One of our favorite periods for Princeton football programs is the 1960s when covers for Princeton Athletic News were illustrated by Bill Canfield. Canfield was sports cartoonist and staff artist at the Newark News. The News ceased publication in 1972 and Canfield became the editorial cartoonist at the Newark Star Ledger. While at the Star Ledger, the subjects of Canfield’s daily cartoons closely matched themes in the paper’s editorials.

Canfield’s covers have a sense of humor and an attention to detail that makes them unique. His cover for the Brown game in 1962:

And the Dartmouth game in 1962:

The Dartmouth game from 1965:

The Harvard game 1966 cover:

Canfield’s cartoons have been exhibited and included as illustrations in several books. Bill Canfield was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame in 1988. Canfield worked in ink, crayon and blue pencil on illustration board and a portion of his work is archived in Syracuse University’s Library Special Collections.

The bland photo covers of current football programs pale in comparison to works by talented artists such as Canfield and we hope someday there is a renaissance in designed covers.