1896 college football rankings

none December 2024 December 2025 1896 Princeton The 1896 college football season rankings included rankings by several newspapers in the Eastern United States, seven of which are shown below.Jenkins Dan Dan Jenkins Laguerre André André Laguerre This Year The Fight Will Be In The Open Sports Illustrated September 11, 1967 28–34 27 11 Chicago https://vault.si.com/vault/1967/09/11/this-year-the-fight-will-be-in-the-open https://web.archive.org/web/20200924083031/https://vault.si.com/vault/1967/09/11/this-year-the-fight-will-be-in-the-open dead September 24, 2020 February 8, 2016 Polls and systems to determine the No. 1 team are not nearly so ancient as the mere naming of the "intercollegiate champion" by a Casper Whitney or a J. Parmly Paret. It is unknown how many newspapers published rankings. Most newspapers only considered the four biggest programs, called by some the Big Four, at the time: Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale. The Sun In November 1896, New York City newspaper The Sun published a ranking of the "twelve colleges supposed to have the strongest array of players".November 29, 1896 The Season's Football Records: Princeton Only Scored Against Twice — Pennsylvania Figures a Good Second https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-1896-football-season-rankings-ne/161488504 The Sun To compare the records of the twelve colleges supposed to have the strongest array of players, the Princeton eleven, without any doubt, can lay claim to the championship. Rank Team Record 1 Princeton10–0–1 2 Penn14–1 3 Yale13–1 4 Harvard7–4 5 Lafayette11–0–1 6 Brown4–5–1 7 Carlisle5–5 8 Cornell5–3–1 9 Wesleyan4–5–1 10 Lehigh2–5 11 Williams6–4–1 12 Amherst3–6–1 New-York Tribune The New-York Tribune published a recap of the 1896 college football season on November 29, 1896, and ranked what it called the four big teams.https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/468687581 Football Season Ended New-York Tribune November 29, 1896 10 November 22, 2025 Rank Team Record 1 Princeton10–0–1 2 Pennsylvania14–1 3 Harvard7–4 4 Yale13–1 New York World The New York World published a recap of the 1896 college football season on November 29, 1896, and ranked what it called the "Big Four" teams.https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/new-york/new-york/new-york-world/1896/11-29/page-32 Football Championship The World New York, New York November 29, 1896 31 Beecher Harry November 22, 2025 Rank Team Record 1 Princeton10–0–1 2 Pennsylvania14–13т Harvard7–4 Yale13–1 The Boston Post The Boston Post published a recap of the 1896 college football season on November 29, 1896, and ranked the top three teams.https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/massachusetts/boston/boston-sunday-post/1896/11-29/page-19 Notable Football Season The Sunday Post Boston, Massachusetts November 29, 1896 19 November 22, 2025 Rank Team Record 1 Princeton10–0–1 2 Pennsylvania14–1 3 Harvard7–4 The Boston Globe The Boston Globe published a comprehensive recap of the 1896 college football season on November 29, 1896, and ranked the top four teams, while mentioning that Dartmouth had "won the championship of her league without being scored on." Dartmouth shut out both of its opponents in the Triangular Football League in 1896. The Globe also selected an All-America team.https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/massachusetts/boston/boston-sunday-globe/1896/11-29 Not a Single Yale Man The Boston Sunday Globe November 29, 1896 32 Crosby S. V. R. November 22, 2025 Rank Team Record 1 Princeton10–0–1 2 Pennsylvania14–1 3 Harvard7–4 4 Yale13–1 The Philadelphia Inquirer The Philadelphia Inquirer published a comprehensive recap of the 1896 college football season on November 29, 1896, and ranked the top four teams. The author was critical of Princeton for not adopting player eligibility rules to which Harvard, Pennsylvania and Yale had agreed. Specifically, Harvard, Pennsylvania and Yale did not use freshman players, required all student-athletes to maintain good academic standing, and did not allow student-athletes, including those who transferred from other institutions, to compete for more than four years and required student-athletes to pay their own board. The author stated that Princeton's rejection of these rules "detracts from the glory of Princeton's unbeaten career of 1986." The author did admit to having "friendly feelings" for Pennsylvania. The Inquirer also selected an All-America team.https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/philadelphia/philadelphia-inquirer/1896/11-29/page-22 The Inquirer's All-American Team The Philadelphia Inquirer November 29, 1896 22 November 22, 2025 On the same date, another Inquirer journalist ranked the top eight teams in a separate recap of the season. The author mentioned the criticism directed at Princeton and stated:As a matter of fact, the teams that dwell in castles of immaculate purity, who never raise their little fingers to motion to good players to enter their portals, could be counted on very few fingers of one little hand, and the college that stands on the front doorstep of its glass mansion and hurls epithets and recriminations at her neighbors deserves to have every pane of her house broken. Like the first Inquirer journalist, who is anonymous, the second author, Burr W. McIntosh, also selected an All-American team.https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/philadelphia/philadelphia-inquirer/1896/11-29/page-8 The Inquirer's All-American Team The Philadelphia Inquirer November 29, 1896 8 McIntosh Burr W. November 22, 2025 +Anonymous Rank Team Record1т Princeton10–0–1 Pennsylvania14–1 3 Harvard7–4 4 Yale13–1 +Burr W. McIntosh Rank Team Record 1 Princeton10–0–12т Pennsylvania14–1 Harvard7–4 4 Lafayette11–0–1 5 Yale13–16т Cornell5–3–1 Brown4–5–1 8 Carlisle5–5 See also 1896 College Football All-America Team References * Category:College football rankings