Footloose and Fancy V
When this photo appeared in an October 1926 issue, the Post editors believed it was the first photograph of a football game in progress. The sight of a photographer on the field was so unusual that the players thought he was carrying a bomb and chased after him, but he convinced them of his innocent intentions.
The photo shows Columbia College employing a “Flying Wedge” against the Princeton line in an 1890 game. The formation called for ten players to line up in a V formation after the ball was snapped to crash through the defensive line. The play was controversial but, for Columbia, ineffective; they lost to Princeton 85 to 0.
Horse Power
The first combine harvesters, built in 1835, were pulled by dozens of mules and horses. Steam-powered combines came in 1880, but many farmers relied on animal power right up to the 1940s.
Flight Risk
Just a few years before this photo was published in 1926, this plane’s pilot, Alford Williams, had won the Pulitzer Trophy by setting a new aviation speed record: 243.673 miles per hour. Today’s passenger planes fly at between 550 and 600 mph.
This article is featured in the September/October 2026 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.
Become a Saturday Evening Post member and enjoy unlimited access. Subscribe now
