Crimson Leads, 42--14, In Rivalry With Brown

A desperate goal-line stand in the closing seconds of the game gave the Crimson football team a 27-20 victory over Brown in 1953. Six years have passed since that triumphant November afternoon, and the varsity has yet to register another win against the Bruins. No other rival, not even Yale or Princeton, can claim such domination over the Crimson.

The 1953 clash was one of the most exciting in Harvard annals. With 17 minutes left in the game, the varsity had a comfortable 27-7 lead, thanks to brilliant play on the part of tailbacks Carroll Lowenstein and Dick Clasby, wing-back Bob Cowles, and fullback John Culver. But Brown roared back; with two minutes to play, the score was 27 to 20, and the Bruins had a first down on the Harvard six. The Crimson line, anchored by guard Bill Meigs, held on for the triumph.

Nor was the action confined to the game proper. After the gun sounded, one of the wildest brawls in modern memory broke out among the players. The Brown line, Meigs, Culver, and Crimson tackle Bernie O'Brien were the most prominent participants in the fray; Culver emerged with an opponent clutched in each hand.

In 1954, the great drought began with a 21-21 tie. In fact, two dry spells marked their origins that fall. On the same day that Brown quarterback Pete Kohut engineered the Bruins to a late-game touchdown that tied the score and took away the Crimson's last taste of victory, the Department of Athletics began its campaign to prevent "obvious violations" of its new no-liquor law.

Four straight Harvard losses followed, and the varsity finds itself today clearly favored for the first time since the period of darkness fell. It has been a dismal six years, to be sure, but things were not always thus.

"Saturday chronicled the first meeting of Harvard and Brown in football. In many ways it was the most satisfactory game of the season, not because Harvard made her this year's record in number of points won, but because the eleven was given an excellent test of its defensive work." So said the CRIMSON on Oct. 30, 1893, after the varsity had crushed the Bruins, 58 to 0, in the series inaugural.

Harvard proceeded to run off 20 straight victories before Brown managed a tie in 1914. The Crimson pushed its streak to 23 Brown games without a loss in 1915, but the next fall the Bruins finally came through with a win, by the score of 21 to 0.

Those 23 years covered some of the finest moments of Harvard football, during the periods when the Crimson led the way in college competition. In 1894, the varsity whipped Brown twice, 18 to 4 and 18 to 0. For the next six seasons, the Crimson thrashed Brown steadily, but without piling up point totals as impressive as the one in 1893.

Finally, in 1901, the varsity cut loose with an overwhelming 48-0 trouncing of the hapless Bruins. However, the game was not as satisfactory as the score makes it seem. As the CRIMSON of Nov. 4, 1901, put it, "Harvard defeated Brown on Saturday by a score of 48 to 0, in an uninteresting and poorly played game. Harvard was not once held for downs, while Brown was able to gain a first down only once."

Apparently the spectators in the stands could barely keep awake. But Crimson fans were used to excellence. With a man named Percy Haughton beginning to help with the coaching once in a while, Harvard was rapidly building towards greatness. The Crimson went undefeated in 1901, beating Yale, 22 to 0.

The varsity continued to grind out unspectacular wins against Brown until 1913, when another touchdown jamboree produced a 37-0 Crimson triumph. Fullback Charlie Brickley led the scoring with a touchdown and a field goal. He was the top point-maker on an undefeated team that tallied 225 markers in nine encounters while allowing only 21.

Harvard fell quickly from its 1913 peak, and Brown managed its first win three years later, after a tie game and an unconvincing Crimson victory. In 1918, following a one-year lapse in the rivalry, the Bruins won again, 6 to 3, but the Crimson rallied with three straight triumphs, including one by 27-0 in 1920.

In five of the seven games played between 1922 and 1932, Brown scored victories, but another spell of Crimson dominance was at hand. Beginning with the 1933 contest, the varsity held Brown to 13 points in five years, winning by margins of 12 to 6, 13 to 0, 33 to 0, 28 to 0, and 34 to 7.

The bubble burst in 1938, as Brown eked out a 20-13 edge in a close, hard-fought struggle. But the Crimson embarked upon another string of successes when the resumed after a year's respite in 1940. After prevailing, 14 to 0, in 1940, the varsity added 23-7, 7-0, 14-7, 28-0, 13-7, and 30-19 wins in the next six Harvard-Brown meetings.

Brown snapped back with a 28-14 victory in 1949, but the Crimson won in 1950, 14 to 13, on Dike Hyde's extra point, after Lowenstein's running and passing had brought the team from behind. The two rivals split in 1951 and 1952, and the Crimson's 1953 win intervened before Brown began its reign of power.

After the 21-21 tie in 1954, Brown triumphed, 14 to 6, in 1955, and 21 to 12, in 1956. In 1957, Harvard absorbed its worst licking at the hands of a Bruin eleven. Behind quarterbacks Frank Finney and Nick Pannes, today's starter, Brown scored early and often against an outclassed and injury-ridden Crimson eleven. The final score was Brown 33, Harvard 6.

Since the low point two seasons ago, things have been picking up. Last fall, an inspired Crimson rally just fell short, as Finney passed the Bruins to a 29-22 victory.

Trailing, 23 to 6, at halftime, the varsity caught fire in the second half and nearly pulled the game out. Two plays after the kickoff, fullback Sam Halaby turned in the longest run from scrimmage in the long history of Harvard Stadium--an 84-yard dash, aided by a picture block by Larry Repsher. Quarterback Charlie Ravenel guided another touchdown drive, and the Crimson was within one point, 23 to 22. But Harvard could not score again.

The Crimson has taken 42 of the 58 games in the series; Brown has won 14, and two have been tied. Today, the varsity will be doubly determined, since two matters are at stake. In the first place, the Crimson must beat Brown to stay in the Ivy League race. A more galling consideration is the longtime Bruin domination. This, in the eyes of Harvard followers, has gone just about far enough.

Brown snapped back with a 28-14 victory in 1949, but the Crimson won in 1950, 14 to 13, on Dike Hyde's extra point, after Lowenstein's running and passing had brought the team from behind. The two rivals split in 1951 and 1952, and the Crimson's 1953 win intervened before Brown began its reign of power.

After the 21-21 tie in 1954, Brown triumphed, 14 to 6, in 1955, and 21 to 12, in 1956. In 1957, Harvard absorbed its worst licking at the hands of a Bruin eleven. Behind quarterbacks Frank Finney and Nick Pannes, today's starter, Brown scored early and often against an outclassed and injury-ridden Crimson eleven. The final score was Brown 33, Harvard 6.

Since the low point two seasons ago, things have been picking up. Last fall, an inspired Crimson rally just fell short, as Finney passed the Bruins to a 29-22 victory.

Trailing, 23 to 6, at halftime, the varsity caught fire in the second half and nearly pulled the game out. Two plays after the kickoff, fullback Sam Halaby turned in the longest run from scrimmage in the long history of Harvard Stadium--an 84-yard dash, aided by a picture block by Larry Repsher. Quarterback Charlie Ravenel guided another touchdown drive, and the Crimson was within one point, 23 to 22. But Harvard could not score again.

The Crimson has taken 42 of the 58 games in the series; Brown has won 14, and two have been tied. Today, the varsity will be doubly determined, since two matters are at stake. In the first place, the Crimson must beat Brown to stay in the Ivy League race. A more galling consideration is the longtime Bruin domination. This, in the eyes of Harvard followers, has gone just about far enough.