The Rivalry (Lehigh–Lafayette)

Lafayette vs. Lehigh
First meeting: Lafayette 56, Lehigh 0
October 25, 1884
Latest meeting: Lehigh 45, Lafayette 21
November 19, 2016
Next meeting: TBD Goodman Stadium, Bethlehem, PA
Total meetings: 152 (most in college football)
Series record Lafayette: 78–69-5
Largest victory Lehigh: 78–0 (1917)
Longest streak Lafayette: 10 (1919–28)
Current streak Lehigh: 2 win (2015-16)
Trophy: None
The Lafayette–Lehigh MVP Trophy plaque prior to the 144th meeting, 2009.

The Rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played by the Lafayette Leopards football team of Lafayette College and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team of Lehigh University. It is the most-played football rivalry in the nation and the longest uninterrupted annual rivalry series. As of 2016, "The Rivalry" has been played 152 times since 1884 with only a single interruption in 1896. The college's football teams met twice annually (except 1891, when they played three games, and 1896, when they did not play at all) until 1901. The two institutions are located seventeen miles apart in the Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania. Though primarily alluding to football, "The Rivalry" pertains to a meeting between the two schools in all sports and other endeavors.

Despite popular belief, Harvard and Yale did not play The Game in four separate years during The Rivalry's current streak of 151 consecutive games. Furthermore, Lehigh and Lafayette met twice per season in 1943 and 1944 during World War II. 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 kept at the winning institution's campus. Lehigh displays its game balls in its athletic hall of fame, and Lafayette keeps its game balls at the official residence of its president. The evolution of the shape of the football can be seen in the displays of past game balls, since the early ones predate even the invention of the forward pass.

The football game is usually sold out months in advance and has inspired books and a PBS television documentary narrated by Harry Kalas. In 2006, ESPNU ranked The Rivalry No. 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."[1]

On November 17, 2012, prior to the 148th game, the presidents of Lafayette College and Lehigh University, Daniel Weiss and Alice Gast, respectively, jointly announced that the 150th game was to be played on November 22, 2014 at Yankee Stadium in New York City.[2] The game was broadcast live nationally on CBS Sports Network.

Series history

Early days

Although 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.[3] Asa Packer later enlisted the help of the Episcopal Bishop of Philadelphia, William Bacon Stevens, when founding Lehigh University.

First athletic events

Lafayette records indicate that the first athletic meeting between the two schools was a series of baseball games played in Easton and Bethlehem in October 1869. The first game was a 45–45 tie, and Lafayette won the second meeting 31–24.[4]

The first joint athletic track and field 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.[5]

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."[6]

Early football

Lafayette football began 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 twice have Lafayette and Lehigh 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 Lafayette-Lehigh games that year; Lehigh won all three. The next meeting outside the Lehigh Valley did not take place until 2014, when the schools played at Yankee Stadium to commemorate the 150th game in the series.

Modern era

Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 2005
Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, 2005

The 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 and one year with three, 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. The pieces were kept as souvenirs in the fraternities of each school. Eventually taking down the goalposts got out of hand with students fighting for the torn down goal posts, and with each other, as early as before the third quarter. New rules were implemented for the 1991 game played at Lehigh when 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.

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. The second runner-up during this period was Colgate University, that had beaten Lafayette or Lehigh that year. Following nine years of consecutive Lehigh victories, Lafayette earned a four-year parade of Lafayette victories from 2004–07 wherein the Lehigh Class of 2008 witnessed no football victory against Lafayette at all. This was then reversed by Lehigh, with Lehigh running a five-year streak from 2008–12, making the Lafayette Classes of 2012 and 2013 winless. The tide changed in 2013, when, for the first time since 2006, The Rivalry was played with a Patriot League championship on the line. Much like the '06 edition, the Leopards jumped out to a large lead, fought off a Lehigh rally, and pulled away down the stretch, winning 50-28 and claiming the Patriot League crown outright, this time on their rival's home turf. Quarterback Drew Reed took MVP honors, becoming the first Lafayette freshman in almost 25 years to do so.

The 150th meeting of "the rivalry" in 2014 took place at the iconic Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. While this was the first neutral-site game in more than a century, Lafayette was the designated home team, in a stadium much larger than either school's regular venue, and likely larger than any venue where all but a tiny number of players from either side would ever play. Each team debuted special uniforms with Lafayette sporting a plain gray jersey, while Lehigh paid tribute to the stadium and usual home team by sporting a pinstripe jersey.

While Lafayette had won the last meeting, and had a slightly better record than their competitor, Lehigh's chances were vastly improved as Lafayette's starting quarterback Drew Reed and backup Blake Searfoss were injured in the previous game and in practice respectively, leaving third string senior Zach Zweizig to lead the team. With the sell out crowd screaming Lafayette took an early lead in the first quarter thanks to an impenetrable Lafayette defense and a long pass by Zweizig to the one yard line that would be punched in by Lafayette's Senior running back and game MVP Ross Scheuerman. This dominance would continue into the second half, when a similar pass into the red-zone was finished off by a short run by Scheurerman. Afterwards Lafayette would again score after Scheuerman took the ball 79 yards for a third touchdown before the half.

However, Lehigh's luck looked as if it was turning around after a missed Lafayette field goal and a long touchdown run by their running back Christopher Leigh. This would bring the score to 21-7 and would reignite the intensity of Lehigh's fans. With Lafayette's fans growing more concerned about Lehigh's chances at the start of the fourth quarter, the Lehigh offense would take the ball within Lafayette's 30 yard line. Being forced to go for it on 4th down, Lehigh's quarterback **** would be sacked by Lafayette freshman Brandon Bryant resulting in a turnover on downs. Lafayette would get the ball back and battle to the end zone, ending their drive with a touchdown pass by Zweizig to receiver Matt Mrazek, affectively ending the game. Lafayette would miss the extra point.

The game ended 27-7 with Scheurerman running for a school record 309 yards, earning him the game MVP. Lafayette earned a total of 500 total yards while Lehigh was unable to amass half of that, earning only 232 total yards. As a result, Lafayette expanded their overall lead on Lehigh to 11 games. The next game will take place at Lehigh's Goodman stadium in Bethlehem PA.

Memorable moments

No game in 1896

The 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 running back, George Barclay, who had played professional baseball at Chambersburg PA the previous summer. The question of his eligibility centered around whether Barclay had received more than reimbursement of travel expenses.[4]

Longest run

During 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 eluding Lafayette's All-American linebacker Zac "Baker" Howes in the process.[7] Some reports have been exaggerated to credit the length of the run to as much as 160 yards.[8]

Overtime catch

The 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 caught a pass with one hand from quarterback Bob Aylsworth 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.[7][9]

Lafayette's catch

In the 2005 game played at Lehigh, Lafayette backup quarterback Pat Davis threw a 37-yard TD pass to running back Jonathan Hurt on 4th-and-10 with 38 seconds left to give the Leopards a 23-19 win. The victory gave Lafayette the second of three straight Patriot League championships and NCAA I-AA (FCS) Playoff appearances. Davis entered the game after Lafayette starting quarterback Brad Maurer, the MVP of wins in 2004 (24-10) and later 2006 (49-27), was injured on the game's first series.[10]

Football record

Summary

152 meetings since 1884

Lafayette–Lehigh game results
from 1884 to 2016
Games won by Lafayette
78
Games won by Lehigh
69
Games tied
5

Game results

Lafayette victoriesLehigh victoriesTie games
#DateLocationWinnerScore
1 October 25, 1884 Easton Lafayette 50–0
2 November 12, 1884 Bethlehem Lafayette 34–4
3 October 31, 1885 Bethlehem Lafayette 6–0
4 November 21, 1885 Easton Tie6–6
5 November 6, 1886 Easton Lafayette 12–0
6 November 24, 1886 Bethlehem Lafayette 4–0
7 October 29, 1887 Bethlehem Lehigh 10–4
8 November 23, 1887 Easton Lafayette 6–0
9 November 17, 1888 Easton Lehigh 6–4
10 November 27, 1888 Bethlehem Lehigh 16–0
11 October 30, 1889 Bethlehem Lehigh 16–10
12 November 16, 1889 Easton Tie6–6
13 November 1, 1890 Easton Lehigh 30–0
14 November 15, 1890 Bethlehem Lehigh 66–6
15 November 4, 1891 Bethlehem Lehigh 22–4
16 November 11, 1891 Easton Lehigh 6–2
17 November 25, 1891 Wilkes-Barre Lehigh 16–2
18 November 5, 1892 Easton Lafayette 4–0
19 November 19, 1892 Bethlehem Lehigh 15–6
20 November 8, 1893 Bethlehem Lehigh 22–6
21 November 18, 1893 Easton Lehigh 10–0
22 November 14, 1894 Easton Lafayette 28–0
23 November 24, 1894 Bethlehem Lehigh 11–8
24 November 9, 1895 Bethlehem Lafayette 22–12
25 November 23, 1895 Easton Lafayette 14–0
26 October 30, 1897 Easton Lafayette 34–0
27 November 25, 1897 Bethlehem Lafayette 22–0
28 November 5, 1898 Bethlehem Lehigh 22–0
29 November 24, 1898 Easton Lafayette 11–5
30 November 4, 1899 Easton Lafayette 17–0
31 November 25, 1899 Bethlehem Lafayette 35–0
32 November 3, 1900 Bethlehem Lafayette 34–0
33 November 24, 1900 Easton Lafayette 18–0
34 November 1, 1901 Easton Lafayette 29–0
35 November 23, 1901 Bethlehem Lafayette 41–0
36 November 22, 1902 Easton Lehigh 6–0
37 November 21, 1903 Bethlehem Lehigh 12–6
38 November 24, 1904 Easton Lafayette 40–6
39 November 15, 1905 Bethlehem Lafayette 53–0
40 November 24, 1906 Easton Lafayette 33–0
41 November 23, 1907 Bethlehem Lafayette 22–5
42 November 21, 1908 Easton Lehigh 11–5
43 November 20, 1909 Bethlehem Lafayette 21–0
44 November 19, 1910 Easton Lafayette 14–0
45 November 25, 1911 Bethlehem Lafayette 11–0
46 November 23, 1912 Easton Lehigh 10–0
47 November 22, 1913 Bethlehem Lehigh 7–0
48 November 21, 1914 Easton Lehigh 17–7
49 November 20, 1915 Bethlehem Lafayette 35–6
50 November 25, 1916 Easton Lehigh 16–0
51 November 24, 1917 Bethlehem Lehigh 78–0
52 November 23, 1918 Easton Lehigh 17–0
53 November 22, 1919 Bethlehem Lafayette 10–6
54 November 20, 1920 Easton Lafayette 27–7
55 November 19, 1921 Bethlehem Lafayette 28–6
56 November 25, 1922 Easton Lafayette 3–0
57 November 24, 1923 Bethlehem Lafayette 13–3
58 November 22, 1924 Easton Lafayette 7–0
59 November 21, 1925 Bethlehem Lafayette 14–0
60 November 20, 1926 Easton Lafayette 35–0
61 November 19, 1927 Bethlehem Lafayette 43–0
62 November 24, 1928 Easton Lafayette 38–14
63 November 23, 1929 Bethlehem Lehigh 13–12
64 November 22, 1930 Easton Lafayette 16–6
65 November 21, 1931 Bethlehem Lafayette 13–7
66 November 19, 1932 Easton Lafayette 25–6
67 November 25, 1933 Bethlehem Lafayette 54–12
68 November 24, 1934 Easton Lehigh 13–7
69 November 23, 1935 Bethlehem Lehigh 48–0
70 November 21, 1936 Easton Lehigh 18–0
71 November 20, 1937 Bethlehem Lafayette 6–0
72 November 19, 1938 Easton Lafayette 6–0
73 November 25, 1939 Bethlehem Lafayette 29–13
74 November 23, 1940 Easton Lafayette 46–0
75 November 22, 1941 Bethlehem Lafayette 47–7
76 November 21, 1942 Easton Tie7–7
77 October 23, 1943 Easton Lafayette 39–7
#DateLocationWinnerScore
78 November 27, 1943 Bethlehem Lafayette 58–0
79 October 21, 1944 Bethlehem Lafayette 44–0
80 November 18, 1944 Easton Lafayette 64–0
81 November 24, 1945 Bethlehem Lafayette 7–0
82 November 23, 1946 Easton Lafayette 13–0
83 November 22, 1947 Bethlehem Lafayette 7–0
84 November 20, 1948 Easton Lafayette 23–13
85 November 19, 1949 Bethlehem Lafayette 21–12
86 November 18, 1950 Easton Lehigh 38–0
87 November 17, 1951 Bethlehem Lehigh 32–0
88 November 22, 1952 Easton Lehigh 14–7
89 November 21, 1953 Bethlehem Lafayette 33–13
90 November 20, 1954 Easton Lafayette 46–0
91 November 19, 1955 Bethlehem Lafayette 35–6
92 November 17, 1956 Easton Lehigh 27–10
93 November 23, 1957 Bethlehem Lehigh 26–13
94 November 22, 1958 Easton Tie14–14
95 November 21, 1959 Bethlehem Lafayette 28–6
96 November 19, 1960 Easton Lehigh 26–3
97 November 18, 1961 Bethlehem Lehigh 17–14
98 November 17, 1962 Easton Lehigh 13–6
99 November 30, 1963 Bethlehem Lehigh 15–8
100 November 21, 1964 Easton Tie6–6
101 November 20, 1965 Bethlehem Lehigh 20–14
102 November 19, 1966 Easton Lafayette 16–0
103 November 18, 1967 Bethlehem Lafayette 6–0
104 November 23, 1968 Easton Lehigh 21–6
105 November 22, 1969 Bethlehem Lehigh 36–19
106 November 21, 1970 Easton Lafayette 31–28
107 November 20, 1971 Bethlehem Lehigh 48–19
108 November 18, 1972 Easton Lehigh 14–6
109 November 17, 1973 Bethlehem Lehigh 45–13
110 November 23, 1974 Easton Lehigh 57–7
111 November 22, 1975 Bethlehem Lehigh 40–14
112 November 20, 1976 Easton Lafayette 21–17
113 November 19, 1977 Bethlehem Lehigh 35–17
114 November 18, 1978 Easton Lehigh 23–15
115 November 17, 1979 Bethlehem Lehigh 24–3
116 November 22, 1980 Easton Lehigh 32–0
117 November 21, 1981 Bethlehem Lafayette 10–3
118 November 20, 1982 Easton Lafayette 34–6
119 November 19, 1983 Bethlehem Lehigh 22–14
120 November 17, 1984 Easton Lafayette 28–7
121 November 23, 1985 Bethlehem Lehigh 24–19
122 November 22, 1986 Easton Lafayette 28–23
123 November 21, 1987 Bethlehem Lehigh 17–10
124 November 19, 1988 Easton Lafayette 52–45
125 November 18, 1989 Bethlehem Lafayette 36–21
126 November 17, 1990 Easton Lehigh 35–14
127 November 23, 1991 Bethlehem Lehigh 36–18
128 November 21, 1992 Easton Lafayette 32–29
129 November 20, 1993 Bethlehem Lehigh 39–14
130 November 19, 1994 Easton Lafayette 54–20
131 November 18, 1995 Bethlehem Lehigh 37–30
132 November 23, 1996 Easton Lehigh 23–19
133 November 22, 1997 Bethlehem Lehigh 43–31
134 November 21, 1998 Easton Lehigh 31–7
135 November 20, 1999 Bethlehem Lehigh 14–12
136 November 18, 2000 Easton Lehigh 31–17
137 November 17, 2001 Bethlehem Lehigh 41–6
138 November 23, 2002 Easton Lafayette 14–7
139 November 22, 2003 Bethlehem Lehigh 30–10
140 November 20, 2004 Easton Lafayette 24–10
141 November 19, 2005 Bethlehem Lafayette 23–19
142 November 18, 2006 Easton Lafayette 49–27
143 November 17, 2007 Bethlehem Lafayette 21–17
144 November 22, 2008 Easton Lehigh 31–15
145 November 21, 2009 Bethlehem Lehigh 27–21
146 November 20, 2010 Easton Lehigh 20–13
147 November 19, 2011 Bethlehem Lehigh 37–13
148 November 17, 2012 Easton Lehigh 38–21
149 November 23, 2013 Bethlehem Lafayette 50–28
150 November 22, 2014 The Bronx, NY Lafayette 27–7
151 November 21, 2015 Bethlehem Lehigh 49–35
152 November 19, 2016 Easton Lehigh 45–21
Series: Lafayette leads 78–69–5

All Sports Trophy

The 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.

All Sports Trophy record

Men's sports
Women's sports

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Lafayette-Lehigh Rivalry to be Featured by ESPN". Lafayette Athletics. Lafayette College. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  2. ↑ "150th Lafayette-Lehigh Meeting to be Played at Yankee Stadium in 2014". Lafayette Athletics. Patriot League. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  3. ↑ Whelan, Frank; Metz, Lance (1990). The Diaries of Robert Hersham Sayre. Lehigh University.
  4. 1 2 March, Francis A. (1926). Athletics at Lafayette College. Easton, PA: Lafayette College.
  5. ↑ Bowen, Catherine Drinker (1924). History of Lehigh University. The Lehigh Alumni Bulletin.
  6. ↑ "At no other time…". Lafayette College Journal. 6 (9): 1–2. June 1881. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
  7. 1 2 "Lehigh Football Game Notes, Lehigh vs. Lafayette, 139th Meeting" (PDF). Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  8. ↑ Rappaport, Ken; Wilner, Barry (2007). Football Feuds: The Greatest College Football Rivalries. Globe Pequot. ISBN 978-1-59921-014-8.
  9. ↑ Blockus, Gary R. (November 19, 1995). "Klingerman, Aylsworth Go Out Champs". The Morning Call. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Davis Heave to Hurt Beats Lehigh 23-19". goleopards.com. November 19, 2005. Retrieved November 25, 2013.

References

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