The Last Time Yale Won Four in a Row

Harvard seniors are staring down the alarming prospect of being the first Harvard graduating class this millennium to witness the Crimson lose to that school down south in each of their four years on campus.

Old Eli had grown accustomed to a yearly beatdown after the turn of the century. Harvard won The Game 14 times in 16 years to start the 2000s. Two graduating classes for Yale never rushed the field before the Bulldogs’ 2006 victory saved the next four classes. Then six graduating classes received their Harvard rejection letters, convinced themselves New Haven is cool, completed their in-class coloring books, and received their one-ply diplomas without seeing Yale so much as tie the Crimson.

Thankfully, no Harvard students have watched their team suffer four straight years of defeat in ages. But exactly how long has it been? Well, the class of 1952 never saw a win, but did pull off a tie to avoid the dreaded four consecutive losses.

From 1942-1947, the Crimson lost to the Bulldogs four consecutive times, but The Game was not contested every year during this timeframe. Harvard withdrew from its typical schedule in 1943 and 1944.

“Harvard football next fall will be a far cry from the sport that used to fill the Stadium,” wrote an unattributed Crimson editor on May 14, 1943. “Cancelling the regular schedule which included Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, etc., the change in athletic policy will restrict the Crimson eleven to nothing more than an all-star intra-mural squad that will meet similar outfits from nearby institutions on a very informal basis.”

The Crimson also lost its head coach, Dick Harlow, during the war years. Harlow, a College Football Hall of Fame inductee and the first non-alumnus to coach Harvard, served in the Navy during the second World War. Harvard elevated assistant coach Henry Lamar to head coach while Harlow was away. Lamar, typically a defensive ends coach, is most notable for coaching the four Kennedy brothers during their time at Harvard.

The unorthodox Crimson team compiled a 7-3-1 record over the two years without the traditional team.

While Harvard took a break from its traditional team and schedule during the war, Yale continued competing.

The once proud Bulldog program had sunk during the second half of head coach Ducky Pond’s tenure in the late 1930s. Spike Nelson was hired for one season in 1941 but disappointed with a 1-7 year.

In 1942, Yale hired Howard Odell. Odell took advantage of a weak Harvard team in his first year to pull off a 7-3 victory. Odell took advantage of the next two seasons when the Crimson fielded no formal team to battle the Bulldogs. He compiled one less win in the 1943 and 1944 seasons (11) than Yale had in the previous five seasons combined (12).

When the two schools returned to competition in 1945, Odell’s advantages shined and the Bulldogs picked up a 28-0 win at home. The 1942 game was also held at Yale, so this marked the rare occasion where two straight contests of The Game were held at the same school.

Over the next two seasons, the Crimson tightened the gap and lost by 13 and 10. After the 1947 season, Odell left Yale to take the Washington job. Odell holds the rare distinction of being undefeated in The Game.

Harlow coached his last season at Harvard in 1947. He retired from the profession but remained at Harvard in his role as curator of oology, the study of birds’ eggs, at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. He held this position from 1939-1954.

The Crimson broke out of its slump by winning The Game 20-7 in 1948. This would be the highlight of Arthur Valpey’s two years at the helm for Harvard.

The Crimson began experiencing sustained success in the rivalry in the late 1950s that has held on to this day. The Bulldogs have managed three consecutive victories on three occasions since 1958. Harvard held them off from the fourth victory on the first two occasions. Now, with the stakes the highest they have been in over a century, the Crimson will look to fend off Yale once again.

—Staff writer Reed M. Trimble can be reached at reed.trimble@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @ReedTrimble1.