University of Portland Museum

UP Trivia / Bar bets: Football

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When were the first and last football games for Columbia University/University of Portland?

First football game — October 11, 1902      Columbia University (5) vs Bishop Scott Academy (15)

Last football game —  November 19, 1949  University of Portland (35) vs Lewis and Clark College (20)

1903 Columbia University Football Team
1903 Columbia University Football Team (University Archives photo)

 

Six members of 1949 team with backfield coach Floyd Simmons
Six members of 1949 team with backfield coach Floyd Simmons (University Archives photo)
The 1949 football team toured 20th Century Fox studios prior to the football game at Pepperdine. At center of photo in hat is Bing Crosby next to Rev. Theodore Mehling, C.S.C, university president, October 21, 1949
The 1949 football team toured 20th Century Fox studios prior to the football game at Pepperdine. At center of photo in hat is Bing Crosby next to Rev. Theodore Mehling, C.S.C, university president, October 21, 1949 (University Archives photo)

Football on the Bluff began with a loss and ended with a win for the University.  The program ran consecutively except during the war years, 1943, 1944, 1945.  The overall record for Columbia Cliffdwellers/University of Portland Pilots Football — 150 wins; 136 losses; and 33 ties.

For more about the University’s football program, visit our online exhibit at: https://sites.up.edu/museum/exhibits/football/
and also see football memorabilia and photographs in person in the University’s Museum and Archives on campus in Shipstad Hall.