Tufts and Harvard play an early college football game at Jarvis Field

Background. Harvard's football program began competing in 1873. The Harvard club used the "Boston game," an early code of football developed by the Oneida Football Club, formed in 1862 and considered by some historians as the first formal "football" club in the United States. Rugby-style "carrying games" with use of hands permitted, as opposed to "kicking games" where hands were not permitted, had been played between freshmen and sophomores in 1858, and Harvard's rugby team was founded on December 6, 1872, by former members of the Oneida club.

Rules and Significance. The 1875 game against Tufts is argued to be the first between two American colleges that most resembled the modern game of American football. The rules specified eleven men per side, advancement by kicking or carrying, and tackles stopping play. This match represents an important milestone in the evolution of the sport.

Context. Harvard later brought the Harvard/McGill rules to a game against another American college. The 1875 season saw Harvard play Tufts in June and Yale on November 13. The 1875 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton as having been selected national champions; Harvard is among the teams credited with 12 national championships from NCAA-designated major selectors, including 1875.