The 1888 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 1888 college football season. In its first season under head coach Walter Camp, the team compiled a 13–0 record, did not allow a single point, and outscored opponents by a total of 694 to 0. The team has been retrospectively named as the national champion by the Billingsley Report, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, National Championship Foundation, and Parke H. Davis.
Yale's point total was the largest ever made by a Yale team. The team scored 126 touchdowns and kicked 69 goals from touchdown and eight goals from the field. Its scoring leaders included William Wurtenburg with 20 touchdowns, Lee McClung with 16, Charles O. Gill with 14, Frederic W. "Kid" Wallace with eight, William Herbert Corbin with six, and John A. Hartwell and Ashbel Barney Newell with five each.
Head coach Walter Camp and five players (Corbin, Pudge Heffelfinger, McClung, Amos Alonzo Stagg, and George Washington Woodruff) have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Schedule
Game summaries
Wesleyan (first game) On September 29, 1888, Yale opened its season with a 76–0 victory over on the Yale field in New Haven, Connecticut. The starters for Yale were William Herbert Corbin (centre and captain), Brooks (right guard), Pudge Heffelfinger (left guard), William Rhodes (right tackle), Charles O. Gill (left tackle), William Wurtenburg (quarterback), Samuel B. Morison (back), B. Morrison (back), Robinson (right end), Townsend (left end), and Herbert McBride (fullback).
Rutgers
On October 6, 1888, Yale defeated Rutgers, 65–0, on Yale Field in New Haven. Due to rain, only 50 spectators attended the game. The game consisted of 35 minutes of playing time. Team captain William Herbert Corbin had his knee "thrown out of joint" during the game. Yale's starters were Robinson, William Rhodes, Bert Hanson, Corbin (centre), Pudge Heffelfinger, Charles O. Gill, Townsend, William Wurtenburg (quarterback), Samuel B. Morison (halfback), B. Morrison (halfback), Herbert McBride (fullback).
Penn (first game) On October 13, 1888, starting at 3:05 p.m., Yale defeated Penn, 34–0, before a crowd of less than 1,000 at the 37th and Spruce Street grounds in Philadelphia. Yale's starting lineup in the game consisted of Frederic W. "Kid" Wallace (rusher), Charles O. Gill (rusher), Pudge Heffelfinger (rusher), William Herbert Corbin (rusher), Gordon B. Pike (rusher), William Rhodes (rusher), Samuel B. Morison (rusher), Clifford B. Twombly (quarterback), William P. Graves (halfback), William Wurtenburg (halfback), and Herbert McBride (fullback).
Wesleyan (second game) On Tuesday, October 16, 1888, Yale played its second game against Wesleyan, prevailing by a 46–0 at Wesleyan's home field in Middletown, Connecticut. Yale's starting lineup was Frederic W. "Kid" Wallace (rusher), Bert Hanson (rusher), Pudge Heffelfinger (rusher), William Herbert Corbin (centre and captain), Gordon S. Pike (rusher), William Rhodes (rusher), McClintock (rusher), Clifford B. Twombly (quarterback), William Wurtenburg (halfback), Lee McClung (halfback), Herbert McBride (fullback).
Amherst (first game) On Friday, October 19, 1888, starting at 3:20 p.m., Yale defeated Amherst, 39–0, on Amherst's home grounds in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Williams
On October 20, 1888, Yale defeated Williams, 30–0, on Williams' home field in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Yale's 30 points was the lowest score by a Yale team against any opponent other than a Harvard or Princeton team. Yale's starting lineup was Frederic W. "Kid" Wallace (rush line), Bert Hanson (rush line), Pudge Heffelfinger (rush line), William Herbert Corbin (rush line), Gordon Pike (centre), William Rhodes, Morrison, William Wurtenburg (quarterback), William P. Graves (halfback), Herbert McBride (halfback), and William T. Bull (fullback).
Stevens
On October 27, 1888, Yale defeated , 69–0. The game was played in drizzling rain at Yale Field in New Haven. Yale scored 44 of its points in the last inning.
Crescent Athletic Club
On Tuesday, November 6, 1888, in a game starting at 11:15 a.m., Yale defeated the Crescent Athletic Club, 28–0, before a crowd of nearly 1,600 at Washington Park in Brooklyn. Yale's starting lineup was Frederic W. "Kid" Wallace (rusher), Charles O. Gill (rusher), Ashbel Barney Newell (rusher), William Herbert Corbin (rusher), Brewster (rusher), Pudge Heffelfinger (rusher), Amos Alonzo Stagg (rusher), William Wurtenburg (quarterback), Lee McClung (halfback), Perry W. Harvey (halfback), and Herbert McBride (fullback).