The Yale football program will celebrate its 150th anniversary by wearing Walter Camp-inspired uniforms during Saturday’s game against Dartmouth, which kicks off at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
A two-time team captain during his playing career from 1876-81, Camp became the head coach at his alma mater in 1888. He compiled an impressive 67-2 record and won three national championships before accepting the same job at Stanford in 1892.
Camp later earned the nickname the “Father of American Football” thanks to his involvement on various rules committees until the time of his death in 1925. That includes plays from scrimmage, the use of a quarterback, point values and first downs.
Those rules, which were featured in Camp’s 1893 book about college sports, can be seen in the blue numbers of the Bulldogs’ cream-colored jerseys, which match Yale’s varsity sweaters. The faux embroidery down the center, meanwhile, mimics their original uniforms.
This marks the first time in school history that Yale will wear a blue helmet, which feature a cream “Y” with a Heisman Trophy on both sides as a nod the school’s two Heisman winners, end Larry Kelley (1937) and quarterback Clint Frank (1938).
The two cream stripes down the center include the last names of every team captain dating back to 1872, when the Bulldogs played their first game, a 3-0 win over Columbia. Since then, they’ve amassed 922 victories – the seventh most nationally – and 16 Ivy League titles.
The uniform is complete with stripeless blue pants, which also stray from Yale’s traditional look of a blue or white jersey over white pants with two blue stripes down both sides.
“The history of the Yale football program is captured like never before in these commemorative uniforms,” athletic director Victoria M. “Vicky” Chun said. “With them, we honor those who came before Team 149 and are able to showcase its storied history.”
While this marks the 150th anniversary of Yale football, it’s actually the 149th season of play after the 2020 campaign was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Bulldogs are 2-1 this fall, including victories at Cornell and against Howard.
“It’s a great honor for Team 149, myself and the rest of our coaching staff to be a part of this unique celebration of 150 years of Yale football,” head coach Tony Reno said. “These uniforms embody the rich tradition and history of our program, and we are excited to be a part of this moment in history.”
Photos courtesy of @yalefootball on Twitter.
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