1906–1917 Stanford rugby teams
Encyclopedia
The Stanford rugby teams of 1906 to 1917 represented Stanford University
as the school's only football
program during those years, replacing American football
with rugby union
. The school had played American football from 1892 to 1905, but in 1906, concerned with the growing levels of violence in football, Stanford and other universities changed to rugby. Stanford played twelve seasons of rugby, during which it played other college teams, club teams from the United States, Canada, and Australia, as well as the New Zealand and Australia
national teams. After it became clear that other schools were not adopting rugby in large numbers, and after rival California
returned to football in 1915, Stanford faced a limited number of potential opponents; and after a year of playing neither sport officially (due to World War I
), the school returned to American football in 1919.
, the ball carrier would be typically pushed and pulled up the field by his own players in massive formations that often resulted in injury, and by 1905, as many as 18 deaths were attributed to the game.
Reform was demanded by such voices as U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt
, who decried the brutality and foul play of the game, and called a meeting of school presidents to discuss the issue. As a result, before the next season
began, new rules were put in place to discourage such play. The forward pass was also introduced to open up the game and reduce the role of dangerous mass formations. Despite the planned changes, a number of universities banned the sport for the coming year, including Columbia
, NYU
, and Northwestern
.
Several universities on the West Coast
, led by California
and Stanford
, replaced the sport with rugby. At the time, the future of football was very much in doubt and these schools believed that rugby would eventually be adopted nationwide. Other schools that made the switch included Nevada
, St. Mary's
, Santa Clara
, and USC
(in 1911). However, due to the perception that West Coast football was inferior to the game played on the East Coast
anyway, East Coast and Midwest teams shrugged off the loss of the teams and continued playing football. With no nationwide movement, the available pool of rugby teams to play remained small. The schools scheduled games against local club teams and reached out to rugby powers in Australia
, New Zealand
, and especially, due to its proximity, to Canada
. The annual Big Game
between Stanford and California continued as rugby, with the winner invited by the British Columbia Rugby Union
to a tournament in Vancouver over the Christmas holidays, with the winner of that tournament receiving the Cooper Keith Trophy.
California's return to football increased the pressure on Stanford to also change back in order to maintain the rivalry. Stanford played its 1915, 1916, and 1917 "Big Games" as rugby against Santa Clara
while California's football "Big Game" in those years was against Washington
; but both schools desired to restore the old traditions. The onset of World War I
gave Stanford an out: in 1918, the Stanford campus was designated as the Students' Army Training Corps headquarters for all of California, Nevada, and Utah, and the commanding officer, Sam M. Parker, decreed that football was the appropriate athletic activity to train soldiers and rugby was dropped.
After the war, Stanford resumed its football program and relegated rugby to a minor sport. Several Stanford rugby players who played during those years—including Daniel Carroll, Dink Templeton, Morris Kirksey
, Erwin Righter
, John Patrick
, and Charles Doe
—went on to win a gold medal for the United States in rugby at the 1920 Summer Olympics
.
as its coach. Lanagan had coached the football team for three years, including an undefeated 1905 season
. With no experience playing or coaching rugby, Lanagan initially offered his resignation, but Stanford insisted he stay on, so he traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia to study the sport. Stanford won its first five games, including two wins over a visiting club team from Vancouver. As winners of the first Big Game
against California played as rugby, Stanford competed against Vancouver-area club teams for the Cooper Keith Trophy, losing two games and tying one.
rugby match, earning a second straight tournament in British Columbia.
and played a final game against the Australian national team, the Wallabies
.
. Stanford won its first eight games—seven by shutout—but then lost Big Game for the first time in seven years.
s.
as a member of the Australia national rugby union team
and who was now earning a degree in geology from Stanford. Stanford played its final rugby game against USC, who returned to American football the next year, and suffered two blowout losses to the famed New Zealand All Blacks, who were on a North American tour.
imminent, Stanford played just one game, the "Big Game" against Santa Clara, winning 15–11. This was also Stanford rugby's last game as a major sport. The following year, Stanford president Ray Lyman Wilbur
canceled all intercollegiate athletic events due to students' enlisting in the military for the war, and due to Stanford's designation as the regional headquarters of the Students' Army Training Corps. When Stanford reformed a team in 1919, the school returned to American football as its major gridiron sport.
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
as the school's only football
Football
Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
program during those years, replacing American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
with rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
. The school had played American football from 1892 to 1905, but in 1906, concerned with the growing levels of violence in football, Stanford and other universities changed to rugby. Stanford played twelve seasons of rugby, during which it played other college teams, club teams from the United States, Canada, and Australia, as well as the New Zealand and Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
national teams. After it became clear that other schools were not adopting rugby in large numbers, and after rival California
California Golden Bears
The California Golden Bears is the nickname used for 29 varsity athletic programs and various club teams of the University of California, Berkeley...
returned to football in 1915, Stanford faced a limited number of potential opponents; and after a year of playing neither sport officially (due to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
), the school returned to American football in 1919.
Switch to rugby
American football in the early 1900s had become increasingly violent; with no forward passForward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
, the ball carrier would be typically pushed and pulled up the field by his own players in massive formations that often resulted in injury, and by 1905, as many as 18 deaths were attributed to the game.
Reform was demanded by such voices as U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, who decried the brutality and foul play of the game, and called a meeting of school presidents to discuss the issue. As a result, before the next season
1906 college football season
The 1906 college football season was the first in which the forward pass was permitted. Although there was no national championship, there were two teams that had won all nine of their games as the 1906 season drew to a close, the Princeton Tigers and the Yale Bulldogs, and on November 17, 1906,...
began, new rules were put in place to discourage such play. The forward pass was also introduced to open up the game and reduce the role of dangerous mass formations. Despite the planned changes, a number of universities banned the sport for the coming year, including Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, NYU
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, and Northwestern
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
.
Several universities on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
, led by California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
and Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, replaced the sport with rugby. At the time, the future of football was very much in doubt and these schools believed that rugby would eventually be adopted nationwide. Other schools that made the switch included Nevada
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
, St. Mary's
Saint Mary's College of California
Saint Mary's College of California is a private, coeducational college located in Moraga, California, United States, a small suburban community about east of Oakland and 20 miles east of San Francisco. It has a 420-acre campus in the Moraga hills. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church...
, Santa Clara
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...
, and USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
(in 1911). However, due to the perception that West Coast football was inferior to the game played on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
anyway, East Coast and Midwest teams shrugged off the loss of the teams and continued playing football. With no nationwide movement, the available pool of rugby teams to play remained small. The schools scheduled games against local club teams and reached out to rugby powers in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and especially, due to its proximity, to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The annual Big Game
Big Game (football)
The Big Game is an American college football rivalry game played by the California Golden Bears football team of the University of California, Berkeley and the Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. It is typically played in late November or early December...
between Stanford and California continued as rugby, with the winner invited by the British Columbia Rugby Union
British Columbia Rugby Union
The British Columbia Rugby Union is the provincial administrative body for rugby union in British Columbia. The BCRU consists of nine sub-unions and 65 clubs. It was originally organized in New Westminster in 1889 where Alfred St...
to a tournament in Vancouver over the Christmas holidays, with the winner of that tournament receiving the Cooper Keith Trophy.
Return to football
After a few years of playing rugby, the schools began to feel the isolation of their newly adopted sport, which was not spreading as many had hoped. Students and alumni began to clamor for a return to football to allow wider intercollegiate competition. The pressure at California was stronger (especially as the school had not been as successful in the Big Game as they had hoped), and in 1915, California returned to football. As reasons for the change, the school cited football rule changes, the overwhelming desire of students and supporters to play football, interest in playing other East Coast and Midwest schools, and a patriotic desire to play an "American" game.California's return to football increased the pressure on Stanford to also change back in order to maintain the rivalry. Stanford played its 1915, 1916, and 1917 "Big Games" as rugby against Santa Clara
Santa Clara Broncos
The Broncos are various sports teams of Santa Clara University. The athletic program currently has 19 varsity sports, 9 men's sports and 10 women's. Additionally there are 18 club sports teams that compete intercollegiately. The school colors are red and white...
while California's football "Big Game" in those years was against Washington
Washington Huskies football
College football has a long history at the University of Washington. The Washington Huskies have won 15 Pacific-10 Conference championships, seven Rose Bowl titles, and three national championships. Washington's all-time record of 653-398-50 ranks 20th by all-time winning percentage and 21st by...
; but both schools desired to restore the old traditions. The onset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
gave Stanford an out: in 1918, the Stanford campus was designated as the Students' Army Training Corps headquarters for all of California, Nevada, and Utah, and the commanding officer, Sam M. Parker, decreed that football was the appropriate athletic activity to train soldiers and rugby was dropped.
After the war, Stanford resumed its football program and relegated rugby to a minor sport. Several Stanford rugby players who played during those years—including Daniel Carroll, Dink Templeton, Morris Kirksey
Morris Kirksey
Morris Marshall Kirksey was an American track and field athlete and rugby union footballer who won two gold medals at the 1920 Summer Olympics...
, Erwin Righter
Erwin Righter
Cornelius Erwin "Swede" Righter was a college football and basketball player and coach, and an American rugby union player who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics....
, John Patrick
John Patrick
John Patrick was an American playwright and screenwriter.- Biography :Born John Patrick Goggin in Louisville, Kentucky, his parents soon abandoned him and he spent a delinquent youth in foster homes and boarding schools. At age 19, he secured a job as an announcer at KPO Radio in San Francisco,...
, and Charles Doe
Charles Doe
Charles Webster Doe, Jr. was an American rugby union player who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics and 1924 Summer Olympics.He was born in California and died in Contra Costa County, California....
—went on to win a gold medal for the United States in rugby at the 1920 Summer Olympics
Rugby union at the 1920 Summer Olympics
Rugby union was played at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. Two nations entered the rugby event - France and the United States. The French team were very much thought to be assured of the gold medal and came in as raging favourites in the event. However, the United States team caused a massive...
.
1906 season
In its first season of rugby, Stanford retained James F. LanaganJames F. Lanagan
James Francis "Jimmy" Lanagan was an American football, rugby, and baseball coach at Stanford University.Lanagan played college baseball at Stanford from 1897 to 1900...
as its coach. Lanagan had coached the football team for three years, including an undefeated 1905 season
1905 Stanford football team
The 1905 Stanford football team represented Stanford University in the 1905 college football season. In Head Coach James F. Lanagan's third season, Stanford went undefeated. The team played their home games at Stanford Field in Stanford, California....
. With no experience playing or coaching rugby, Lanagan initially offered his resignation, but Stanford insisted he stay on, so he traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia to study the sport. Stanford won its first five games, including two wins over a visiting club team from Vancouver. As winners of the first Big Game
Big Game (football)
The Big Game is an American college football rivalry game played by the California Golden Bears football team of the University of California, Berkeley and the Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. It is typically played in late November or early December...
against California played as rugby, Stanford competed against Vancouver-area club teams for the Cooper Keith Trophy, losing two games and tying one.
Schedule
1907 season
In Stanford's second season of rugby, Jimmy Lanagan returned as coach and the team finished 8–4. Stanford continued its series with Nevada, Vancouver, and Victoria and added games against Bay Area club team the Barbarians and a Los Angeles club called the Castaways. Stanford won its second Big Game (football)Big Game (football)
The Big Game is an American college football rivalry game played by the California Golden Bears football team of the University of California, Berkeley and the Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. It is typically played in late November or early December...
rugby match, earning a second straight tournament in British Columbia.
Schedule
1908 season
Lanagan returned for his final year as Stanford's coach and the team finished 12–2, winning not only its third consecutive Big Game, but also going on to win the Cooper Keith Trophy in the end-of-season Vancouver tournament. Stanford added two games against San Francisco's Olympic ClubOlympic Club
The Olympic Club is a San Francisco, California, athletic club and private social club with three golf courses located at San Francisco's border with Daly City, California. The club's main "City Clubhouse" is located in downtown San Francisco. The club's "Lakeside Clubhouse" is located just north...
and played a final game against the Australian national team, the Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
.
Schedule
1909 season
Following Lanagan's departure, George Presley was named Stanford's new rugby coach. Presley played one year of rugby under Lanagan in 1906 and had been an assistant coach in 1907 and 1908. Presley also coached Stanford's baseball teamStanford Cardinal baseball
The Stanford Cardinal baseball team represents Stanford University in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Stanford athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Pacific-10 Conference. The Cardinal play their home games on campus at the Sunken Diamond, and they are...
. Stanford won its first eight games—seven by shutout—but then lost Big Game for the first time in seven years.
Schedule
1910 season
In Presley's second year as coach, Stanford was led by Ben Erb and Jim Arrell. The season was almost identical to the previous year: the team won its first seven games by shutout, and then lost Big Game to undefeated California. Stanford led in that game 6–0, but did not score again as California won 25–6. This Big Game is recognized as the first intercollegiate game to feature card stuntCard stunt
Card stunts are a planned, coordinated sequence of actions performed by an audience, whose members raise cards that, in the aggregate, create a recognizable image. The images they create can range widely and, through careful planning, the same cards can create a number of different images by...
s.
Schedule
1911 season
In the 1911 season, Stanford went 10–3 and added USC to the schedule, as the school dropped football in favor of rugby.Schedule
1912 season
In Presley's last year as coach, Stanford finished with a 5–3–1 record, its worst record of the rugby era. Stanford avoided a fourth straight loss in the Big Game by tying California. Despite an outstanding 30–8–1 overall record as coach, coach Presley was 0–3–1 against the Bears.Schedule
1913 season
Floyd C. Brown succeeded George Presley as coach. Like Presley, Brown had played for and served as an assistant under the previous coach. Stanford finished with a 8–3 record, including its first Big Game win in five years, led by Danny Carroll, who had won a gold medal in the 1908 Summer Olympics1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
as a member of the Australia national rugby union team
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
and who was now earning a degree in geology from Stanford. Stanford played its final rugby game against USC, who returned to American football the next year, and suffered two blowout losses to the famed New Zealand All Blacks, who were on a North American tour.
Schedule
1914 season
Brown's second year as coach was the best in Stanford rugby history: the team was undefeated entering the Big Game at California, who was also undefeated. A record crowd of 26,000 turned out to see Stanford defeat the Bears, 26–8. This would be the last Big Game for several years as California returned to football for the 1915 season. Despite Stanford's success in rugby, the previous year's humiliating defeats to the All Blacks and the switch by rivals USC and California to football intensified the sentiment for Stanford to switch back as well.Schedule
1915 season
By 1915, there was only one other U.S. college playing intercollegiate rugby: Santa Clara. The rest of Stanford's schedule was made up of local club and all star teams. The team played to a scoreless tie with the Olympic Club team to start the season, but recovered to win the rest of the games on the schedule.Schedule
1916 season
In their last full season of rugby, Stanford won all its games except the "Big Game" against Santa Clara, played for the second year at Ewing Field in San Francisco. This was Stanford's first loss since 1913.Schedule
1917 season
Like the two coaches before him, Stanford's new head coach James Wylie was a former Stanford player. He had also been a member of the New Zealand All Blacks team that had crushed Stanford's team in 1913. But with World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
imminent, Stanford played just one game, the "Big Game" against Santa Clara, winning 15–11. This was also Stanford rugby's last game as a major sport. The following year, Stanford president Ray Lyman Wilbur
Ray Lyman Wilbur
Ray Lyman Wilbur was an American medical doctor who served as the third president of Stanford University and the 31st United States Secretary of the Interior.-Early life:...
canceled all intercollegiate athletic events due to students' enlisting in the military for the war, and due to Stanford's designation as the regional headquarters of the Students' Army Training Corps. When Stanford reformed a team in 1919, the school returned to American football as its major gridiron sport.