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1896 Boston College football team

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1896 Boston College football
ConferenceIndependent
Record5–3
Head coach
CaptainJoe Walsh
Home stadiumSouth End Grounds
Seasons
← 1895
1897 →
1896 Eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Fordham     1 0 0
Lafayette     11 0 1
Princeton     10 0 1
Washington & Jefferson     8 0 1
Penn     14 1 0
Yale     13 1 0
Pittsburgh College     11 2 0
Buffalo     9 1 2
Villanova     10 4 0
Bucknell     5 2 1
Harvard     7 4 0
Boston College     5 3 0
Storrs     5 3 0
Cornell     5 3 1
Syracuse     5 3 2
Temple     3 2 0
Army     3 2 1
Rutgers     6 6 0
Carlisle     5 5 0
Holy Cross     2 2 2
Brown     4 5 1
Wesleyan     4 5 1
Frankin & Marshall     3 4 2
Geneva     3 4 0
Penn State     3 4 0
Colgate     3 4 1
Amherst     3 6 1
Western Univ. Penn.     3 6 0
Lehigh     2 5 0
Tufts     2 6 1
Swarthmore     2 6 0
New Hampshire     1 4 0
Drexel     1 5 0
Massachusetts     0 4 0
Rhode Island     0 4 0

The 1896 Boston College football team was an American football team that represented Boston College as an independent during the 1896 college football season. Led by Frank Carney in his first and only season as head coach, Boston College compiled a record of 5–3.

This was the first year of the Boston College–Holy Cross football rivalry and produced one of its most controversial games. BC and HC both claim to have won their November 14 matchup at the South End Grounds, after each one refused to follow referees', instructions following a disputed play with three minutes remaining in the game. Holy Cross was leading 6–4 when Boston College scored what its players, and a raucous home crowd, asserted was the go-ahead touchdown; Holy Cross maintained the runner had been tackled for a loss. Officials initially ruled in favor of Holy Cross, and Boston College's players refused to take the field, leading the officials to declare a 6–4 Holy Cross win. Under pressure from the Boston crowd, however, they reversed their decision and asked Holy Cross, which had now left the field itself, to resume play. Holy Cross players refused. The game restarted with only Boston College players, who promptly scored a touchdown (then worth 4 points) to end the game with an 8–6 victory. Decades later, the two colleges continued to disagree on who had won the game.[1]

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
October 3at Campello
L 0–24
October 7at Exeter AcademyW 8–0
October 10Andover AcademyW 14–6
October 14at Tufts
L 8–22
October 24at Whitman Athletic ClubL 0–4
November 7at Holy Cross
W 6–2[2]
November 14Holy CrossW 8–6500[3]
November 28Boston University
  • South End Grounds
  • Boston, MA (rivalry)
W 10–0

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Birtwell, Roger (November 22, 1953). "Who Won that 1896 Game Anyhow? B.C. or Holy Cross?". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 58 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Boston College, 6; Holy Cross, 2". The Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. November 8, 1896. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Boston College 8, Holy Cross 6". The Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. November 15, 1896. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.