April 11, 1885: The 1st College Football Game in the American West

A Colorado College banner, circa 1885

April 11, 1885: For the 1st time, a college football game is played in the American West. Colorado College beat the University of Denver, 12-0 at Athletic Park in Colorado Springs.

It wasn't quite the 1st organized football game involving a college in the West, or even in Colorado. That happened on Christmas Day, December 25, 1882, when Colorado College defeated Sigafus Hose Company, a group of firefighters, 10–8 on a field near the college campus in Colorado Springs.

The Colorado College Tigers should not be confused with either the University of Colorado, in Boulder; or with Colorado State University, formerly Colorado A&M, in Fort Collins. Colorado College competed in NCAA Division I football until 1967, and then dropped all of its sports teams to NCAA Division III. They dropped football completely after the 2008 season.

They still compete in Division III in all other sports, except hockey, where they compete in Division I. They won the National Championship in 1950 and 1957, and have made the Frozen Four, the hockey version of basketball's Final Four, 10 times, most recently in 2005.

The University of Denver Pioneers won 7 Conference Championships between 1908 and 1954, but dropped football after the 1960 season. For other sports, they still compete in Division I, and are especially strong in hockey: They are tied with the University of Michigan for the most National Championships, 9: 1958, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1969, 2004, 2005, 2017 and 2022.

DU Stadium stood from 1926 to 1971, and seated 30,000 people. The Air Force Academy, located in Colorado Springs, played some home games there from 1955 to 1961. While still in the AFL, the Denver Broncos played 2 home games there, due to minor-league baseball's Denver Bears having priority at what later became Mile High Stadium: On September 7, 1962, beating the San Diego Chargers, 30-21; and on September 7, 1963, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, 59-7. On August 5, 1967, the Broncos beat the Detroit Lions at DU Stadium, in the 1st exhibition game between an AFL team and an NFL team.

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April 11, 1885 was a Saturday. Baseball was the only professional sport in North America at the time, but neither the National League nor the American Association had yet begun its 1885 season. This was also before England's Football League was founded, so there was no league soccer on this Saturday. And the FA Cup had already been decided: On April 4, Blackburn Rovers of Lancashire beat Queen's Park of Glasgow, Scotland, 2-0 at the Kennington Oval, a cricket field in South-East London.