| 1896 college football rankings | |
|---|---|
| Season | 1896 |
| Bowl season | 1896–97 bowl games |
| End of season champions | Princeton |
| college football rankings | |
The1896 college football season rankings included rankings by several newspapers in theEastern United States, seven of which are shown below.[1] 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.
In November 1896, New York City newspaperThe Sun published a ranking of the "twelve colleges supposed to have the strongest array of players".[2]
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton | 10–0–1 |
| 2 | Penn | 14–1 |
| 3 | Yale | 13–1 |
| 4 | Harvard | 7–4 |
| 5 | Lafayette | 11–0–1 |
| 6 | Brown | 4–5–1 |
| 7 | Carlisle | 5–5 |
| 8 | Cornell | 5–3–1 |
| 9 | Wesleyan | 4–5–1 |
| 10 | Lehigh | 2–5 |
| 11 | Williams | 6–4–1 |
| 12 | Amherst | 3–6–1 |
TheNew-York Tribune published a recap of the 1896 college football season on November 29, 1896, and ranked what it called the four big teams.[3]
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton | 10–0–1 |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | 14–1 |
| 3 | Harvard | 7–4 |
| 4 | Yale | 13–1 |
TheNew York World published a recap of the 1896 college football season on November 29, 1896, and ranked what it called the "Big Four" teams.[4]
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton | 10–0–1 |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | 14–1 |
| 3т | Harvard | 7–4 |
| Yale | 13–1 |
The Boston Post published a recap of the 1896 college football season on November 29, 1896, and ranked the top three teams.[5]
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton | 10–0–1 |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | 14–1 |
| 3 | Harvard | 7–4 |
TheThe 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 theTriangular Football League in 1896.The Globe also selected an All-America team.[6]
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton | 10–0–1 |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | 14–1 |
| 3 | Harvard | 7–4 |
| 4 | Yale | 13–1 |
TheThe 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 eligibilty 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 ransferred 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.[7]
On the same date, anotherInquirer 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 firstInquirer journalist, who is anonymous, the second author, Burr W. McIntosh, also selected an All-American team.[8]
|
|
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.
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.