HailToPurple.com Northwestern Football Site

SCHOOL RECOGNIZES
1876 TEAM;
NU NOW THE OLDEST
TEAM IN THE MIDWEST

Northwestern officially added the February 1876 game with the Chicago Foot-Ball Club to the team's history and records, making Northwestern the oldest football team in the Midwest...

Wildcat History
NU's First Football Game:
The First Team

As we approach the 150th anniversary of Northwestern's first football game, HailToPurple.com is posting a series of articles about that first game. First up: we look at the players who made up NU's pioneering football team...

Frank Casseday, one of NU's first football players

NU Releases 2026 Schedule

NEW: The Big Ten and NU have finally released the dates for all of the team's 2026 games...

Chip Kelly Takes Over
as Wildcat OC

NU Coach David Braun has hired former Oregon and UCLA head coach Chip Kelly as his new offensive coordinator...

'CatsAbove!
NU Takes Detroit

Northwestern concluded its season with a commanding victory vs. Central Michigan..

Northwestern's 2025 season is the school's 140th playing football. Now, you can read about NU's very first season and how it all began. The school's first football game was during the 1875-'76 season, making NU the oldest existing football team of any sort in the American Midwest.

Gus Hornsby's Gamble tells the story of Augustus Hornsby, the maverick English army officer who formed the Chicago Foot-Ball Club and taught the game to Northwestern students. Hornsby's story, relayed here for the first time anywhere, is a wild ride: he was a pioneer journalist, an explorer, and eventually a fabulously wealthy real estate tycoon. But his gambling addiction led to financial ruin and a stunning string of crimes that made Hornsby a nationally-hunted fugitive.

My new book provides a new glimpse into life at Northwestern at the school's infancy and describes its first football team in detail. It is a must for any fan of Northwestern and NU history. Click here to learn more about the book. You can order it directly from Amazon.

Other pages updated this week (Jan. 25):

No other pages updated

Archived

Updated 12/26/25

Archived

Next for the Wildcats:

Spring Practice

2026 Schedule
(Home Venues Not Confirmed)

H	S Dakota St - FCS	Sep 5
H	Colorado	Sep 19
A	Indiana	Sep 26
H	Penn State	Oct 3
H	Ball State	Oct 10
A	Michigan State	Oct 17
H	Rutgers	Oct 24
A	Oregon	Oct 31
H	Iowa	Nov 7
A	Ohio State	Nov 14
A	Minnesota	Nov 21
H	Illinois	Nov 28
-	-	-

2025 Results
(7-6; 4-5 B1G)

L	Tulane	3-23
W	Wstrn Ill - M	42-7
L	Oregon - M	14-34
W	UCLA - M	17-14
W	ULM - HC - M	42-7
W	Penn State	22-21
W	Purdue - M	19-0
L	Nebraska	21-28
L	USC	17-38
L	Michigan - W	22-24
W	Minnesota - W	38-35
L	Illinois	13-20
W	Cent. Mich. - Bowl	34-7

(M=NM Field. W=Wrigley Field)

Medicine Ball Is Now Administered Lakeside!

"...It will always be my school, our school."
--Gary Barnett, as quoted by Teddy Greenstein

Comments? E-mail GoUPurple@aol.com

HTP first updated: July 12, 2000

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