The Big Game between Stanford and California was played under the rugby union rules from 1906 to 1914. Pictured here, one of the last games between both schools before they switched to American football again

The Stanford rugby teams of 1906 to 1917 represented Stanford University as the school's only football program during those years, replacing American football with rugby union. The school had played American football from 1892 to 1905, but in 1906, concerned with the growing levels of violence in football, Stanford and other universities changed to rugby. Stanford played twelve seasons of rugby, during which it played other college teams, club teams from the United States, Canada, and Australia, as well as the New Zealand national team and Australia national team. Despite the team's success, it became clear that other schools were not adopting rugby in large numbers, and after rival California returned to football in 1915, Stanford faced a limited number of potential opponents; and after a year of playing neither sport officially due to World War I, the school returned to American football in 1919.

Switch to rugby

American football in the early 1900s had become increasingly violent; with no forward pass, the ball carrier would be typically pushed and pulled up the field by his own players in massive formations that often resulted in serious injuries.^[1][2][3] In 1905, 18 deaths, three at the college level, were attributed to football; 159 serious injuries were also reported, 88 at the college level.^[1]

Reform was demanded by such voices as U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, who decried the brutality and foul play of the game, and called a meeting of school presidents to discuss the issue.^[1][3] As a result, before the next season began, new rules were put in place to discourage such play.^[1] The forward pass was also introduced to open up the game and reduce the role of dangerous mass formations.^[1] Despite the planned changes, a number of universities banned the sport for the coming year, including Columbia, NYU, and Northwestern.^[2][3]

The Stanford University team that played the All Blacks in 1913

Several universities on the West Coast, led by California and Stanford, replaced the sport with rugby.^[3] At the time, the future of football was very much in doubt and these schools believed that rugby would eventually be adopted nationwide.^[3] Other schools that made the switch included Nevada, St. Mary's, Santa Clara, and USC (in 1911).^[3] However, due to the perception that West Coast football was inferior to the game played on the East Coast anyway, East Coast and Midwest teams shrugged off the loss of the teams and continued playing football.^[3] With no nationwide movement, the available pool of rugby teams to play remained small.^[3] The schools scheduled games against local club teams and reached out to rugby powers in Australia, New Zealand, and especially, due to its proximity, Canada. The annual Big Game between Stanford and California continued as rugby, with the winner invited by the British Columbia Rugby Union to a tournament in Vancouver over the Christmas holidays, with the winner of that tournament receiving the Cooper Keith Trophy.^[3][4][5]

Return to football

In 12 seasons of rugby, Stanford was remarkably successful: the team had three undefeated seasons, three one-loss seasons, and an overall record of 94 wins, 20 losses, and 3 ties for a winning percentage of .816. However, after a few years, the school began to feel the isolation of its newly adopted sport, which was not spreading as many had hoped. Students and alumni began to clamor for a return to football to allow wider intercollegiate competition.^[3] The pressure at rival California was stronger (especially as the school had not been as successful in the Big Game as they had hoped), and in 1915 California returned to football. As reasons for the change, the school cited football rule changes, the overwhelming desire of students and supporters to play football, interest in playing other East Coast and Midwest schools, and a patriotic desire to play an "American" game.^[3]

California's return to football increased the pressure on Stanford to also change back in order to maintain the rivalry. Stanford played its 1915, 1916, and 1917 "Big Games" as rugby against Santa Clara and California's football "Big Game" in those years was against Washington, but both schools desired to restore the old traditions.^[3] The onset of World War I gave Stanford an out: in 1918, the Stanford campus was designated as the Students' Army Training Corps headquarters for all of California, Nevada, and Utah, and the commanding officer, Sam M. Parker, decreed that football was the appropriate athletic activity to train soldiers and rugby was dropped.^[3]

After the war, Stanford resumed its football program and relegated rugby to a minor sport. Several Stanford rugby players who played during those years—including Daniel Carroll, Dink Templeton, Morris Kirksey, Erwin Righter, John Patrick, and Charles Doe—went on to win a gold medal for the United States in rugby at the 1920 Summer Olympics.^[6]

Season results

1913 season

1913 Stanford rugby football
Conference	Independent
Record	8–3
Head coach	Floyd C. Brown (1st season)
Home ground	Stanford Field

Floyd C. Brown succeeded George Presley as coach. Like Presley, Brown had played for and served as an assistant under the previous coach. Stanford finished with an 8–3 record, including its first Big Game win in five years, led by Danny Carroll, who had won a gold medal in the 1908 Summer Olympics as a member of the Australia national rugby union team and who was now earning a degree in geology from Stanford. Stanford played its final rugby game against USC, who returned to American football the next year, and suffered two blowout losses to the famed New Zealand All Blacks, who were on a North American tour.^[7][9]

Schedule

Stanford playing the 2nd game v the All Blacks on October 18

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 13	Olympic Club	Stanford Field Stanford, California	L 3–5
September 20	Barbarians Club (San Francisco)	Stanford Field Stanford, California	W 88–3
September 27	U.C. Club	Stanford Field Stanford, California	W 13–3
October 4	Barbarians Club (San Francisco)	Stanford Field Stanford, California	W 18–0
October 11	Olympic Club	Stanford Field Stanford, California	W 29–3
October 15	New Zealand All Blacks	Stanford Field Stanford, California	L 0–54
October 18	New Zealand All Blacks	Stanford Field Stanford, California	L 0–56
October 25	Barbarians Club (San Francisco)	Stanford Field Stanford, California	W 21–5
November 1	Olympic Club	Stanford Field Stanford, California	W 19–12
November 8	California	Stanford Field Stanford, California (23rd Big Game)	W 13–8
November 22	at USC	Los Angeles, California	W 10–0

References