Although several colleges claim the honor, the first true football game between two American colleges took place on June 4, 1875 when Tufts beat Harvard 1-0. While Princeton and Rutgers claimed to have played the first football game in 1869, their game was basically a rough version of soccer, and carrying the ball and tackling were forbidden. The Tufts--Harvard game permitted catching and running with the ball, keys to the more modern version of football.