Ohio State Football turns 133 years old today

If you are a fan of Ohio State football, then no doubt this is a special day on the calendar for you. It was on this date 133 years ago, May 3, 1890, that Ohio State football played in their very first game. The first team at Ohio State was started and organized by senior Jesse Lee Jones, who would dress as the team’s first captain.

This “spring” organized club of gentlemen was without a coach on that fateful morning in 1890 as they made the trip up State Route 315 from the Ohio State University to Delaware, Ohio, where they met the football team of Ohio Wesleyan University.

Before making the trip to Delaware, Jones ordered a rule book and a lone ball from the Spalding company out of Chicago and invited fellow classmates to join his newly formed club team. After a couple of practices, they were able to schedule their first game against neighboring University, Ohio Wesleyan as a part of that school’s May Day Weekend festivities.

The Buckeyes were forced to make that road trip by a horse-drawn wagon to Delaware due to the fact that Ohio Wesleyan did not permit their students to play games off of their campus. They met in a field on OWU’s campus that had a hill to the south for spectators and a small stream to the north, giving a beautiful backdrop for a Saturday morning game that looked more like modern-day rugby than what we think of as American football.

The creek acted as an extra defender as a poor toss threatened to end the game for good, as the ball would be carried away by the Delaware Run and make its way to the Olentangy River if the teams were not careful.

That unfortunate event thankfully never took place and the game went off without a hitch. Ohio State won that morning 20-to-14 for their very first victory in school history. It would be their only game until the fall of that same year.

Jones graduated and right guard Paul Lincoln took over as captain for that fall. Alexander S. Lilley became the first coach of Ohio State that same year, volunteering his time. He coached two seasons at Ohio State finishing with a 3-5 record before coaching the Ohio Wesleyan football team in 1892. Ohio State finished their inaugural season with a disappointing 1-4 record.

A historical marker placed in the location of that first game was dedicated by the Delaware County Historical Society on May 3, 2008. Visitors are welcome to stop by and walk the hollowed grounds where the very first Ohio State Buckeye Football team once played.