Santa Ana Football Team

ClassificationsPhotographs

Datec. 1896

Made AtSanta Ana, California, United States, North America

MediumPhotographic print

DimensionsOverall: 10 x 9 in. (25.4 x 22.9 cm)

Credit LineTerry E. Stephenson Collection

Object number7027.3

DescriptionThis is a 1896 photograph of the Santa Ana Football Team by an unknown photographer. At the turn of the century, developments in sporting were taking place around the county. Like-minded enthusiasts banded together and began to organize into social clubs such as the brand-new Santiago Hunt Club in 1903. Other sports requiring more infrastructure also took root. The county’s first golf course was established two miles southwest of Irvine Park. Into the early twenties and thirties, new sporting fads that would become pervasive symbols of American culture joined the fray as well. By this point the county had already developed into an incredibly complicated structure with each city hosting a litany of teams from grade school athletic programs to semi-professional teams. The back of this photo describes it as the “first ever photograph of a Santa Ana football team” in 1896. It was further noted on the reverse of the image that these were the days where there were three downs to make 5 yards, making for a wildly different game than what is played today.

On View

Not on view

Collections