Albert Richard Football Map

The 1940 edition of F.E. Cheesman’s distinctive celebration of that uniquely American sport – football.

This densely illustrated and informative map of the United States contains an abundance of information related to college football programs throughout the country in 1940. The piece was designed by F.E. Cheeseman and published by Albert Richard, Co. as a promotional item for its men’s clothing line.

Two hundred and forty-four individual programs are shown via pennants, drums, megaphones, and ribbons, with their corresponding record in 1939 listed in the key at the bottom of the image. The Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Sun Bowl, and Rose Bowl are also shown along with the participating teams and the final score in the 1940 contests.

Conference winners are depicted with white banners and as points in the compass rose, although many of the conference names may be unfamiliar to a football fan today, such as the Big Six and the Big Seven. An inset map shows the geographic distribution of the conferences, along with the ten major professional teams that existed at the time of publication, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, who wouldn’t change their name to the Steelers until the following season.

Lastly, the names of every All-American for the previous fifty years are listed on the map’s border, with the exception of 1917, during which there were no awards given due to WWI. On the verso of the map is a schedule of the 1940 season, along with illustrations of Albert Richard men’s outerwear.