The oldest film in Penn’s University Archives & Records Center documents the 1915 football game featuring Penn versus Cornell, played on Thanksgiving Day in front of a packed crowd at Franklin Field.
Produced by the Alumni Society, the four-minute black-and-white silent film features football players scrambling on the field, cheerleaders performing, a band playing, and fans celebrating, spilling out of the bleachers.
Following this age-old football rivalry, Penn and Cornell will be meeting for the 130th time on Nov. 9. Every year from 1895 to 1938, the Penn-Cornell football game attracted tens of thousands of fans. It was traditionally the last game of the season; all but two of the first 45 meetings were on Thanksgiving Day.
Finding a company that could digitize the film was a challenge, says Assistant University Archivist J.M. Duffin. The 28mm-film format, developed by French firm Pathé Frères in 1912, was the first non-flammable film format and the only viable alternative to nitrate in its time, he says. Distributed by the Pathescope firm in the United States, it was quickly adopted for its safety and ease of use. However, the rise of 16mm film and the development of 35mm safety formats rendered it virtually obsolete by the early 1930s.
“Most places didn't have the equipment that was calibrated for this film,” Duffin says. Eventually they found an expert in film preservation in Washington, D.C., who was able to accomplish the task. The Archives has four of 11 Pathescope films owned by the General Alumni Society in its collection.
The Archives also has the programs for the football games, “Franklin Field Illustrated,” each with a different engaging and colorful design on the cover.
From the Archives features items in Penn’s University Archives & Records Center, which holds University records and materials related to faculty and alumni.
