at Jackson Street baseball park •Seattle, Washington

• Date: November 28, 1889 (Thanksgiving)
• Game time: 2:30 p.m.PST
• Game attendance: 400
• Referee:R.M. Hurd (referee); E.B. Downing (umpire)
• Recaps:Seattle Post-Intelligencer;^[6]Tacoma Daily Ledger^[9]

1. ^ Written atSeattle."Frank S. Griffith — Huskies' First Coach Will See Rose Bowl Game".The Shreveport Journal.Shreveport, Louisiana. Associated Press. December 25, 1959. RetrievedDecember 1, 2024.Frank S. Griffith was a tough, brash kid of 18 back in 1887 when he organized the first football team in the history of the University of Washington. After graduation, he practiced law in Seattle for nearly 50 years. He retired last July and now lives in Newport Beach, Calif.
2. ^"Gridiron Heroes — Frank Griffith Lectures on Early Football".The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. April 14, 1903. RetrievedDecember 1, 2024.Such was the statement of Frank S. Griffith, in his address on the 'Beginning of Football on Puget Sound.' delivered at the state university yesterday morning.
3. ^"Football in Seattle — College Men Will Play the University Boys on Thanksgiving Day".The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Vol. XVII, no. 7. November 17, 1889. p. 8. RetrievedDecember 1, 2024.Following an established custom in the East, a number of college men now resident in Seattle have organized a game of football for next Thanksgiving day. Old players from the elevens of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Oberlin and the University of California have signified their intention of taking part on Thanksgiving day, and the University of Washington has accepted a challenge from them to play a match game on the Jackson Street ball grounds on that day.
4. ^"The Leather Egg — Famous Players in Seattle — Match to Be Played Here on Thanksgiving Day Between Old College Men and University Boys".The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Vol. XVII, no. 14. November 24, 1889. p. 7. RetrievedDecember 1, 2024.Of the eleven players who will do battle of the university only four have played football hitherto.
5. ^"The Football Game — Free Exhibition of a Manly Sport Today".The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Vol. XVII, no. 18. November 28, 1889. p. 8. RetrievedDecember 1, 2024.The first match game of football ever played in Seattle will be given at the baseball park on Jackson street today. The game will be between old college players, most of whom are experts and some of them trained athletes, and the hardy, well-practiced boys of the State University. A close and exciting game is expected.
6. ^^ab"The Football Game — A Lively Contest Over the Leather Egg Yesterday — Old Players vs. Universitys".The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Vol. XVI, no. 19. November 29, 1889. p. 5. RetrievedDecember 1, 2024.There was no rough play, no one was injured and altogether the first game in Seattle may be safely called a success.
7. ^"1889 Football Schedule". The University of Washington Athletics. RetrievedDecember 2, 2024.
8. ^"2024 Football Media Guide"(PDF). The University of Washington Athletics. p. 151. RetrievedDecember 2, 2024.
9. ^"Football at Seattle — A Hard Contest Between University Boys and a Mixed Club".The Tacoma Daily Ledger. Vol. VII, no. 325. November 29, 1889. p. 5.The game lasted about three hours, being called at 2:30, and not closing until nearly 6 o'clock.

• v
• t
• e