In the End, It's Penn

Harvard and Penn, sitting together atop the Ivy League standings, square off on Philadelphia's Franklin Field today to decide Ivy League supremacy.

Sound familiar? This weekend's crucial matchup has a precedent--the controversial 1982 contest between the Crimson and the Quakers. And the outcome was something to remember.

This week, The Crimson takes a look back at that memorable game.

The Final Play

No time remained on the clock, and the scoreboard read Harvard 21, Penn 20. Hundreds of ecstatic Crimson fans swarmed onto the field to celebrate the team's first Ivy title since 1975.

But most of them at first didn't notice that a small yellow handkerchief lay on the ground beneath their dancing feet.

It wasn't over yet.

Referee Bob Lynch had called a roughing the kicker penalty on an unidentified Harvard player, despite the fact that the ball had been partially blocked. A whirl of confusion surrounded the call, but Penn placekicker Dave Shulman nonetheless had another chance, this time from 28 yards out.

Shulman caught his breath, lined up the kick, and booted the ball high over the crossbar to give Penn its first league championship in 23 years.

Penn fans tore down the goal posts, and Quaker players wept and hugged each other.

Harvard players just lay on the ground, starting at the Franklin Field scoreboard in disbelief.

The final final score was Penn 23, Harvard 21, and time had run out on a Crimson miracle.

Penn, now 4-2, had sole possession of the league lead. But they would bow to lowly Cornell on the following Saturday, while Harvard was wiping the turf with Yale, beating them 45-7.

So the Cantabs earned a share of the Ivy League crown, but their half-championship was tainted by the bitter memories of the Penn debacle.