Originally featured in Points West magazine in Summer 2015
Wild West and Great Far East poster of “Football on Horseback Between Cowboys and Indians”
Throughout the twentieth century, Hollywood and television westerns presented thousands of armed conflicts between cowboys and American Indians. These filmed reenactments replicated events often depicted in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, yet the producers failed to copy an interesting sporting event between the two factions: the game of football! During its 1905 – 1906 tour of France, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West premiered football on horseback, pitting Buffalo Bill’s cowboys against the French Cavalry. Participants played a soccer match, advertised as “De Chevaux Qui Jouent Au Football,” using a large inflated rubber ball that was “kicked” by the horses to either side of the field to score a goal.
After Buffalo Bill’s show merged with Pawnee Bill’s in 1908, cowboys and Indians on horseback played this extraordinary game. The program describes this event as “the newest form of equestrian sport, played between groups of Indians and cowboys, under special rules—an exciting contest in saddle skill—a novelty seen with this exhibition for the first time in any arena.” Recently acquired through the generous support of Naoma Tate and the family of Hal Tate, this poster artistically depicts this rare sporting event in stunning color. More than likely, this early game proved to be more exciting than a modern football game!
Wild West and Great Far East poster, ca. 1908. U.S. Lithograph Co., Russell-Morgan Print. Gift of Naoma Tate and Family of Hal Tate. 1.69.6521
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