1874 - Sports

Sports

Lawn tennis is patented under the name Spharistike (Greek for playing ball) by British sportsman Walter Clopton Wingfield, 41, who has codified rules for a game played indoors for at least 5 centuries (see 1532). Introduced in Bermuda, the new game quickly moves to the United States, but more vigorous sportsmen dismiss it as suitable only for ladies.

The Royal Quebec Golf Club is founded (see Montreal, 1873). The Toronto and Niagara (Ont.) clubs will be founded in 1876, the Brantford (Ont.) club in 1879.

The first real football game held May 14 at Boston is a variation of rugby (see 1823; Princeton vs. Rutgers, 1869). McGill University has come to play Harvard with only 11 of its 15 players, Harvard players opt for the 11-man team. Players are permitted to run with the ball as well as kick it (Columbia, Princeton, Rutgers, and Yale continue to play by the old soccer rules). Harvard wins the "Boston Game." A second match is held May 15, a third played at Montreal October 22 ends with Harvard winning 3 to 0. The Canadians revert to 15 men on a side upon their return (see 1912), but scrimmage lines and "downs" will not be introduced until the 1880s (see Harvard-Yale game, 1875).