The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football

By John J. Miller

In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt saved football from possible extinction, fighting against a prohibition movement that wanted to ban the sport. The ringleader of the anti-football crusade was Charles Eliot, the longtime president of Harvard, Roosevelt’s alma mater.

Eliot worried that certain pastimes were unworthy of gentlemen. If football and baseball were honorable pastimes, then why did they require umpires and referees? “A game that needs to be watched is not fit for genuine sportsmen,” he said. A pitcher who threw a curve ball engaged in an act of deception, reasoned Eliot. One time, Eliot suspended a baseball player from Harvard’s team due to poor grades. He observed that this was no great loss because baseball was just a game of trickery. When several players and professors challenged Eliot, the college president replied in exasperation: “Why! They boasted of his making a feint to throw a ball in one direction and then throwing it in another!” The idea outraged him.

Football distressed him even more. Eliot believed it was improper for a running back to attack the weakest part of an opposing team’s line–he thought the honorable thing required him to attack the strongest. He liked almost nothing about the sport. He thought it caused student athletes to neglect their studies. Even the behavior of spectators appalled him. Before the start of a game against Yale in Cambridge, he heard a group of his students chant, “Three cheers for Harvard and down with Yale!” He regarded this as bad mannered: “Of course it’s right to be enthusiastic for your own side, but why sing a song that’s rude to our guests?” So he proposed an alternative: “Why wouldn’t it be better to sing ‘Three cheers for Harvard and one for Yale’?” His suggestion did not catch on.

About the author: John J. Miller is the author of The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football, just published by Harper. His personal website is HeyMiller.com.

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Suzanne

I am a high school U.S. History teacher who adores Teddy Roosevelt. As I tell my students, he’s on the top of my list of people for “If you could have dinner with an historical figure…” games. I’d love to win this book – doesn’t this story just make TR that much cooler?!
http://christysbooks.blogspot.com/ Christy

This sounds interesting!
Pingback: Wonders & Marvels | John J. Miller | Hey Miller
Heather Luby

I have been a big fan of John Miller for years. His previous novel and his articles with NRO are always interesting. I’ve used his articles before for teaching lectures and I’m really excited about his new book!
http://www.therealsmc.net Sean McCormick

This sounds like it would be a great movie, if adapted to the screen properly.
Carl H.

Bully!
Kevin

I hope it’s not the first 5 who win, ’cause if so, I’ve just missed it!

Read the preview of this book on my Kindle and can’t wait to read the rest (when I win, or when I’m less skint).
Kitty

I have heard about the attempt to ban football but I know very little. This sounds like a good summer read.
http://www.patricklarkin.net Patrick Larkin

John Miller’s writing, Teddy Roosevelt’s grit and determination, a prissy Harvard president, and football? It all sounds like the perfect combination!
Candace P

I have had the pleasure of reading some of John’s other books. He is a fantastic writer.
With hockey winding down, I’d love the opportunity to dig into a football story, especially one with a historical twist.
http://fewmorepages.blogspot.com Katy F.

I had never heard of an attempt to ban football. Sounds like a fun read!
http://www.affotd.com Jeff

It is a pretty crazy story, especially when you hear about how many deaths and serious injuries were happening before Roosevelt stepped in.
Mark Eickhoff

Sounds like another great book from John Miller!
jeff muir

Thank goodness Roosevelt saved football and thank goodness Miller saved this story from being forgotten! — Jeff Muir
Susan B

May I second “Bully” ? Thank you so much for solving the problem of what to give my husband for Fathers Day! This sounds wonderful!
Lucas H

Two of my favorite things: sports and presidents. Can it get any better than this?
Clay

I’m in. TR is a fascinating guy.
http://www.johnfortexas.com John Lingenfelder

I caught your talk about Blood Work on BookTV last night. What an enjoyable hour!! What an exciting book and to find this terrific website (plus the others you and fellow readers describe in an earlier entry). AND to discover an exciting author I did not know anything about before (You!). Truly an excess of riches.

If you are still interested in stops for any upcoming book tours, the Dallas-Plano area would be a good locale to consider. I’m involved with several community groups that are healthcare related, plus Dallas and Collin Counties have a population that is supportive of the literary arts (and which both have extensive medical/healthcare centers). If interested, please contact me.

Regarding TR I would certainly like to have a copy of this book. John Miller’s synopsis of TR’s involvement makes one hungry to read the entire story of this period. TR’s outsized character in U.S. history seems to know no bounds and this aspect would be a very welcome addition.

Thank you and am looking forward to reading Blood Work at the earliest.
http://www.kevindmccann.com Kevin McCann

Sounds like an interesting read! I had no idea Theodore Roosevelt influenced football.
Hillary

This sounds interesting; I’d love to have a copy.
http://www.christopherklein.com Chris Klein

Eliot wasn’t a fan of basketball, either. Harvard banned it as a varsity sport in 1909. In 1906 Eliot told The New York Times: “Basket ball is very objectionable. It is too rough, and there are too many chances for cheating. The rules have been stretched so that they spoil the game.” Of course, the team manager of the 1908-09 squad didn’t help when he said: “We are being defeated all the time in basketball. It is a poor sport. Therefore, we had better abolish it.”
Red Bedhead

How about trying to imagine a similar honorable , ( but almost painfully comic), individual in what has become the non-hetero-normative relativist hyperspace that the ivy league in general and Hah-vaad in particular has become.
http://solarflite@aol.com Kevin Smith

How have things changed? Don’t get me wrong. I love both baseball and football. They are a reflection of American society. From tiny acorns do mighty oak trees grow! I wonder what Teddy would think of football now. Todays labor dispute and the current question of paying college players. Would the president think saving football was still a good idea? I think he would.
Especially seeing the character of some of the men who grew up playing football. As well as the business savvy shown by so many people in connection to the sport over the decades. I think he would see it as the American way.
Matt Krahn

Best president ever, looks like a great book!!!
http://treasures.edublogs.org Tammy Gillmore

My students…also football players…would love this book…and this post. We blog…going to share this one with them…okay?

Thanks!
Lindsey

Interesting. I’m a huge history and football fan so I’d love to win this.
Tim snider

Huge TR fan, hoping not too late to enter.

Heard of your site via a fellow history enthusiast at Oklahoma State. I run a little book club at noon here at the vet school…..we might select ‘Blood Work’ in the future.

Tim
Jenn

Ah, but what about the rise of football as a result of the suppression of rugby (too rough, too violent)?
Wayne

This wasn’t about Eliot and personalities. This was about 19 fatalities and scores of significant crippling injuries in one year. The players’ desired to actually ‘kill’ their opponents. Shouldn’t you have mentioned that point?