1903 Columbia Blue and White football team

The 1903 Columbia Blue and White football team was an American football team that represented Columbia University as an independent during the 1903 college football season. In its second season under head coach Bill Morley, the team compiled a 9–1 record, shut out its first seven opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 148 to 43.[1][2]

1903 Columbia Blue and White football
Conference	Independent
1903 record	9–1
Head coach	Bill Morley (2nd season)
Captain	Richard Shore Smith
Home stadium	Polo Grounds

1903 Eastern college football independents records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Princeton			–					11	–	0	–	0
Yale			–					11	–	1	–	0
Columbia			–					9	–	1	–	0
Dartmouth			–					9	–	1	–	0
Geneva			–					9	–	1	–	0
Temple			–					4	–	1	–	0
Lehigh			–					9	–	2	–	1
Harvard			–					9	–	3	–	0
Penn			–					9	–	3	–	0
Army			–					6	–	2	–	1
Carlisle			–					6	–	2	–	1
Amherst			–					7	–	3	–	0
Lafayette			–					7	–	3	–	0
Cornell			–					6	–	3	–	1
Colgate			–					4	–	2	–	1
Penn State			–					5	–	3	–	0
Brown			–					5	–	4	–	1
Syracuse			–					5	–	4	–	0
Fordham			–					1	–	1	–	0
Frankin & Marshall			–					5	–	5	–	1
Rutgers			–					4	–	4	–	1
Villanova			–					2	–	2	–	0
Tufts			–					5	–	8	–	0
Pittsburgh College			–					3	–	5	–	0
Wesleyan			–					3	–	6	–	1
NYU			–					2	–	5	–	0
New Hampshire			–					2	–	6	–	1
Western U. Penn.			–					1	–	8	–	1

Fullback Richard Shore Smith was the team captain.[2] Smith and tackle Tom Thorp received first-team honors on the 1903 All-America team. W. E. Metzenthin also starred in the backfield for Columbia. The team's sole loss was to the 1903 Yale team that featured seven first-team All-Americans, including Foster Rockwell and Tom Shevlin.

Columbia's sports teams were commonly called the "Blue and White" in this era, but had no official nickname. The name "Lions" would not be adopted until 1910.[3]

The team played its home games at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	Wesleyan	Polo Grounds New York, NY	W 10–0		[4]
September 30	vs. Columbia alumni	Polo Grounds New York, NY	W 16–0		[5]
October 3	Union (NY)	Polo Grounds New York, NY	W 36–0		[6]
October 7	Hamilton	Polo Grounds New York, NY	W 29–0		[7]
October 10	Williams	Polo Grounds New York, NY	W 5–0	2,000	[8]
October 14	Swarthmore	Polo Grounds New York, NY	W 5–0		[9]
October 17	Amherst	Polo Grounds New York, NY	W 12–0	4,000	[10]
October 24	Penn	Polo Grounds New York, NY	W 18–6	15,000	[11][12]
October 31	Yale	Polo Grounds New York, NY	L 0–25	32,000	[13]
November 14	at Cornell	Percy Field Ithaca, NY (rivalry)	W 17–12		[14]

References

1. "1903 Columbia Lions Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
2. "Columbia Football 2018 Record Book" (PDF). Columbia University. 2018. p. 197 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "How Columbia Became the Lions". Columbia Football 2019 Record Book. New York, N.Y.: Columbia University. p. 238. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
4. "Columbia, 10; Wesleyan, 0". The New York Times. September 27, 1903. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Columbia, 16; Alumni, 0". The New York Times. October 1, 1903. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Columbia, 36; Union, 0". The New York Times. October 4, 1903. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Columbia, 29; Hamilton, 0". The New York Times. October 8, 1903. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Columbia, 5; Williams, 0". The New York Times. October 11, 1903. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Columbia, 5; Swarthmore, 0". The New York Times. October 15, 1903. p. 10.
10. "Columbia, 12; Amherst, 0". The New York Times. October 18, 1903. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Columbia Trounces Quakers: Wins Football Game With 18 Points To Rival's 6". The Sun. October 25, 1903. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Columbia Wins From Penn: Morningside Players Defeat Quakers, 18 to 6". New York Tribune. October 25, 1903. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Yale's Football Victory". The New York Times. November 1, 1903. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Football Teams in Close Contests: Columbia Triumphs Over Cornell by 17 to 12". The New York Times. November 15, 1903. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.