The George Washington Colonials football team represented

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

competition from 1881 to 1966. The team's home field in the final six seasons was District of Columbia Stadium, shared with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. The Colonials were most successful between the 1930s and 1950s, when they regularly played top-level competition. George Washington made one

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

appearance, at the end of the 1956 season at the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

; the Colonials shut out host Texas Western, 13–0, on

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

. The football program was discontinued after the 1966 season due to a number of factors, including the team's lack of an on-campus stadium and football support facilities.

History

The earliest recorded football games at Columbian University (as the school was known until 1904) were five contests against Gallaudet and Episcopal High School between 1881 and 1883. On November 8, 1890, football resumed when Columbian defeated a Washington-based club, Kalorama AC, 10–0. The team played off and on until 1920. That season was not a successful one for George Washington, which finished 1–6–1, including a defeat at the hands of

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, 81–0, and , 101–7. H. Watson "Maud" Crum became the head football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach in 1924. He was the first to remain in that position with the "Hatchetites" for more than four years.When we played football: the GW boys of fall, 1890-1966
, ''

The GW Hatchet ''The GW Hatchet'' is the student newspaper of the George Washington University. Founded in 1904, The Hatchet is the second-oldest continuously running newspaper in Washington, D.C., only behind ''The Washington Post''. The Hatchet is often rank ...

'', August 30, 1999. In 1928, the school's athletic teams were renamed the "Colonials". That year they were routed by

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

, 50–0. Head coach James "Possum Jim" Pixlee took over the following season and led GW to a 0–8 record. Pixlee, however, later became George Washington's winningest coach in terms of number of wins (42). In 1930, GW routed the New York Aggies, 86–0. In the 1930s and 1940s, GW gained nationwide media attention and scheduled top competition, starting with

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in 1932. The Colonials lost, 28–6, but that same year they beat

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, 21–6, and tied

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, 7–7. From 1933 to 1935,

back The human back, also called the dorsum (: dorsa), is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral c ...

Alphonse "Tuffy" Leemans set school records with 1,054 single-season rushing yards, 2,382 career rushing yards, 207 single-season carries, and 490 career carries. After college, he became a two-time All- NFL player for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

and was eventually inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

. From 1938 to 1941, William Reinhart, the Colonials' winningest baseball and basketball coach, also coached football. The football team, however, was mediocre under him, and, from 1943 to 1945, was discontinued due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Andy Davis played as GW quarterback from 1948 to 1951, and recorded 3,587 passing yards and 1,416 rushing yards. In 1952, the Colonials defeated Bucknell, 21–7, with the help of a block punt, an interception, and a fumble recovery. The loss was Bucknell's second in their past 20 games. George Washington was a member of the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

for many years. In 1953, head coach Eugene "Bo" Sherman was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year and center Steve Korcheck was named Southern Conference Player of the Year. In 1956, GW ended the regular season 7–1–1. The lone defeat came against

, when reserve quarterback Alex Szuch's passing led the Mountaineers to victory, 14–0. They held Boston U to a tie, 20–20. The season's performance resulted in the team being invited to play in the 1957 Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX to face the host school, Texas Western (now known as UTEP). The Miners possessed a 9–1 record and were favored by a two-touchdown margin. The 17th-ranked Colonials, however, won, 13–0, to finish their most successful season with an 8–1 record. Over the next three years, the Colonials compiled a 6–20 record. Bill Elias served as head coach in 1961 and improved the Colonials to a 5–3 mark from 1–8 the year prior. After the season, however, he left to take over at

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, a team that had a 28-game losing streak. From 1962 to 1966, James V. Camp served as head coach, and his teams posted a 22–35 record.George Washington Coaching Records
, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved March 17, 2009. Between 1961 and 1963, Dick Drummond rushed for 1,814 yards and was twice named All-Southern Conference. Garry Lyle, one of the last GW players to go on to an NFL career, did not consider the last Colonial teams to have been terrible. He recalled, however, that, "When I was a freshman, we played

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and I remember the varsity coming home and half of them wore casts."Huddling Again At GW; Football Memories Revived at Reunion
, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', p. C08, April 9, 1989. The final George Washington football game to date came on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

, November 24, 1966, when the team lost to , 16–7.Denlinger, Kenneth.
Villanova Claws GW In Final, 16-7
. ''The Washington Post''. November 25, 1966. p. D1. It was GW's third loss in a row. GW ended the season with a 4–6 record (conference: 4–3) and Coach Camp was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year. GW President Dr. Lloyd H. Elliott reevaluated GW's football program; he said that GW had lost $254,000 on the football program during the 1966 season.Denlinger, Kenneth.
GW Decides On Football Path Today
. ''The Washington Post''. January 19, 1967. p. G1. Coach Camp resigned on December 19, 1966, because of the uncertainty of whether GW would retain its football program the following year. On January 19, 1967, the board of trustees voted to end the football program.Denlinger, Kenneth.
Within Reach GW Will Put Emphasis on Basketball Recruiters Abound Transfer Rules Waived
. ''The Washington Post''. January 20, 1967. p. E1. GW decided to use the football program's funding to build a new field house for the basketball team. Poor game attendance and the expense of the program contributed to the decision. A former GW player, Harry Ledford, believed that most people were unwilling to commute into

, which did not have

metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the List ...

at the time, on Friday nights to D.C. Stadium (later RFK), was perceived as an unsafe area. Additionally,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

were nationally competitive teams that drew potential suburban spectators away from GW.

Bowl games

References

{{GWU American football teams established in 1881 American football teams disestablished in 1966 1881 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1966 disestablishments in Washington, D.C.