The college world
Subject(s): Football, Universities and colleges
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The sun, wearing a football helmet, beams rays onto a football-shaped planet that shows a stadium with fans in the grandstands and a football game in progress. In the background is the outline of a young woman’s head looking on.
Comments and Context
As college life resumed in the fall of 1906, so did the football season. At the time the sport was mostly confined to universities, colleges, and preparatory or secondary schools. Research has revealed President Roosevelt’s initiative and role in rescuing football from criticism and possibly banishment from schoolfields at this very time. There were few helmets (despite the sun’s gear) or other equipment, few rules or even field markers, and few palliatives for what was largely conducted, and enjoyed, as a violent sport frequently reveling in serious injury and death.
When Harvard threatened to outlaw the game, Roosevelt convened interested parties who established rules and standards, leading in a few years to the creation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. An annual prize in Roosevelt’s name is awarded to an outstanding and upright player.
Frank A. Nankivell’s cover cartoon reveals that, despite the bloody fields, much of the public relished the latter-day gladiatorial contests. He asserts, in fact, that the game, if not eclipsing the sun, eclipsed romance, the rite and right of many returning students.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1906-11-14
Creator(s)
Nankivell, Frank A. (Frank Arthur), 1869-1959
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
The college world. [November 14, 1906]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o284157. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Nankivell, Frank A. (Frank Arthur), 1869-1959. The college world. [14 Nov. 1906]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 13, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o284157.
APA:
Nankivell, Frank A. (Frank Arthur), 1869-1959., [1906, November 14]. The college world.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o284157.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 13, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
