Georgetown football, 1874–1889
1874–1889 history of the Georgetown Hoyas football program

The Georgetown Hoyas football program represents Georgetown University, based in Washington, D.C., in the sport of American football. This article covers the team's history through 1889, when it was known simply as Georgetown football. The team was founded in 1874, but did not play any games that year. They scheduled their first game in 1881 against a local high school, but the latter failed to show up for the game and it was considered a Georgetown forfeit win. In 1883, they played two games against Gallaudet University. They reportedly played a game in 1884, played no games from 1885 to 1886, and then played regularly in the final three years of the decade, including their first intercollegiate match in 1889 against the Virginia Cavaliers. Modern-day Georgetown records do not consider any games prior to 1887 official, although their media guides prior to 1950 did.
Formation
Georgetown University's football team traces its history to 1874. The sport had first been played five years earlier, and it was growing in popularity. Baseball was the first sport to begin at the school in 1870, and students wanted to have a sport to play in the winter as well.
“Georgetown football, 1874–1889” enters the record as 1874–1889 history of the Georgetown Hoyas football program. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Georgetown, football and history can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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