| Year: | 1897 |
| Team: | Yale Bulldogs |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Independent |
| Record: | 9–0–2 |
| Head Coach: | Frank Butterworth |
| Hc Year: | 1st |
| Stadium: | Yale Field |
| Champion: | Co-national champion (Davis) |
The 1897 Yale Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented Yale University as an independent during the 1897 college football season. The team finished with a 9–0–2 record, shut out seven of eleven opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 170 to 35.[1] Frank Butterworth was the head coach.
There was no contemporaneous system in 1895 for determining a national champion. However, Yale was retroactively named as the co-national champion by Parke H. Davis.[2] Most selectors designated Penn (perfect 15–0 record) as the national champion for 1897; Yale and Penn did not play during the 1897 season.
Four Yale players were selected as consensus first-team players on the 1897 All-America team. The team's consensus All-Americans were: quarterback Charles de Saulles; end John A. Hall; guard Gordon Brown; and tackle Burr Chamberlain.[3] Other notable players included halfback Charles T. Dudley, fullback Malcolm McBride, center George Cadwalader, guard Charles Chadwick, and tackle James O. Rodgers.
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