent 6–2–1 James F. Lanagan 1st Stanford Field In its first season of rugby, Stanford retained head football coach James F. Lanagan as its first rugby coach. Lanagan had coached the football team for three years, including an undefeated 1905 season.Migdol Gary Stanford: Home of Champions 34–60 https://books.google.com/books?id=BOl08FmEDIMC&pg=PA34 Sports Publishing LLC 1997 Champaign, Illinois 1-57167-116-1 With no experience playing or coaching rugby, Lanagan initially offered his resignation, but Stanford insisted he stay on, so he traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia to study the sport.Stanford University - The First Twenty Five Years 1891–1925 Elliott Orrin Leslie 231–233 https://books.google.com/books?id=gpo2CdSpXLQC&pg=PA231 Stanford University Press 1937 Stanford, California 9781406771411 Stanford won its first five games, including two wins over a visiting club team from Vancouver. As winners of the first Big Game against California played as rugby, Stanford competed against Vancouver-area club teams for the Cooper Keith Trophy, losing two games and tying one.http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/stan/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/09FB-history.pdf Stanford Football Media Guide 142 October 20, 2011 December 14, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101214120923/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/stan/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/09FB-history.pdf dead Schedule no no October 20 w 1906 Nevada Wolf Pack Nevada Stanford Field Stanford, California 11–0 October 27 w y 1906 Pomona College Pomona Los Angeles, California 26–0 October 31 w Vancouver Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 5–3 November 3 w Vancouver Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 16–6 November 10 w y 1906 California Golden Bears California 16th Big Game California Field Berkeley, California 6–3 December 25 l y Vancouver Club Vancouver, British Columbia 9–11 December 29 l y Vancouver Club Vancouver, British Columbia 0–3 January 1, 1907 t y Vancouver Club Vancouver, British Columbia 3–3 January 5, 1907 w y Victoria Club Seattle, Washington 11–0 1907 season 1907 Stanford rugby football 100 Independent 8–4 James F. Lanagan 2nd Stanford Field In Stanford's second season of rugby, Jimmy Lanagan returned as coach and the team finished 8–4. Stanford continued its series with Nevada, Vancouver, and Victoria and added games against Bay Area club team the Barbarians and a Los Angeles club called the Castaways. Stanford won its second Big Game rugby match, earning a second straight tournament in British Columbia. Schedule no no September 28 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 10–6 October 5 w Castaways Club (Los Angeles) Stanford Field Stanford, California 15–11 October 18 w y Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Los Angeles, California 16–13 October 23 w y 1907 Nevada Wolf Pack Nevada Los Angeles, California 31–0 October 28 l y Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Los Angeles, California 6–13 October 30 w y Vancouver Club Los Angeles, California 23–12 November 2 w y Vancouver Club Los Angeles, California 5–3 November 9 w 1907 California Golden Bears California 17th Big Game Stanford Field Stanford, California 21–11 December 25 l y Vancouver Club Vancouver, British Columbia 0–3 December 28 w y Vancouver Club Vancouver, British Columbia 3–0 January 1, 1908 l y Vancouver Club Vancouver, British Columbia 5–9 January 4, 1908 l y Victoria Club Victoria, British Columbia 3–12 1908 season 1908 Stanford rugby football 100 Independent 12–2 James F. Lanagan 3rd Stanford Field Lanagan returned for his final year as Stanford's coach and the team finished 12–2, winning not only its third consecutive Big Game, but also going on to win the Cooper Keith Trophy in the end-of-season Vancouver tournament. Stanford added two games against San Francisco's Olympic Club and played a final game against the Australian national team, the Wallabies. Schedule no no September 19 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 22–0 September 26 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 28–0 October 3 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 24–0 October 10 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 12–3 October 17 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 28–3 October 24 w y 1908 Nevada Wolf Pack Nevada Reno, Nevada 14–0 October 31 w y 1908 Nevada Wolf Pack Nevada Reno, Nevada 26–0 November 4 l Vancouver Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 3–11 November 7 w Vancouver Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 11–3 November 14 w y 1908 California Golden Bears California 18th Big Game California Field Berkeley, California 12–3 December 25 w y Vancouver Club Brockton Oval Vancouver, British Columbia 11–0 December 29 w y Vancouver Club Brockton Oval Vancouver, British Columbia 10–3 January 1, 1909 w y Vancouver Club Brockton Oval Vancouver, British Columbia 16–10 February 5, 1909 l Australia Wallabies Stanford Field Stanford, California 3–13 1909 season 1909 Stanford rugby football 100 Independent 8–1 George J. Presley 1st Stanford Field Following Lanagan's departure, George Presley was named Stanford's new rugby coach. Presley played one year of rugby under Lanagan in 1906 and had been an assistant coach in 1907 and 1908. Presley also coached Stanford's baseball team. Stanford won its first eight games—seven by shutout—but then lost Big Game for the first time in seven years. Schedule no no September 18 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 16–0 September 25 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 3–0 October 2 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 11–0 October 9 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 15–0 October 23 w y Castaways Club (Los Angeles) Los Angeles, California 41–0 October 30 w Reliance Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 59–0 November 3 w Vancouver Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 56–0 November 6 w Vancouver Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 19–3 November 13 l 1909 California Golden Bears California 19th Big Game Stanford Field Stanford, California 13–19 1910 season 1910 Stanford rugby football 100 Independent 7–1 George J. Presley 2nd Stanford Field In Presley's second year as coach, Stanford was led by Ben Erb and Jim Arrell. The season was almost identical to the previous year: the team won its first seven games by shutout, and then lost Big Game to undefeated California. Stanford led in that game 6–0, but did not score again as California won 25–6. This Big Game is recognized as the first intercollegiate game to feature card stunts. Schedule no no September 17 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 4–0 September 24 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 21–0 October 1 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 19–0 October 8 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 34–0 October 22 w 1910 Nevada Wolf Pack Nevada Stanford Field Stanford, California 8–0 October 29 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 60–0 November 5 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 27–0 November 12 l y 1910 California Golden Bears California 20th Big Game California Field Berkeley, California 6–25 1911 season 1911 Stanford rugby football 100 Independent 10–3 George J. Presley 3rd Stanford Field In the 1911 season, Stanford went 10–3 and added USC to the schedule, as the school dropped football in favor of rugby. Schedule no no September 16 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 23–3 September 23 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 19–0 September 30 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 31–3 October 7 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 16–0 October 14 w 1911 Nevada Wolf Pack Nevada Stanford Field Stanford, California 41–0 October 21 w 1911 USC Trojans USC Stanford Field Stanford, California 6–3 October 28 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 39–3 November 1 w British Columbia Stanford Field Stanford, California 27–3 November 4 l British Columbia Stanford Field Stanford, California 5–6 November 11 l 1911 California Golden Bears California 21st Big Game Stanford Field Stanford, California 3–21 l y Vancouver Club Vancouver, British Columbia 6–13 w y Vancouver Club Vancouver, British Columbia 10–5 w y Vancouver Club Vancouver, British Columbia 9–0 1912 season 1912 Stanford rugby football 100 Independent 5–3–1 George J. Presley 4th Stanford Field In Presley's last year as coach, Stanford finished with a 5–3–1 record, its worst record of the rugby era. Stanford avoided a fourth straight loss in the Big Game by tying California. Despite an outstanding 30–8–1 overall record as coach, coach Presley was 0–3–1 against the Bears. Schedule no no September 28 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 12–0 October 5 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 17–0 October 12 l Australian Waratahs Stanford Field Stanford, California 0–6 October 16 w Australian Waratahs Stanford Field Stanford, California 13–12 October 19 w y 1912 USC Trojans USC Los Angeles, California 14–0 October 23 l 1912 Santa Clara Broncos Santa Clara Stanford Field Stanford, California 10–15 October 26 l Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 0–6 November 2 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 19–0 November 11 t y 1912 California Golden Bears California 22nd Big Game California Field Berkeley, California 3–3 1913 season 1913 Stanford rugby football 100 Independent 8–3 Floyd C. Brown 1st Stanford Field Floyd C. Brown succeeded George Presley as coach. Like Presley, Brown had played for and served as an assistant under the previous coach. Stanford finished with an 8–3 record, including its first Big Game win in five years, led by Danny Carroll, who had won a gold medal in the 1908 Summer Olympics as a member of the Australia national rugby union team and who was now earning a degree in geology from Stanford. Stanford played its final rugby game against USC, who returned to American football the next year, and suffered two blowout losses to the famed New Zealand All Blacks, who were on a North American tour. Schedule thumb|Stanford playing the 2nd game v the All Blacks on October 18 no no September 13 l Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 3–5 September 20 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 88–3 September 27 w U.C. Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 13–3 October 4 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 18–0 October 11 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 29–3 October 15 l New Zealand All Blacks Stanford Field Stanford, California 0–54 October 18 l New Zealand All Blacks Stanford Field Stanford, California 0–56 October 25 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 21–5 November 1 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 19–12 November 8 w 1913 California Golden Bears California 23rd Big Game Stanford Field Stanford, California 13–8 November 22 w y 1913 USC Trojans USC Los Angeles, California 10–0 1914 season 1914 Stanford rugby football 100 Independent 10–0 Floyd C. Brown 2nd Stanford Field Brown's second year as coach was the best in Stanford rugby history: the team was undefeated entering the Big Game at California, who was also undefeated. A record crowd of 26,000 turned out to see Stanford defeat the Bears, 26–8. This would be the last Big Game for several years as California returned to football for the 1915 season. Despite Stanford's success in rugby, the previous year's humiliating defeats to the All Blacks and the switch by rivals USC and California to football intensified the sentiment for Stanford to switch back as well. Schedule no no September 12 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 17–0 September 19 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 31–3 September 26 w University Alumni Stanford Field Stanford, California 61–8 October 3 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 19–4 October 10 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 19–5 October 17 w Titans Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 35–6 October 24 w 1914 Santa Clara Broncos Santa Clara Stanford Field Stanford, California 13–0 October 31 w University Alumni Stanford Field Stanford, California 31–3 November 7 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 36–6 November 14 w y 1914 California Golden Bears California 24th Big Game California Field Berkeley, California 26–8 1915 season 1915 Stanford rugby football 100 Independent 10–0–1 Floyd C. Brown 3rd Stanford Field By 1915, there was only one other U.S. college playing intercollegiate rugby: Santa Clara. The rest of Stanford's schedule was made up of local club and all star teams. The team played to a scoreless tie with the Olympic Club team to start the season, but recovered to win the rest of the games on the schedule. Schedule no no September 11 t Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 0–0 September 18 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 31–6 September 25 w Titan Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 18–0 October 2 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 48–13 October 9 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 80–0 October 16 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 49–8 October 20 w Palo Alto Athletic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 28–3 October 23 w Palo Alto Athletic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 36–18 October 30 w Southern California All-Stars Stanford Field Stanford, California 21–5 November 6 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 29–11 November 13 w y 1915 Santa Clara Broncos Santa Clara Ewing Field San Francisco, California 30–0 1916 season 1916 Stanford rugby football 100 Independent 9–1 Floyd C. Brown 4th Stanford Field In their last full season of rugby, Stanford won all its games except the "Big Game" against Santa Clara, played for the second year at Ewing Field in San Francisco. This was Stanford's first loss since 1913. Schedule no no September 9 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 9–8 September 16 w Barbarians Club (San Francisco) Stanford Field Stanford, California 43–0 September 23 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 38–16 September 30 w Palo Alto Athletic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 13–8 October 7 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 39–16 October 14 w Palo Alto Athletic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 19–8 October 21 w Presley's All-Stars Stanford Field Stanford, California 35–6 October 28 w Palo Alto Athletic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 26–9 November 4 w Olympic Club Stanford Field Stanford, California 29–0 November 11 l y 1916 Santa Clara Broncos Santa Clara Ewing Field San Francisco, California 5–28 1917 season 1917 1919 Stanford rugby football 100 Independent 1–0 Jim Wylie 1st Stanford Field Like the two coaches before him, Stanford's new head coach Jim Wylie was a former Stanford player. He had also been a member of the New Zealand All Blacks team that had crushed Stanford's team in 1913. But with World War I imminent, Stanford played just one game, the "Big Game" against Santa Clara, winning 15–11. This was also Stanford rugby's last game as a major sport. The following year, Stanford president Ray Lyman Wilbur canceled all intercollegiate athletic events due to students' enlisting in the military for the war, and due to Stanford's designation as the regional headquarters of the Students' Army Training Corps.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=K4I_AAAAIBAJ&pg=6382,311579 Army, Navy, Marine football now looming Bakersfield Californian September 7, 1918 October 26, 2011 When Stanford reformed a team in 1919, the school returned to American football as its major gridiron sport. Schedule no no November 24 w 1917 Santa Clara Broncos Santa Clara Stanford Field Stanford, California 15–11 References 30em Rugby Stanford