First Footballers
To learn more about CU’s history, visit the Heritage Center on the third floor of Old Main.
The university’s first football team took to the field undisciplined and without a coach. The 1890 flannel-clad sportsmen lost every game. The next season they chose Rev. Frederic Kramer (PhD1895) to lead them. He was the All Saints Episcopal Church pastor and a CU English instructor. His leadership led to the team’s first victory in a 24-4 romp over the Colorado Springs Athletic Association.
“The rush line linked arms and meandered down the field,” Kramer wrote, “followed by the backs, one of whom carried the ball. [It was a] human steamroller effect . . .”
Four years later Kramer led the university to another first, earning a PhD in 1895.