Meet the Mother of American Football: Coach Alice Camp

Alice Sumter Camp (1861-1934) (Courtesy: Yale Archives)

When discussing all-time coaches and the early days of the sport of football, Walter Camp is a name that will always come up. Dubbed "The Father of American Football," he is the mind behind the line of scrimmage, and the author behind nearly 30 books and more than 250 magazine articles. Walter Camp is a common name if you're a football or sports fan in general, but throughout his many publications and achievements, one name that won't be bolded is that of his wife, Alice Camp.

In the eyes of the general public, women on the coaching side of men's sports is a recent development, but Alice Sumter Camp paved the way back in 1888 when her husband was approached to coach Yale's highly prestigious football team. Coaching was a brand new concept in sport as teams were previously being lead by student captains, but the Camps took the opportunity head-on, even without receiving compensation.

However, since Walter Camp took the job for free, that meant that he still had to spend his days working at the clock factory and was often missing from practices. When this was the case, Alice would watch practice, take notes, and critique players, reviewing the notes with her husband over dinner. Back in those times, it wasn't women in coaching that was frowned upon but rather women in the sports industry in general, so as such, this responsibility that Alice took on cemented her as a women ahead of her time. She also proved that she knew what she was doing: the 1888 Yale team ended with an undefeated 13-0 record and were never scored upon. These impressive feats of defensive talents were largely due to the efforts of Alice, who became one of the masterminds behind their strategy. The team also scored 126 touchdowns and accumulated 694 points; offensive efforts that Alice also played a role in behind the scenes.

The captain of that historical team, William Herbert Corbin, recalled that the team actively relied on her advice at practices and said "she knew as much about football as almost any man I knew. Her advice proved very valuable to us." In fact, in the evenings after practice, Corbin along with assistants and sometimes other players would gather at the Camp residence to review Alice's notes and strategize around them.

Though perhaps not as celebrated as her husband, Alice was so influential to the Yale team that at it's 25th reunion, the players listed her in the program as a co-coach. Coach Alice Camp played a huge part in football history, and has proven to be one of the original women in sports. She paved the way for those coming centuries after her, and especially in a time where women being involved in sports was unheard of, she showed that it always has and always will be possible.

The program for a 1913 anniversary dinner of the 1888 Yale Football team, listing both Walter and Alice Camp as the head coaches of the historic team. (Yale Archives)

Edited by Caitlyn Wagner