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Georgetown Football: Timeline

1830- First archival records of a on-campus game called "football", although it appears to be closer to soccer or rugby that the present game of today.
1874- Students form the Georgetown University Football Association to develop an intercollegiate program. Unfortunately, with no opponents playing the game within 150 miles, the sport is confined to the intramural ranks. A year later, the association is retitled the Georgetown University Athletic Association.
1881- Georgetown schedules its first extramural game versus Alexandria (VA) HS. The high school team fails to show, the the game is deemed a forfeit.
1883- Two games are cited by the Georgetown College Journal between Georgetown and a team from "The House". This contest is cited by Gallaudet University as their first two games, wins of 13-0 and 15-0 win over Georgetown. In either case, the game is not presently recognized as an official game in University records.
1884- A citation by the Washington Post claims that a football team from Georgetown traveled to play St. John's College of Annapolis, but this claim cannot be verified.
1887- Georgetown plays its first official game against outside competition, defeating Emerson Institute 46-6. Home games are played on Varsity Field, the 5,000 seat baseball field that is now the site of Copley Lawn.
1889- Georgetown plays its first official intercollegiate game, against Virginia. Georgetown records list the score as Georgetown 34-0, while Virginia records claim their side prevailed, 32-0.
1891-The Athletic Association is reorganized to oversee the administration of the football, baseball, track, and rowing teams. This group will manage the football program through the 1925 season.
1893- The first recorded accounts of the "Hoya Saxa" yell appear in newspaper accounts of games against North Carolina and Swarthmore.
1894- Georgetown captain George "Shorty" Bahen (C'1895) is killed following an injury suffered in a game against the Columbia Athletic Club. The sport is suspended at Georgetown for three years; as a result, Georgetown no longer schedules semi-pro competition.
1900- The first great two-sport star at the University, running back Arthur Devlin (Class of 1901) is snubbed for Walter Camp's All-America team because Camp's selections are restricted only to men from Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. After Georgetown, Devlin stars as a third baseman for John McGraw's New York Giants.
1908- H.C. "Curly" Byrd (C'09), a future president of the University of Maryland, is the first quarterback in the East to master the forward pass, five years before Notre Dame's Gus Dorais does so in 1914.
1912- Harry Costello (C'13) completes a three year record of 22-3-2 (.851) at quarterback. Though weighing only 138 lbs, the "quadruple threat" (passer, rusher, punter, and drop-kicker) is acknowledged by legendary coach Pop Warner as "for his [size], one of the greatest players that ever lived.".
1913- The popular but acrimonious Georgetown-Virginia series is cancelled amidst cries of unfair recruiting. The two schools never meet again in football.
1916- Georgetown's 1916 team (9-1) leads the nation in scoring with nearly 50 points per game. Running back Johnny Gilroy (C'17) leads the nation in scoring and is second in rushing, while wide receiver Tommy Whalen (C'17) leads the nation in pass receiving.
1921- Punter Jack Flavin (C'1923) sets a collegiate record which stands to this day--a 100 yard punt (end zone to end zone) against Holy Cross.
1924- Former Pennsylvania All-American Luigi Piccolo (Lou Little) becomes Georgetown's head coach and first athletic director. Of Little's 41 wins at the Hilltop from 1924 to 1929, 31 are shutouts.
1925- The 9-1 Hoyas shut out seven opponents and surrender only one touchdown all season. Games are moved to 35,000 seat Griffith Stadium, home of the Washington Senators. Plans are announced to raise money for a 25,000 seat "Memorial Stadium" on campus on the site of the present-day baseball field.
1926- Following upsets over Syracuse and Fordham, Georgetown guard Harry Connaughton (C'27) is selected as the school's first consensus All-American. At 6-4, 270 pounds, Connaughton is the largest player selected that year.
1927- Excepting a 19-6 loss to Syracuse, Georgetown's defense surrenders only two points for the rest of its schedule en route to an 8-1 record.
1928- The football team, then known as the Hilltoppers, is first called the "Hoyas" prior to a game with Fordham.
1930- With a six year record of 41-12-3, Lou Little is hired away by Columbia for $18,000 a year. Plans for Little's 30,000 seat "Memorial Stadium" and a 7,500 seat Palestra-style gymnasium are shelved.
1931-. Assistant football coach Frank Leahy leaves Georgetown en route to a legendary career with Boston College and Notre Dame. Following the departure of Little and of basketball coach Elmer Ripley to Yale two years earlier, Georgetown loses three Hall of Fame coaches in less than three years.
1932- After head coach Tommy Mills abruptly quits halfway during the 1932 season, New York Giants lineman Jack Hagerty (C'26) retires from the NFL to become head football coach. Hagerty will coach the Hoyas through the 1948 season and serve as Georgetown's athletic director through 1969.
1938- The Hoyas complete their only unbeaten, untied season (8-0), with five shutouts.
1939- The Hoyas complete a second unbeaten season, with a 13-13 tie to Syracuse its only blemish. Despite a 15-0-1 record over two years, Georgetown receives no post-season bowl invitation.
1940- The greatest season in Hoya football history. Winning their first eight games by an average margin of 32 points, Georgetown takes a 23 game unbeaten streak and a #11 national ranking into Boston to meet Frank Leahy's undefeated #5 ranked Boston College team. BC prevails in a thriller, 19-18, before 34,000 at Fenway Park. Kicker Augie Lio (C'41) and tackle Al Blozis (C'42) are accorded All-America honors.
1941- Georgetown falls to Mississippi State 14-7 in the 1941 Orange Bowl. Ten members of this Georgetown team would go on to play in the NFL.
1943-Varsity play is suspended for three years due to World War II.
1945- Al Blozis, the greatest player in Georgetown football history, is killed in battle during the last months of World War II.
1950- Georgetown is invited to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, falling to Texas Western (now Texas-El Paso) 33-20.
1951- With crushing losses to Penn State, Miami, and Maryland, home attendance slumps below 6,000 a game. Citing a $100,000 shortfall from ticket sales, Georgetown drops the sport and cuts 81 football scholarships. Class intramurals are the only gridiron play at the University for the next thirteen years.
1963- A student drive to reinstate football at a non-scholarship level is approved by a reluctant University administration, which sanctions a game on November 23, 1963 against Frostburg (Md.) State Teachers College. The game is cancelled in the wake of the death of President John Kennedy and the two teams never meet.
1964- Georgetown returns to intercollegiate football with a 28-6 win over NYU before an overflow crowd of over 8,000 at Kehoe Field, the school's track facility. The game begins the "club football" era at Georgetown.
1966- A student boycott of classes is averted as the University sanctions a game against crosstown Catholic University, opening the way for an expansion of the schedule. (Georgetown wins the game, 50-13.)
1969-Running back John Dwyer (C'71) wins consensus Club All-America honors two consecutive years.
1970- The football team rejoins the NCAA at the College Division (Division II) level. The Hoyas win 12 of its first 16 games under new head coach Scotty Glacken, a former all-ACC QB at Duke and a former member of the Denver Broncos. Glacken will coach the Hoyas 23 seasons, the longest tenure of any Georgetown football coach.
1972-The NCAA's College Division is subdivided, and Georgetown is reassigned into Division III the following year.
1973-Defensive tackle Bob Morris (Class of 1975) earns consensus All-America honors for two consecutive years.
1978-Leading the nation in scoring offense, Georgetown finishes one point short of an undefeated season following a 33-32 loss to St. John's.
1979-Kehoe Field is rebuilt on the roof of the subterranean Yates Field House, and given an artificial turf surface.
1984-The Hoyas suffer their worst season in school history, losing all eight games. A winless record is averted in the record books after a 56-6 loss to Catholic University is ruled a forfeit after Catholic was found to be using an ineligible player.
1988- Georgetown puts together its best two year record since 1971 at 12-4-1.
1991- Wide Receiver Chris Murphy (B'93) earns consensus All-America honors. Quarterback Aley Demarest breaks numerous Georgetown records after only two seasons, but transfers to play quarterback at Tulane.
1993- Georgetown upgrades its football program to Division I-AA, and joins the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for football. GU hires Bob Benson as its new coach. Games against Division III opposition are phased out over the next three years.
1995- The Hoyas finish their third season in Division I-AA with the #1 ranked total defense in the entire division.
1996- A 7-3 record gives the Hoyas its most wins in a season since 1978, and only the second seven win season since 1940. Georgetown retains its title as the #1 defense in Division I-AA.
1997- The Hoyas win the MAAC with an undefeated 7-0 record and an 8-2 season overall, the most wins by a Georgetown team since 1940. The Hoyas are invited to the 1997 ECAC Bowl, its first post-season game since 1950. The Hoyas fall to Robert Morris, the Northeast Conference champions, 35-13.
2000- Following consecutive 9-2 seasons, Georgetown is invited to join the Patriot League in football, effective in the 2001 season.
2003- Georgetown defeats Cornell 42-20, its first Ivy League opponent since 1937.