The Pandemic And College Football: A Look Back At The 1918 Season

[LiberalArkie]

The possibility of holding some form of the 2020 college football season during a pandemic has sent folks scurrying to research the 1918 season. That's when the Spanish Flu outbreak ravaged the World. The flu, which came in multiple waves from 1918-1919, killed more than 675,000 in the United States.

Not only was there a deadly pandemic in 1918, but World War I was still winding down. According to a report in the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier, 18 schools did not play football in 1918 because of the flu and the war.

While there were some who felt college football should completely shut down because of the pandemic, President Woodrow Wilson felt that football added to the overall morale of the country. As a result, football teams were created at various military posts around the country and actually played against established college teams.

“It would be difficult to overestimate the value of football experience as a part of the soldier’s training,” President Wilson wrote in a letter that was eventually published in 1919.

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https://www.si.com/college/tmg/tony-barnhart/spanish-flu?utm_source=reddit.com

[peacebuzzard]

1. wow. what a photo! 100 years ago.

tripod, silver plate, long exposure.
thanks for posting.