To celebrate the opening of the University of Michigan 2009 football season, we offer this selection of football-related items from the Clements Library collection.

University Foot-Ball: The Play of Each Position Treated by a College Expert, 1893
This book, edited by James R. Church, includes portraits of players, illustrations of plays, and diagrams.

Foot Ball Rules: As Recommended to the University Athletic Club by the Rules Committee, 1896
This pamphlet, part of the Spaulding’s athletic library series, contains rules, a summary of the 1895 season, a discussion of the All-America team for 1895, letters from players, and a variety of individual and team portraits throughout. The University of Michigan football team had the following scores for the 1895 season (p. 101):

U. of Michigan, 34; Mich. Mil. Acad., 0.
U. of Michigan, 42; Detroit A. C., 0.
U. of Michigan, 64; Adelbert College, 0.
U. of Michigan, 40; Rush Med. College, 0.
U. of Michigan, 42; Oberlin College, 0.
U. of Michigan, 0; Harvard, 4.
U. of Michigan, 12; Purdue Univ., 10.
U. of Michigan, 20; U. of Minnesota, 0.
U. of Michigan, 12; Chicago Univ., 0.

Romance of Prairie Gold, 1939, is a promotional item from the culinary ephemera collection. Written as an educational item for young readers, it promotes corn and its products. It contains several illustrations, including this one of athletes playing football.