Crimson Gridsters of 1884 Left to Play Ottawa Without Permission From College Authorities

Back in the "good old days" of strictly amateur football, when total gate receipts could be reckoned in hundreds of dollars rather than in hundreds of thousands, a Crimson eleven left the United States without permission from the Dean and thought nothing of it. Just fifty years ago, in 1884, the last game outside American boundaries was played in Ottawa.

The details of the trip are preserved in the diary of the team's manager, Amos T. French '85, who arranged for the game and on his own initiative spirited the players off to Canada one Thursday afternoon after playing Williams here in Cambridge.

Once the then arduous trip to Ottawa had been completed the team found itself welcomed and feted by officials and citizens alike. Expenses were paid, sleighs for transportation were provided, (it snowed in the good old days) and the eleven was lined up before a large audience. Just before the Governor General of Canada stepped onto the field to put the ball in play, the Ottawa manager noticed that the Harvard team only had eleven men. Ottawa always played fifteen and when they had obligingly cut down their number, the Harvard outfit was able to roll up 24 points to the Canadians six.

On the way back to Cambridge the team dropped in on Dartmouth and collected another victory with the one sided score of 29-0. When they finally returned to Cambridge, an urgent request from the Dean awaited the manager, but due to the victories that had been won, no action was taken.