In 1896 Carlisle football was in its third season as the Indians unveiled their school colors: old gold and red. Students and supporters of the school could waved their bright red pennants with pride, as the team undertook the most difficult season any team had ever faced. The Carlisle Indians would play the Big Four of college football: Princeton, Yale, Harvard and Pennsylvania. No other team had ever played all four in the same season. Carlisle would face them in four consecutive weekends.

In the brute force era of college football, such an undertaking was considered downright dangerous. The Carlisle Indians would run the gauntlet with an undersized roster of just fourteen players. They would start the season, still a curiosity, but by seasons end, they would be one of the biggest draws in college football. Their bravery and sportsmanship in the face of adversity would win accolades in the press, the support of many fans, and an invitation to play Wisconsin in an exhibition game, at the end of the season, in Chicago.

The Indians had other disadvantages to overcome. With just two years of football under their belts, the Indians lacked experience. They also had to overcome a change in leadership. Vance McCormick, an enthusiastic young coach from Yale, who had help to mold them into a team, no longer had time to devote his energy to their cause. He was replaced by another former Yale star, William O. Hickok..

On Oct. 14 1896, the Carlisle team, and a small group of supporters traveled to Princeton, to take on a Tiger team that would go 10-0-1, and end the season as national champions. The Indians played tough from the beginning. Three minutes into the game they found themselves in the lead. The Indians forced a Tiger fumble and Metoxen ran it back for a touchdown. Princeton protested that their player had been down before he fumbled, but the officials ruled in favor of Carlisle. The Indians led 6 - 0 at the half.

Princeton played with great intensity in the second half, and within four minutes, the score was tied. In the second half the Indians were repeatedly called for fouls. Late in the game Bemus Pierce called time out to speak to the referee. He maintained his poise. He approached the referee and said: “You must remember that you are umpiring for both sides.” The strength of Princeton, and the many penalties against Carlisle were too much for the Indians to overcome, and they lost 22 - 6. By scoring on the Princeton, they had won a moral victory. Yale would be the only other team to score on the Tigers in 1896.

The Carlisle team was about to walk off in protest when Captain Pratt ran across the field to stop them. He implored them to stay: “...Listen, can’t you here that the crowd is with you? Now go back, and play the game out and don’t quit for any reason whatever.” Jamison was still upset so Pratt continue: “...wait for tomorrow morning’s papers, and you will find that you are a bigger man because the touchdown was denied you than would be if it had been allowed...”

The Carlisle players stayed and fought valiantly until the final whistle blew. They lost the game but won the admiration of many fans. They left the field to a huge ovation. The fans in the grandstands poured out onto the field and carried the players out of the stadium, and all the way to the train station.

The following morning Pratt was proven right. Carlisle made national headlines. The newspaper accounts of the game praised the Indians, and criticized the officials. Hickok was compared to a crooked Indian agent. As the Indian’s coach he was someone that the Indians should have been able to trust. The New York Sun reported: “Just as many an agent has proved false to his trust so this referee was to his.”

Understandably the players did not show much enthusiasm when they returned to practice with Hickok still serving as their coach. They took heart in the treatment they had received from the public, and in a visit from their former coach Vance McCormick. Yale players were a little sensitive about the subject, but they echoed their captains claimed that they had heard the whistle, and would have prevented the touchdown had they not discontinued play. They were also in agreement that aside from Princeton, Carlisle was the toughest team they had faced in two years.

The next stop on Carlisle’s brutal tour was at Harvard. Their supporters made their presence known, chanting “Hi, hi, Carlisle, Hi, hi.” The Indians played Harvard tough, and they had their opportunities. A magnificent forty-five yard run got the ball deep into Crimson territory, but Carlisle’s field goal attempt missed its mark. Late in the game, with Harvard protecting a 4 - 0 lead, Carlisle drove within ten yards of the Harvard goal. Only a great goal line stand kept the Indians from scoring. The Harvard faithful had a sigh of relief when Carlisle lost the ball on downs.

Harvard won the game 4 - 0, but Carlisle won another measure of respect. The subheading in the Chicago Tribune proclaimed: “Game is one of the greatest ever seen.” The New York Times headline their story: The Harvard’s Scalp Will Not Adorn the Carlisle Indian’s Wigwam Tonight.”

Carlisle followed their close loss to Harvard with a 21 - 0 defeat at the hands of the Pennsylvania. The Quakers were the defending national champions. In spite of the lopsided score the Indians play hard. The New York Times praised the “plucky uphill play in the face of defeat” by the “gallant redskins of Carlisle.” They ended the game with a fierce drive that was stopped just six inches from the goal line. It was a fitting way to end the toughest stretch of games any team had ever attempted.

Carlisle finished the season with three wins and a loss to Brown. For the game with Brown, Carlisle returned to the scene of their controversial game with Yale. When they took the field at the Polo Grounds, the Indians received the bigger cheers. Unfortunately they came out on the short end of the score, losing 24 - 12. Then they were invited by the Chicago Press Club to play an additional game against midwestern power, Wisconsin.

Their post-season game with Wisconsin was played in the Chicago Coliseum at night, under electric lights. It was the first football game ever played under lights. On Dec 19th. fifteen thousand gathered at Coliseum. Included in the crowd were a large group of students from Wisconsin. Other Western Conference schools were well represented, especially the University of Chicago. At 8:15 Carlisle took field under the warmth of the glaring lights that hummed. The game feature several lead changes until the speed of the Carlisle players tipped the balance in their favor and they won 18 -8. After the game the players announced they were no longer in training and lit cigars.

The game brought to an end the Carlisle Indian’s first winning season, with a record of 6 - 5. An impressive record considering who they had played. During the 1896 season, the Indians had established the identity of Carlisle football. They competed with a hard, clean style of play that would become their trademark. They had become one of the biggest drawing cards in football. They were among the most popular team with the spectators. Their efforts won them praise in the media. Casper Whitney of Harpers Weekly noted: “Too much praise cannot be given this Indian team for its showing this year; for the quality of its football after but three years of the game at Carlisle, and above all for its sportsmanly conduct and clean play.”

1896
Carlisle vs.
the Big Four