Stadium's Diamond Anniversary is Ton

Back at the turn of the centtaken hold of Harvard's athletic program, as The Gameapproached its silver anniversary. There was talk ofbuilding a stadium, replacing Soldiers Field's hazardouswooden stands with a more grandiose home for the Crimsongridders; but President Eliot feared the proposed concretearena would lie like a dormant white monster when thefootball fad faded.

Big Money

The Class of 1979, in celebration of its 25headed the drive to build Harvard Stadium; and with thesupport of its $100,000 fund-raising effort, the $310,000,23,000-seat structure came into being on November 14, 1903,as Harvard lost to Dartmouth, 11-0, in the monument'sdedicatory contest.

Today's game marks the diamond anniversary of thehorseshoe, and it's an understatement to say that a lot ofamazing things have transpired in the last 75 years. Therewas the cold-weather conversion of the field into skatingrinks; there was the modification from horseshoe to oval andback again; there were speeches (Castro) and rock concerts(Baez to Manilow); but most of all there were footballgames.

And above all, Yale football games--or more properly,Games. They are contest that can make or break any season that have a certain magical quality to them (how elsecould an unheralded end named Ted Kennedy have earned a spot in Harvard football lore than by scoring the lone touch down in 1955's 21-7 loss?).

What began on November 13, 1875 in New Hav Harvard scored four goals and four touchdowns while holding Yale scoreless, has evolved from modest origins into a living legend. When Herbert Leeds scored the first points ever in Harvard-Yale football game by falling on a loose ball that had eluded the Yale football game by falling on a loose ball that had eluded the Yale goaltenders in the 1875 game, there were few people there who would have predicted the rivalry would develop into such a grand spectacle.

In a year that celebrates the incredible '68 tie, perhaps it is fitting to look at The Game's history with a special eye towards the eight tie contests (six score less ones) which have punctuated victories for the proud Ivy giants.

Number One

The first tie came in 1879, a scoreless battle suffering largely from the bitter rule disputes in which two schools were embroiled. Disagreements led to battles on the field, and a particularly brutal and bloody contest in 1894 forced the archriyals to cancel further varsity athletic competition between the two teams.

Fortunately, the ban lasted only two years; and in 1897, The Game made its return, only to end in an unsatisfying 0-0 tie. After failing to score from the Yale five-yard line, the Crimson was so disgusted that it forfeited the traditional H awarded at the close of the football season.

Two years later, frustration returned as The Game of '99 ended in a scoreless deadlock. Harvard had just one chance to score as Shirley George Ellis bulled his way to the one-yard line, only to be turned back by a defender who had braced himself for the collision by placing his feet against the goal posts and then shooting his body out to make the game-saving stop.

The defenses took over for two years in 1910 and '11 s the teams finished in consecutive 0-0 deadlocks. And 14-years later, as the great Robert T. Fisher closed out his successful six-year Crimson coaching tenure, the scoreless disappointment again returned.

But 1951 brought with it a memorable 21-21 tie, a game filled with the exploits of the versatile Dick Clasby, then just a the versatile Dick Clasby, then just a promising sophomore. In a game rated a toss-up, the early events betrayed the predictions as Yale took two-touchdown lead.

Comeback Time

But Clasby his Paul Crowley with a scoring connection that closed the gap to 14-7. From there, the Crimson pulled off the unexpected. Two players who had gained only late-season varsity recognition did the damage, John Ederer taking a fake handoff for an 83-yd. scoring romp, and Fred Drill running 20 yards with an interception that put Harvard ahead, 21-14.

Then in the dramatic, retiring Yale coach Herman Hickman told his quarterback Ed Molloy, You start pitching and I'll start walking." As Hickman strolled away from the sidelines and toward the Bowl exit, Molloy tossed the Elis 65 yards upfield to knot the score and end The Game.

Anyway

Yet even in the least satisfying endings, The Game has succeeded in charging up the multitudes who annually gather for their supply of tradition. Overall, Yale leads the rivalry, 51-35-8; but a Harvard Stadium, The Game is all even at 16-16-3.

So today, within essentially the same structure that they played in 75 years ago, an advantage in the Game's results in Harvard Stadium will be decided -- unless of course, lightning strikes again on the tenth anniversary of the most amazing of Harvard-Yale ties.