Yale Bulletin and Calendar

November 15-22, 1999Volume 28, Number 13



Parachuters sailed into the Yale Bowl as part of the festivities marking the 100th anniversary of The Game in 1983.



Long history of legends surrounds 'The Game'

Over the years, The Game has become the stuff of legend -- as much for what happened outside the Yale and Harvard stadiums as for what has transpired on the football field.

Although The Game began in 1875, this year's contest on Saturday, Nov. 20, at the Yale Bowl is only the 116th match-up between the Bulldogs and the Crimson, since the game was not played at all in the years 1877, 1885, 1888, 1895, 1896, 1917, 1918, 1943 or 1944.

Yale leads the series with 62 wins, 45 losses and 8 ties. Overall, Yale has outscored Harvard 1,495 to 1,263. The Bulldogs' highest score against Harvard was 54-0 in 1957, while the Crimson's highest score against Yale was 45-7 in 1982. Yale has enjoyed an eight-game winning streak over Harvard -- which, in turn, boasts two four-game winning streaks over Yale.

The following is a brief list of other notable incidents associated with The Game.

1875: First contest played at Hamilton Park in New Haven. Yale guaranteed Harvard $75 to play; tickets sold for 50 cents. (Yale 0, Harvard 4)

1876: Oliver Thompson became the first Yale football player to score against Harvard. (Yale 1, Harvard 0)

1882: "Still there can be no excuse for the use of teeth in football," noted a Harvard Advocate reporter of the game. (Yale 1, Harvard 0)

1885: The Harvard faculty bans football, calling it "brutal, demoralizing to teams and spectators, and extremely dangerous."

1889: The bulldog owned by Andrew Graves (Yale College Class of 1892) and named Handsome Dan becomes Yale's mascot. (Yale 6, Harvard 0)

1897: 20,000 fans show up to witness a 0-0 tie.

1900: First year "Boola Boola" was sung by Yale fans (Yale 28, Harvard 0)

1908: Percy Haughton is named Harvard's head coach. The story that he once tore a live bulldog to pieces in front of his team cannot be proved. (Yale 0, Harvard 4)

1914: First Yale-Harvard game played in the Yale Bowl (Yale 0, Harvard 36)

1916: Students "shot off Roman candles and fireworks, writhed in snake dances, and caroused far into the night" wrote the New York Times of Yale's 6-3 win.

1920: 80,000 fans are in attendance, the largest crowd ever at The Game (Yale 0, Harvard 9)

1923: There were 54 punts during The Game. (Yale 29, Harvard 25)

1930: The Game becomes the first U.S. football contest broadcast to England. (Yale 0, Harvard 13)

1932: "Unknown malefactors" sneak into the Yale Bowl and run off with the goal posts, streaming "Y" banners up and down the flagpoles. (Yale 19, Harvard 0)

1934: Handsome Dan was lured from the Yale campus with hamburger and photographed licking the boots of John Harvard's statue. (Yale 14, Harvard 0)

1937: Scalpers get $50 for a pair of tickets to The Game, despite the hardships of the Depression. (Yale 6, Harvard 13)

1945: Ivy League is formed, originally pertaining only to football, to prevent universities from becoming merely training grounds for pro leagues. (Yale 28, Harvard 0)

1949: Levi Jackson, the first African-American Yale player, captains the Bulldogs to victory. (Yale 29, Harvard 6)

1955: Harvard students let three piglets loose onto the field as the Yale band played. (Yale 21, Harvard 7)

1962: Concession stand prices: hot dogs, 25 cents; peanuts, 20 cents; large cola, 25 cents; coffee, 15 cents; cigarettes, 35 cents. (Yale 6, Harvard 14)

1963: For the first time in history, The Game is postponed after news of President Kennedy's assassination reaches the teams on the eve of the contest. (When eventually played, Yale 23, Harvard 6.)

1968: The Tie: in what has been known as "The Game of the Century," Harvard comes from behind to tie, 29-29, in the last seconds of the game.

1982: Courtesy of MIT, an enormous black balloon rises out of the field in front of the Harvard bench. (Yale 7, Harvard 45)

1983: The 100th running of The Game (Yale 7, Harvard 16).

1990: MIT students launch a banner reading "MIT" from the goal posts during the third quarter. (Yale 34, Harvard 19)

1998: Played at Harvard, Yale edges by 9-7 after trailing 7-0 late in the fourth quarter.

-- By Thomas R. Violante


T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Bulldogs gear up for 'The Game'

Donoghue, biodiversity expert, will join EEB

Study proves aspirin alone prevents future heart attacks

Academy of the Arts pays tribute to Stern

Environmental Law Institute lauds Speth

Yale moves forward with biomedical engineering program

Columbia's Chase named deputy dean of medical education

Endowed Professorships

Nobel Peace Prize winner to take part in discussion of East Timor

Veteran White House correspondent to give Poynter Lecture

Long history of legends surrounds 'The Game'

Yale, Harvard Glee Clubs mark century of making harmony on eve of 'The Game'

Study reveals why 'Lonesome George' snubs potential mates

Noted alumnus describes 'dramatic' changes in the world of sports

Architect Libeskind tells how he conveyed 'the real' and 'the invisible' in new Jewish Museum of Berlin

Bone loss from steroid use is easily preventable, says Insogna

Medical school auction to benefit homelessness, hunger programs

People with OCD can find support in group therapy

Annual tour will showcase area hotel accommodations

Yale affiliates to present talks off campus

Event offers tips on how to have tough discussions

. . In the News . . .


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