1896 Pittsburgh College football team

The 1896 Pittsburgh College football team was an American football team that represented Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost—now known as Duquesne University—during the 1896 college football season.[1] Ernest H. "Rags" Brown served in his first and only season as the team's head coach.[1][2][3]

1896 Pittsburgh College football
ConferenceIndependent
Head coach
Seasons
← 1894
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

In advance of the season, the college rebranded its sports teams from Holy Ghost College to Pittsburg(h) College. This change was occasioned by unspecified disrespectful use of the religious name.[2][4]

Schedule

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First team

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DateOpponentSiteResultSource
October 3Sewickley Athletic Association
W 22–0[5]
October 10at Duquesne Country and Athletic ClubL 0–24[6]
October 17at Carnegie Athletic Club
T 6–6[7]
October 24Emerald Athletic Club
  • Emerald Park
  • Pittsburgh, PA
disputed[a][8][9][10][11][12]
November 6at Mahoning Cycle ClubYoungstown, OHL 0–16[13]
November 14J. F. Lalus Athletic Club
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
L 0–6 (forfeit)[14]
November 26at Nonpareil Athletic Club
L 0–16[15]
  1. ^ The Pittsburg Post and the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette reported a 9–8 Emerald win (protested by the College), while The Pittsburg Press reported a disputed final score of either 6–5 in favor of College or 9–6 in favor of Emerald.

Reserve team

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DateOpponentSiteResultSource
October 3Emerald Athletic Club reserves
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 8–0[16]
October 7Allegheny High School
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 6–0 (forfeit)[17]
October 10J. F. Lalus Athletic Club
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
L 0–52[18]
October 15at Park InstituteW 10–8[19][20]
October 17Emerald Athletic Club reserves
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 20–0[21]
October 21Etna Our Boys
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 12–0[22]
October 24Arion Athletic Club
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 4–0 (forfeit)[23]
October 28Keystone Tigers
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 28–0[24][25]
October 31Orange Athletic Club (PA)
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 20–0[26][27]
November 7Imperial Athletic Club reserves
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 20–6[28]
November 12Pittsburgh Times
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 69–0[29]
November 14Keystone Tigers
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 33–0[30][31]
November 18Henderson Athletic Club
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 38–0[32]
November 24Keystone Tigers
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 4–0 (forfeit)[33][34]
November 26Press Young Folks' League
  • Pittsburgh College grounds
  • Pittsburgh, PA
L 4–6[35]

Discrepancies in records

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The Duquesne University football record book gives the 1896 season record as 12–1[1] on the basis of games that, according to 1896 newspapers, were played by the reserve (second) team. The guide does not include the first-team schedule or two reserve-team games against the Keystone Tigers (November 24) and Press Young Folks' League (November 26). College Football Data Warehouse lists a similar schedule as in the media guide but omits the win against Allegheny High School and adds a supposed 10–0 loss against the Allegheny Athletic Association on November 10, for a season record of 11–2.[36] Pittsburgh newspapers of 1896 reported that the Allegheny Athletic Association's opponent on November 10 was the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club, with Allegheny winning 12–0.[37][38]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Duquesne Football Record Book" (PDF). goduquesne.com. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University. July 20, 2023. p. 23. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Pittsburg College". The Pittsburg Post. September 13, 1896. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Amateur Sports". The Pittsburg Press. September 21, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "P. Y. F. L. Notes". The Pittsburg Press. October 10, 1896. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Pittsburg College Won Easily". The Pittsburg Press. October 4, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Good Football". The Pittsburg Press. October 11, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Good Game at Carnegie". The Pittsburg Press. October 18, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Emeralds Win the Game". The Pittsburg Post. October 25, 1896. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Some Great Surprises". Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette. October 26, 1896. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Football Notes". The Pittsburg Press. October 25, 1896. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Amateur Sports". The Pittsburg Press. October 26, 1896. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Three Good Local Games". The Pittsburg Post. October 24, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Met with Defeat". Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette. November 7, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "No Game at the College". The Pittsburg Post. October 15, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Beaver Falls 16, Holy Ghost 0". Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette. November 27, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Emerald Juniors Fail to Score". The Pittsburg Post. October 4, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Forfeited by the High School". The Pittsburg Post. October 8, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "The Lalus Made a Big Score". The Pittsburg Post. October 11, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Amateur Sports". The Pittsburg Press. October 16, 1896. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Amateur Sports". The Pittsburg Press. October 15, 1896. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "College Reserves Win". The Pittsburg Press. October 18, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Reserves Defeat the Our Boys". The Pittsburg Post. October 22, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Arion Has No Subs on Line". The Pittsburg Post. October 25, 1896. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Mixed Up Games". Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette. October 29, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Football Notes". The Pittsburg Post. October 28, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Orange Shut Out". The Pittsburg Press. November 1, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Struggles on the Gridiron". The Pittsburg Post. October 31, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "The Reserves Win Handily". The Pittsburg Post. November 8, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Slaughter on the College Grounds". The Pittsburg Post. November 13, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "College Reserves All Right". The Pittsburg Post. November 15, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "Football Games To-day". The Pittsburg Post. November 14, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ^ "College Reserves Win Easily". The Pittsburg Post. November 19, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ^ "Will Play Here". Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette. November 25, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ "Football Notes". The Pittsburg Post. November 24, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ^ "Played a Close Game". Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette. November 27, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ^ "Duquesne Game by Game Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  37. ^ "Shook the Stars". Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette. November 11, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ^ "Great Cheers for D.C. & A.C." The Pittsburg Post. November 11, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.