To kick off this year’s Aztec football season, here's a look back at San Diego State's first football team, known as the Normal School football team.
Though there was no student newspaper in 1902, the 1902 annual includes an article recounting the brief history of the San Diego Normal School's football team on pages 25-30.
After some of the "athletically minded" members of the faculty provided the means with which to purchase "football regalia," the football team met for its first practice on Oct. 10, 1900.
In preparation for the interscholastic championship of San Diego County game scheduled for Thanksgiving Day against Russ High School, the team played a series of games against other local teams.
After a loss to the Escondido football team, San Diego Normal School played a team of sailors from the U.S.S. Iowa.
Cheered on by President Samuel T. Black and other members of the student body and faculty, the closely fought contest ended when quarterback (and professor) Greeley scored the winning touchdown with seconds left in the game. On Nov. 29, 1900, the Normal School football team beat Russ High School by three points to win the county championship.
The match-up, described as "one of the most spectacular ever played upon the local gridiron," marked the end of the San Diego Normal School football team's first season.
Having won two out of their three games, the team closed the season with a banquet organized for the players by "their proud and appreciative manager and faculty."
About Decades Ago at San Diego State
The SDSU Library's Department of Special Collections and University Archives presents the weekly series "Decades Ago at San Diego State." Special Collections and University Archives staff members collect articles and photos from archived issues of The Daily Aztec, providing a glimpse of the university's past and its memorable events, people and programs.
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