The First Intercollegiate Soccer Game in the United States

On November 6, 1869, the first intercollegiate soccer game in the United States took place between Rutgers University and Princeton University. This historic match is recognized as the inaugural game of what would eventually evolve into American college football, although it bore more resemblance to soccer at the time.

Context and Background

The game was played in New Brunswick, New Jersey, at a space between College Avenue and New Street, currently the site of the College Avenue Gymnasium on the Rutgers University campus. Both Rutgers and Princeton had informal teams and agreed to a set of rules that were a mix of soccer and rugby, but the gameplay more closely aligned with the rules of soccer.

The rules used during the game, known as the “Football Association” rules, were drawn from the London Football Association rules of the time, allowing players to kick the round ball and prohibiting them from carrying or throwing it, unlike modern American football.

Game Details

• Teams: Each team consisted of 25 players, reflecting the period’s standard for football matches.
• Objective: The objective was to score goals by kicking the ball into the opposing team’s goal area.
• Outcome: Rutgers emerged victorious, winning the match by a score of 6 to 4, as each goal counted as a point.

Significance and Legacy

This match laid the foundation for the development of intercollegiate sports in the United States. Over the years, the game’s rules evolved, leading to the establishment of American football, which became distinctly different from its soccer origins. However, the Rutgers-Princeton game is celebrated as a landmark event in American sports history.

Rutgers refers to itself as “The Birthplace of College Football” to honor this legacy. Each year, the anniversary is commemorated as a symbol of the beginning of college football in America.