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Northwestern Home Game Programs Gallery
Part 1: 1895 through 1925
Posted 4/22/12; Updated 8/9/20
Unfortunately,
not many home football programs from 1895 through 1904 are known to
have survived, and we know of no programs from before 1895, even though
it is very likely that NU's home games featured programs during those
early years.
There are more surviving examples of NU's home game programs after the
move from Sheppard Field to Northwestern Field in 1905. While a
few programs did feature great original artwork on their covers, most
from this period were very simple.
This gallery section is only 23% complete.
Click here to return to the program gallery main page.
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Nov. 16, 1895
Chicago
While
not likely the first football program for NU, this is the earliest
known, and one of the few to survive from Sheppard Field. Most
programs from this era were simply one-page cards, with songs and yells
on one side and players' numbers on the other. The song lyrics
refer to NU's win vs. Chicago earlier in the season.
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Nov. 26, 1896
Wisconsin
Programs during this time were either the simple cards like the 1895
Chicago program, or more elaborate, multi-page football-shaped books
like the one above. This program had a purple crepe paper cover, which
makes the printing difficult to read. It states:
Thanksgiving Day
Foot Ball Game
Northwestern vs. Wisconsin
Official Catalogue and Score Card
1896
HF Olmatee & Co.
Dry Goods
Among
the advertisers listed in the program was Chandler's, which would
advertise in NU's programs for over 80 more years.
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Nov. 13, 1897
Alumni
Not the actual program from the game. This is an advertising flyer
for the NU vs. Alumni game, billed as "Capt. Van Doozer's All-Star
Alumni." Van Doozer, NU's former star, led the Alumni
players. He also happened to be NU's head coach at the
time. During the practice for this game, the varsity players kept
their plays and calls a secret from their coach, knowing that they
would be lining up against him during the game.
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1905
For
the 1905 season, Northwestern's first season at Northwestern Field on
Central Street, NU's programs all had a stiff, construction paper cover
in purple, with the University seal in silver.
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Oct. 14, 1905
Beloit
NU's fifth game of the 1905 season was the Dedication Game
for Northwestern Field, vs. Beloit. This is the inside cover to
the program.
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Oct. 14, 1905
Beloit
Poster for the same Beloit game.
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Oct. 28, 1905
Chicago
Inside cover for the Chicago game.
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Oct. 28, 1905
Chicago
Postcard ad for the same Chicago game.
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Nov. 12, 1910
Illinois - Classic Cover
The
1910 home games featured larger programs with purple construction paper
covers and hand-glued photos on each. The program for the
Illinois game is a great example, and ranks as the earliest of twenty CLASSIC NU PROGRAM COVERS. |
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Nov. 11, 1911
Chicago
Not the actual
program from the game. This is an advertising flyer for NU vs.
Chicago, which was NU's first homecoming game.
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1912
For the 1912 home games, NU returned to using the football-shaped
programs. This program was used for the entire season, and
included information about all of NU's scheduled opponents.
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Nov. 15, 1913
Indiana
No program for this game in 1913, just a simple one-page score card.
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Oct. 24, 1914
Illinois
As with the prior year, the 1914 programs were simple one-page sheets.
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Oct. 9, 1915
Chicago
By 1915 NU was using four-page, foldover programs.
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Nov. 20, 1915
Ohio State
Homecoming program from 1915, notable because it mentions at the
bottom, "Northwestern Push On Song, page 6." This game featured
the debut of "Rise Northwestern" (also known as "The Push On Song").
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Nov. 10, 1917
Michigan State
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Nov. 24, 1917
Michigan
A rare landscape-oriented program cover.
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Oct. 18, 1919
Wisconsin
Note the reference to Coach Driscoll in the contents. Paddy
Driscoll, NU's star player in 1916, had played in the 1919 Rose Bowl
for Great Lakes. His return to NU as an assistant coach was a big
event, overshadowing NU's actual first-year head coach (Charles
Bachman, not mentioned on the cover).
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Nov. 11, 1922
Purdue
Homecoming
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Nov. 18, 1922
Monmouth
Recycling the cover art from the Beloit game earlier in the season.
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Oct. 27, 1923
Illinois
Home game played at Wrigley Field (called Cubs Park at the time).
For the 1923 and 1924 seasons, NU's home game programs featured covers
with a large "N" in purple.
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Nov. 24, 1923
Iowa
Homecoming
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Oct. 25, 1924
Michigan State
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Nov. 1, 1924
Indiana
Homecoming
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Nov. 22, 1924
Notre Dame
Northwestern hosted its final home game of 1924 at Soldier Field.
The stadium, called Chicago Municipal Stadium or Grant Park Bowl at the
time, was still under construction. This was the first major college football game played at Soldier Field.
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Oct. 3, 1925
South Dakota
While the covers resemble the programs of the early '20s, the 1925
programs were the first to be full-size, with dozens of pages of
content and ads.
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Oct. 24, 1925
Tulane
NU home game played at the University of Chicago's Stagg Field.
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Oct. 31, 1925
Indiana
Final game ever played at Northwestern Field. The
program for this game features a very early version of what would
become Dyche Stadium (note the archways through the towers and the triple decks on the west side)
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Nov. 7, 1925
Michigan
NU
home game played at Soldier Field. This is among the very rarest NU
home programs from 1924 - present. The game, an NU 3-2 victory, was
played during a monsoon, and few programs survive intact.
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