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Brown Football Program Covers
As college football gained popularity in the late 1800’s, athletic associations began to produce printed material to inform fans about lineups, coaches, and rules of the game. Initially, one page scorecards sufficed, but more sophisticated official game programs soon followed, with eye-catching covers featuring mascots, stadium images, and campus imagery.
At Brown, the bear mascot Bruno was a constant on program covers, and legendary cartoonist Frank Lanning of the Providence Journal created clever covers featuring a bear image which became known to generations of Brunonians, beginning in the mid-1940’s. Lanning's playful, mischievous Bear featured a blunt jaw and a soft belly. Rival program covers had their own versions of Bruno, often pictured interacting with their own mascot.
Consulting a game program was a Brown Stadium ritual for many, followed by a thorough reading of the contents after the heat of battle had ended. This collection of game covers provides a historical glimpse of all eras of Brown football, from the earliest unnamed club teams to the contemporary Brown Bears. Hopefully it tempts the viewer to take a deeper dive, which is done by accessing the full programs located in the Edward North Robinson 1896 Collection of Athletics, housed at the John Hay Library Special Collections.
Click on a year below to view the program covers from that season
1951 Season
1950 Season
1949 Season
1948 Season
1947 Season
1946 Season
1945 Season
1944 Season
1943 Season
1942 Season
1941 Season
1940 Season
1939 Season
1938 Season
1937 Season
1936 Season
1935 Season
1934 Season
1933 Season
At Brown, the bear mascot Bruno was a constant on program covers, and legendary cartoonist Frank Lanning of the Providence Journal created clever covers featuring a bear image which became known to generations of Brunonians, beginning in the mid-1940’s. Lanning's playful, mischievous Bear featured a blunt jaw and a soft belly. Rival program covers had their own versions of Bruno, often pictured interacting with their own mascot.
Consulting a game program was a Brown Stadium ritual for many, followed by a thorough reading of the contents after the heat of battle had ended. This collection of game covers provides a historical glimpse of all eras of Brown football, from the earliest unnamed club teams to the contemporary Brown Bears. Hopefully it tempts the viewer to take a deeper dive, which is done by accessing the full programs located in the Edward North Robinson 1896 Collection of Athletics, housed at the John Hay Library Special Collections.
Click on a year below to view the program covers from that season
1951 Season
1950 Season
1949 Season
1948 Season
1947 Season
1946 Season
1945 Season
1944 Season
1943 Season
1942 Season
1941 Season
1940 Season
1939 Season
1938 Season
1937 Season
1936 Season
1935 Season
1934 Season
1933 Season
