1896 record 5–2–1 (2–0 TFL) Home stadium Unknown | ||
Head coach William Wurtenburg (2nd year) | ||
The 1896 Dartmouth football team represented Dartmouth College in the 1896 college football season.
The number of games played in 1896 was reduced from the previous season, down to a more normal level of eight. One notable absence from the 1896 schedule was a game against rival Harvard, the only time during Wurtenburg's tenure that the Crimson were not played. The 1896 season was also the most successful, winning percentage-wise during Wurtenburg's time as coach; the team finished the year with a 5–2–1 record and a .688 win percentage, the tenth best record in the country out of the thirty major teams. Following an initial win against the Worcester Athletic Association, the squad suffered back-to-back shutout losses to Yale and Penn. The remainder of the season, however, was highly successful for the team, and they went 4–0–1 in their final five games. This included defeating both Triangular Football League opponents by a combined score of 42–0 for a fourth consecutive championship, and a tie with the Brown team they had lost to the previous year.