# 1382 - 1969 6c Intercollegiate Football
Issue Date: September 26, 1969
City: New Brunswick, NJ
Quantity: 139,055,000
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Lithographed, engraved
Perforations: 11
Color: Red and green
This issue commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first intercollegiate football game.
First Intercollegiate Football Game
The two schools were among the first colleges in America, both established in the mid-1700s, and they shared a bond going back decades. Located just 20 miles apart, Rutgers based its curriculum on that of Princeton’s, and the two schools were nearly merged in 1793.
Due to their close proximity and shared history, the two schools formed a spirited rivalry. According to some accounts, Princeton team captain William S. Gummere was the person who first suggested the two teams play. He offered to bring his team to Rutgers for the first game, and then the second would be played at Princeton, and a third at a later time. These proposed three games would mark the first season of college football.
Though Rutgers won the coin toss, Princeton got the ball and kicked it to the side, where Rutgers players surrounded it. Within five minutes, Rutgers scored the first goal. According to the rules, each goal was considered a game, and they would play a total of 10 games.
After the eighth goal the game was tied, but then Rutgers scored the ninth and tenth, winning the game 6 to 4. Immediately after their victory, the Rutgers men ran the Princeton players out of town.
Click here to see “The First Game,” a painting by Arnold Friberg depicting this game.
Issue Date: September 26, 1969
City: New Brunswick, NJ
Quantity: 139,055,000
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Lithographed, engraved
Perforations: 11
Color: Red and green
This issue commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first intercollegiate football game.
First Intercollegiate Football Game
The two schools were among the first colleges in America, both established in the mid-1700s, and they shared a bond going back decades. Located just 20 miles apart, Rutgers based its curriculum on that of Princeton’s, and the two schools were nearly merged in 1793.
Due to their close proximity and shared history, the two schools formed a spirited rivalry. According to some accounts, Princeton team captain William S. Gummere was the person who first suggested the two teams play. He offered to bring his team to Rutgers for the first game, and then the second would be played at Princeton, and a third at a later time. These proposed three games would mark the first season of college football.
Though Rutgers won the coin toss, Princeton got the ball and kicked it to the side, where Rutgers players surrounded it. Within five minutes, Rutgers scored the first goal. According to the rules, each goal was considered a game, and they would play a total of 10 games.
After the eighth goal the game was tied, but then Rutgers scored the ninth and tenth, winning the game 6 to 4. Immediately after their victory, the Rutgers men ran the Princeton players out of town.
Click here to see “The First Game,” a painting by Arnold Friberg depicting this game.