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The Rivalry is the college rivalry between Lehigh University and Lafayette College. The two institutions are located 17 miles apart in eastern Pennsylvania. The Rivalry is not limited to one sport, but is seen in any meeting of the two schools. The football rivalry has been played 145 times since 1884, making it the most-played football rivalry in the nation. It is also the longest uninterrupted rivalry, since the teams have met every year since 1897. (Although Harvard and Yale began The Game in 1875, they did not play in 1885, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1899, 1917, 1918, 1943, or 1944). "The Rivalry" is so old that it predates football trophies; the winning team just gets to keep the game ball. These are painted with the score and displayed in winning institution's hall of fame. The evolution of the shape of the football can be seen in the displays of past game balls. The football game is always sold out months in advance and has inspired books and a PBS television documentary narrated by the late Harry Kalas. In 2006, ESPNU ranked The Rivalry #8 in their Top Ten College Football Rivalries and Sports Illustrated has told its readers that seeing it "is something you have to do once in your life."
[edit] History[edit] Pre footballAlthough they did not meet on the football field until 1884, an anecdote from David Bishop Skillman's history of Lafayette College reveals that bad blood existed between the two places even before Lehigh was founded. When Asa Packer first moved to Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania) as an uneducated carpenter, he joined the congregation of a local Presbyterian Church following his family's footsteps. However, he did not fit in well with the other more straight-laced members of the congregation, and so left and joined an Episcopalian congregation that welcomed him. One day, after Asa Packer had risen into affluence and before he founded Lehigh University, Ario Pardee, a coal baron from Hazleton, approached Judge Packer in connection with the addition of an engineering wing to Lafayette College. While eager at first in the proposition, Judge Packer's enthusiasm turned sour when Pardee mentioned that the school would be under the control of the Presbyterian Church. Judge Packer let him know that he would have nothing to do with any school run by the Presbyterians.[1] Asa Packer later enlisted the help of the Episcopal Bishop of Philadelphia, William Bacon Stevens, when founding Lehigh University. [edit] First meetingThe first joint athletic event held between the two institutions was on May 14, 1881 on the grounds of the Lehigh University Athletic Association. The meet consisted of fourteen events; Hundred Yards Dash, Half-Mile Run, Throwing the Hammer, Running High Jump, 440 Yards Dash, Mile Walk, Putting the Shot, Running Broad Jump, 220 Yards Dash, Mile Run, Pole Vaulting, 120 Yards Hurdle Race, Bicycle Race, Standing High Jump, and Tug of War. Lehigh emerged with a decisive victory winning ten of the fourteen events.[2] As a sign of the intense rivalry that would develop between these two schools, an article in Lafayette's student newspaper, the Lafayette College Journal, called the loss a "defeat in our recent contest with Lehigh University, -a defeat, too, doubly humiliating, coming, as it did, from an adversary in every other respect our inferior."[3] [edit] Early footballLafayette began playing football in 1882. The game was closer to rugby back then and even the goals and touchdowns were recorded separately in the scores. After football rules were standardized in 1883, Lafayette's manager Theodore L. Welles approached Lehigh and offered to play them. Lehigh thus formed its first team in 1884, managed by Richard Harding Davis, which gamely played and lost twice to the more experienced Lafayette team. The Lehigh freshmen were dismayed by the lack of support that the administration showed the team. They thought the rickety stands built for the 1887 event in Bethlehem were a disgrace and set them on fire at the end of the game to celebrate Lehigh's first win. Thus the tradition of exuberance surrounding the game was started. Since the start in 1884, only in one year (1896) have the teams not met. Because few schools were playing football at the time and travel was more difficult in the horse and buggy era, Lehigh and Lafayette played each other twice in the early years with each school hosting one of the games. This continued until the development of modern football in 1902 when the current annual game was established. Only once have Lehigh and Lafayette played other than in Easton or Bethlehem. In 1891 the teams played a third game in Wilkes-Barre, before 3,000 spectators. A newspaper report stated: "... by far the largest crowd that ever witnessed a football game in Wilkes-Barre, and the cheering of the students seemed to startle the natives." That was one of three Lehigh-Lafayette games that year; Lehigh won all three. [edit] Modern eraThe Rivalry's football game has been postponed only twice. The first postponement occurred in 1904 because of the death of Dr. Henry S. Drown, president of Lehigh and former faculty member at Lafayette. The only other postponement was in 1963 when the game was moved from November 23 to November 30 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. During World War II, the war restricted travel to other opponents and Lehigh was hosting officer training programs which limited sports programs. Thus to fill out their schedules, the nearby schools played two football games again in 1943 and 1944, with Lehigh students forming ad hoc teams just to keep The Rivalry tradition alive. The combination of only missing one year of play since 1884 plus 19 years with two games has led to The Rivalry becoming the most played in college football. Before 1991, when new rules and game start times were imposed, it was traditional for the fans to tear down the temporary wooden goalposts that the schools erected for the event. Eventually this got out of hand with students fighting for the torn down goal posts, and with each other, as early as before the third quarter. The rules were implemented for the 1991 game which was played at Lehigh and H-shaped steel goalposts anchored 10 feet into the ground were first used. The fans who rushed the field were frustrated by the new changes and showed this by tearing up and throwing pieces of sod at the security guards and police who were surrounding the posts. Only one fan actually was able to climb the posts, and when he was pulled down, he was maced and handcuffed.[citation needed] In recent years, the regular season ending game has often become a factor in deciding the winner of the Patriot League. During the 2004 and 2006 meetings Lehigh came into Fisher Stadium leading Lafayette by one game. Due to tie breaking rules the winner of the game would be crowned the League champion. Lafayette won both times. Other years saw the loser of the rivalry being knocked out of a possible playoff berth by the championship going to another Patriot League school. [edit] Memorable moments[edit] No game in 1896The only year in which there was no game was 1896, when Lehigh refused to play Lafayette over a dispute about the eligibility of their best player, Charles "Babe" Rinehart. The question of eligibility centered around Charles "Babe" Rinehart playing professional baseball the previous summer. A dominating lineman on Lafayette's national-champion 1896 team (who tied Princeton and beat Penn), Rinehart was a Walter Camp All-American, and is considered one of the finest players of the first half-century. He is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. On this same Lafayette team was halfback George "Rose" Barclay, who in the same year was widely credited for inventing the football helmet. [edit] Longest runDuring a 17-0 Lehigh victory in 1918, it is rumored that Lehigh halfback Raymond B. "Snooks" Dowd ran 115 yards for a touchdown. As Lehigh Athletic Media Relations relate the story, "Dowd ran the wrong way, circled his own goalposts," and then ran the length of the field for the touchdown.[4] Some reports have been exaggerated to credit the length of the run to as much as 160 yards.[5] [edit] Overtime CatchThe 1995 game, the first year in which the Patriot League used overtime, was decided in the second overtime session. Following a 30-30 regulation score and a scoreless first possession of overtime, Lehigh wide receiver Brian Klingerman single-handedly caught a pass from quarterback Bob Aylsworth's in the back of the end zone. The catch not only won the game for Lehigh, which trailed 30-14 midway in the fourth quarter, but led them to clinch the Patriot League championship.[4][6] [edit] 100th meetingThe 100th meeting of The Rivalry in 1964 didn't live up to the hype in Fisher Field in Easton. Ending in a 6-6 tie in a mistake-filled game, both teams' kickers missed extra points that would have given them the victory. Coincidentally, this would be the last-ever tie in the football rivalry. [edit] The Big HurtIn 2005, Lafayette's Jonathan Hurt somehow got behind the Lehigh defenders and caught a miracle 37-yard touchdown heave as quarterback Pat Davis was smothered by Lehigh's defense on fourth-and-10 from the Lehigh 37 yard line with 38 seconds left. This gave Lafayette a 23-19 comeback win over Lehigh and a share of its second straight Patriot League championship in the 141st meeting of the nation’s most-played rivalry. Lafayette's win also secured Colgate's co-Patriot League Championship, and gave Colgate the Patriot League's automatic berth to the playoffs. Based upon this win and their season record, Lafayette earned its first ever "At-Large" NCAA Division I-AA playoff bid. Hurt was named MVP of the game after running 18 times for 125 yards and a touchdown, and hauling in the game-winning score. [edit] Football record[edit] Summary145 meetings since 1884
[edit] Individual games
[edit] All Sports TrophyThe Rivalry was further cemented by the creation of the "All Sports Trophy" in 1968. The trophy is held by the school which wins the most varsity sports meetings during a school year. One point is awarded per victory. At the year end, points are totaled to determine the overall champion. [edit] All Sports Trophy record
[edit] 2007-2008 resultsThe following is the results from the All-Sports Trophy for the 2007-2008 academic year: [edit] Men's sports
2007-2008 Men's Totals:
[edit] Women's sports
2007-2008 Women's Totals:
[edit] Overall2007-2008 Combined Totals:
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] References
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