1917 Harvard Crimson football team

The 1917 Harvard Crimson football team, also known as the Harvard Informals,[1] represented Harvard University in the 1917 college football season. The Crimson finished with a 3–1–3 record under first-year head coach Wingate Rollins.[2] Walter Camp did not select any Harvard players as first-team members of his 1917 College Football All-America Team.[3]

1917 Harvard Crimson football
Conference	Independent
1917 record	3–1–3
Head coach	Wingate Rollins (1st season)
Home stadium	Harvard Stadium

1917 Eastern college football independents records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Pittsburgh			–					10	–	0	–	0
Williams			–					7	–	0	–	1
Yale			–					3	–	0	–	0
Princeton			–					2	–	0	–	0
Syracuse			–					8	–	1	–	1
Army			–					7	–	1	–	0
Rutgers			–					7	–	1	–	1
Penn			–					9	–	2	–	0
Brown			–					8	–	2	–	0
Fordham			–					7	–	2	–	0
Lehigh			–					7	–	2	–	0
Boston College			–					6	–	2	–	0
Wash. & Jeff.			–					7	–	3	–	0
Colgate			–					4	–	2	–	0
Harvard			–					3	–	1	–	3
New Hampshire			–					3	–	2	–	2
Dartmouth			–					5	–	3	–	0
Geneva			–					5	–	3	–	1
Penn State			–					5	–	4	–	0
NYU			–					2	–	2	–	3
Tufts			–					3	–	3	–	0
Carnegie Tech			–					2	–	3	–	1
Lafayette			–					3	–	5	–	0
Rhode Island State			–					2	–	4	–	2
Carlisle			–					3	–	6	–	0
Columbia			–					2	–	4	–	0
Cornell			–					3	–	6	–	0
Franklin & Marshall			–					2	–	6	–	0
Villanova			–					0	–	3	–	2
Temple			–					0	–	6	–	1

The team was known as the "Informals" for legal reasons. Prior to the United States' entry into World War I, the team had signed binding contracts to play games with various universities and colleges. When war was declared, the team cancelled its season and cancelled the contracts. When students decide to play football after all, the team was denoted as an "informal" team to fulfill the desire for football without opening the team up to suits for breach of contract.[4]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 6	at Dean Academy	Franklin, MA	W 27–0		[1]
October 13	Bumpkin Island Naval Reserve	Harvard Stadium Boston, MA	W 35–0	4,000	[5]
October 20	1st Maine Heavy Artillery	Harvard Stadium Boston, MA	W 13–0		[6]
October 27	at Depot Brigade	Camp Devens Ayer, MA	T 0–0		[7]
November 3	Portland Naval Reserve	Soldiers' Field Cambridge, MA	T 0–0	20,000	[8]
November 10	Camp Devens	Harvard Stadium Boston, MA	T 0–0	400	[9]
November 17	at Newport Naval Reserves	Newport, RI	L 0–14		[10]

References

1. "Harvard Informals Shut Out Dean, 27-0: Schoolboys Unable to Smother the Line Play of Collegians". The Boston Globe. October 7, 1917. p. 15 – via NewspaperARCHIVE.
2. "Harvard Football Yearly Records". GoCrimson.com. Harvard University. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
3. "Championship Teams Picked for Season". Fort Wayne Sentinel. November 29, 1919.
4. "Harvard's "Informal" Team Avoids Legal Consequences". The Sunday Star (Washington, D.C.). November 4, 1917. p. V-1 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Crimson Tears Big Holes In Naval Reserves' Lines, Winning by 35 to 0". The Boston Globe. October 14, 1917. p. 10 – via NewspaperARCHIVE.
6. "Harvard Wins in Stadium, 13-0: Beats 1st Maine Heavies in Football Battle". The Boston Globe. October 21, 1917. p. 1.
7. "Depot Brigade Holds Harvard To 0-0 Score". THe Boston Globe. October 28, 1917. p. 16 – via NewspaperARCHIVE.
8. "Scoreless Tie at Soldiers Field". The Boston Globe. November 4, 1917. p. 15 – via NewspaperARCHIVE.
9. "Harvard, Within Scoring Distance, Misses Chances". The Boston Globe. November 11, 1917. p. 11 – via NewspaperARCHIVE.
10. "Harvard Informals Beaten at Newport". The Boston Globe. November 18, 1917. p. 16 – via NewspaperARCHIVE.