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Credit: Gonzaga University Special Collections |
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On Thanksgiving Day 1892, the first Gonzaga football game was played on campus with 500 in attendance. Coached by Henry Luhn, a Notre Dame football alumnus, the Gonzaga team had been assembled only weeks prior. They played the Spokane Amateur Athletic Club (SAAC), which consisted of young lawyers and other professionals who had graduated from East Coast universities. The football field measured 120 yards and the period of play was two 35-minute halves. The teams had three downs to make five yards. The game ended in a tie: 4-4. Afterward, football became a major attraction for the student body and for the next five years Gonzaga would play against Spokane High School. However, the style of play led to many injuries, which forced Gonzaga administrators to only allow intramural football. By 1905 when the forward pass was introduced, a more open style of game was played. Gonzaga continued to play football on and off until World War II. |
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