| Year: | 1899 |
| Team: | Wyoming Cowboys |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Independent |
| Record: | 0–1–1 |
| Head Coach: | Justus F. Soule |
| Hc Year: | 5th |
| Captain: | Fred Brees |
The 1899 Wyoming Cowboys football team represented the University of Wyoming as an independent during the 1899 college football season. In its fifth non-consecutive season under head coach Justus F. Soule, a professor of Latin and Greek, the team compiled a 0–1–1 record. Fred Brees was the team captain.[1]
American football in 1899 remained a variant of rugby, played with a virtually identical ball and sharing a fundamental prohibition of use of the forward pass to advance the ball.[2] The game was played on a field 110 yards long and 53-1/3 yards wide, marked off with white lines parallel to the goal lines every five yards.[3]
The game was played by teams of 11 players, aligned typically with 7 "rushers" or "forwards" at the line of scrimmage, and four "backs" behind them.[4] These were a quarterback immediately behind the line, two halfbacks stationed a couple yards behind him, and a fullback or "goal tend," who stood deep behind the halfbacks. Duration of the game was 70 minutes, divided into two 35-minute halves, which could be shortened by mutual consent,[5] with play regulated by three officials.[6]
Teams were allowed three downs to either advance the ball 5 yards or retreat towards their own goal 20 yards via running or lateral pass, otherwise being forced to surrender the ball to the defenders at the last spot.[7] All tackles had to be made above the knees.[8] A pair of light sticks with a 5-yard length of stout cord or chain were used to measure the line-of-gain for a new first down. As with the modern game, teams typically did not turn over the ball on downs, since "if the prospects of completing the five-yard gain appear small, it is so manifestly politic to kick the ball as far as possible down the field..."[9]
A dropkick or place-held field goal over the 10-foot crossbar and through the goalposts mounted at the goal line counted 5 points, as did a touchdown. Safeties counted as 2 points, as the case remains today.[10]
The possibility of an extra (6th) point followed each touchdown, with the scoring team given the option of a place-kick from any point on the field parallel to where the touchdown crossed the goal line; or a "punt out," in which the scoring team punted the ball from the end zone to a fair-catching teammate, which (if successfully executed) would provide the spot for a drop kick for the extra point.[11] The extra-point placekick was executed with the holder elevating the ball slightly above the ground as the defenders lined up at the goal line. The play began when the ball was touched to the ground, with a mad rush ensuing to block the kick.
Players played both offense and defense without substitution; those being replaced due to exhaustion or injury were forbidden from returning for the duration to the game. Coaching from the sideline was expressly prohibited.
The 1899 season included the first scheduled game with Colorado Agricultural College (now known as Colorado State University), a series that became Wyoming's oldest rivalry, now known as the Border War. In the game, a disagreement between officials from the two schools resulted in a controversial ending to the game, sparking a rivalry that has lasted to this day.[12]
At the time, officials were provided by the schools competing in the game. The game concluded with a Wyoming forfeit being called after Colorado Agricultural official Edward House ruled that Wyoming official E.D. McArthur and the Wyoming team were refusing to abide by the rulebook. After the forfeit was called and the Colorado Agricultural players began leaving the field, official McArthur reportedly exclaimed that he "did not give a damn for the rules" and instructed the Wyoming team to run in a touchdown. This action reportedly set off a brawl between the teams.
Following the game, Colorado Agricultural President Barton Aylesworth declared that his school would not play Wyoming in any athletic event until he received a written apology from the school. The two schools played again the following year, and there has remained bad blood between the two programs since. Per an NCAA rule that does not recognize forfeits in games that were incomplete, Colorado State University does not count the game as a victory in their record books.