Rutgers, Princeton To Re-Enact First Football Game Ever Played

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — One-hundred fifty years later, things are much different. For one night, though, it’s going to be the 1800s all over again.

The Rutgers University football team will host a re-enactment of its 1869 game against Princeton on Friday night, Aug. 30, 6:15 p.m., the university announced on Friday. It is in honor of 2019 being the 150th anniversary of the sport of college football. Fans are encouraged to attend the game, which will feature Rutgers Theatre students dressed in late 1800s era costumes.

Rutgers hosted Princeton in the very first game, back on Nov. 6, 1869. It was a game won by the Scarlet Knights, 6-4, at the university’s campus. Rutgers refers to itself as the “Birthplace of College Football” in honor of that game, even though the rules more resembled a game of rugby than it did football.

The teams played again a week later at Princeton, a game the Tigers won, 8-0. Princeton leads the all-time series, 53-17-1. They last played in 1980, a 44-13 win for Rutgers. The teams stopped playing after that when Princeton dropped down to what is now known as the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), one level below the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), where Rutgers plays.

A change.org petitioncalled for the teams to play this season, in honor of the landmark anniversary. The teams couldn’t make a regular football game happen because of scheduling issues and other factors, according to nj.com.

So the schools will stage a re-enactment, which will take place at Rutgers one hour before the team opens its regular season at home against UMass. Princeton will open its season at home against Butler on Sept. 21, 5 p.m.

Princeton will also play Dartmouth at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 9, in a game specifically designed to celebrate college football’s 150th anniversary. Rutgers has no game scheduled for that weekend. The games are part of a larger celebration of the sport, which will take place throughout the 2019 season.

"More than 5.33 million people have played college football since the first game between Princeton and Rutgers on November 6, 1869," National Football Foundation Chairman Archie Manning said. "Included in that number are many of our nation's greatest leaders who often cite their gridiron experiences as the key to their success. Additionally, the sport is annually enjoyed by tens of millions of fans, and it has grown significantly over the years with new teams constantly added and more than 80,000 student-athletes slated to play for college programs this fall.

"So, I think it's safe to say that college football has become an integral part of our national landscape, worthy of a major celebration during the upcoming season. Many of the key leaders of our sport have worked hard to put such a plan in motion, and we want to thank everybody involved in preparing for the game's 150th anniversary."

It includes the establishment of a special ceremonial committee, the NFF 150th Anniversary Team of Excellence, made up of NFF Board Members who played football and have gone on to great success in life, to oversee the organization's plans.

The Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, which is run by CEO Dennis Adamovich, has several initiatives. The CFB150 Specialty Exhibit, delivered by UPS, represents the most extensive project at the Hall.

Open now and throughout the anniversary season, the special exhibit features dirt from the field where the first game in 1869 took place; the revised NCAA rule book after the 45 fatalities that took place between 1900-05; the first penalty flag ever used from 1941; and countless other rare artifacts covering all 150 years of college football. Click here to view a few of the many artifacts on display. Numerous other initiatives, which are listed below, are taking place at the Hall during the season as part of the CFB150.

There will also be a celebration week, which will include a special event at Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Nov. 6 and a tribute game between Miami (Ohio) and Ohio in Athens, Ohio, in addition to the Princeton-Dartmouth game. For more on the anniversary, visit cfb150.org.