It would be difficult for a college in the United States to have a better pedigree than Penn. The University of Pennsylvania was founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1740. Franklin was frequently used by illustrators on Penn programs. His depiction varied greatly depending upon whether the game was held at Franklin Field or away. Franklin in depicted in an unflattering manner on this 1942 program for that year’s game played at Harvard:

The mascot of the University of Pennsylvania is The Quaker, used from time to time to adorn covers of their football programs, as in this 1958 home game against Harvard:

Ben’s a lot happier here, shown after capturing Handsome Dan, Yale’s mascot on this wonderful 1968 program:

Although, he looks a bit quizzical here, looking for the Brown Bear depicted in the sky in this 1966 home game program:

Penn has a rich history in Ivy League football. It’s first Ivy League opponent was Princeton, who beat them 6-0 on November 11, 1876. He also is credited with inventing the forward pass and center snap.

John Heisman was a graduate of Penn (1892) and served as their football coach from 1920-1922.

Penn’s website has a nice history of nineteenth century football played at this historic university.

We have a nice selection of Penn programs on our website