1890 College Football All-America Team

The 1890 College Football All-America team was the second College Football All-America Team. The team was selected by Caspar Whitney and published in This Week's Sports.

All eleven members of the 1890 All-America team played for three teams—Harvard, Princeton or Yale, then known as the "Big Three" of college football. Some sources indicate that Walter Camp assisted Whitney with the selection of the 1890 All-American team, while others indicate that Camp did not become involved in the selection process until some time in the early 1890s.

The 1890 All-America team included three players who were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: Harvard's great tackle Marshall "Ma" Newell, Yale's guard William "Pudge" Heffelfinger, and Yale's halfback Thomas "Bum" McClung.

The strength of the 1890 team is demonstrated by the fact that a majority of the players selected (seven of eleven) were selected as All-Americans in multiple years. They are: Pudge Heffelfinger (1889, 1890 and 1891), John Corbett (1889 and 1890), Marshall Newell (1890 and 1891), Frank Hallowell (1890 and 1892), Jesse Riggs (1890 and 1891), "Bum" McClung (1890 and 1891), and Sheppard Homans (1890 and 1891).

The team included men who went on to great success in their careers. McClung went on to become the Treasurer of the United States under U.S. President William Howard Taft, and his signature appears on U.S. currency issued during the years 1909 through 1912. Heffelfinger became the first "professional" football player in 1892 when he was paid $25 for his expenses and a bonus of $500 by the Allegheny Athletic Association to play in a game against the rival Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Harvard's quarterback Dudley Dean enlisted in Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders and was decorated for his role in the Battle of San Juan Hill.

...
Wikipedia