Lafayette Leopards football
Encyclopedia
The Lafayette Leopards football program represents Lafayette College
in college football
. One of the oldest college football programs in the United States
, Lafayette currently plays in the Patriot League
at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. Fielding their first team in 1882, Lafayette has won three college football national championships (1896
, 1921
, 1926
), six Patriot League championships (1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2005, 2006), six undefeated seasons (1896, 1909
, 1921, 1926, 1937
, 1940
) and four undefeated, untied seasons (1921, 1926, 1937, 1940).
For most of its history, Lafayette played an independent schedule until joining the Patriot League in 1986. Between 1929 and 1975, the Leopards were a part of an unofficial conference, the “Middle Three Conference,” which consisted of Rutgers University
and Lehigh University
. Today, Lafayette is most noted for its fierce arch-rivalry with Lehigh, which is the most played rivalry in college football (146 games) and the most consecutive years played (since 1897). ESPN
considers "The Rivalry" to be among the top ten in college football, and was the subject of a PBS documentary narrated by NFL Films voice and Philadelphia Phillies
broadcaster Harry Kalas
. Aside from Lehigh and Rutgers, Lafayette’s primary rivals are Bucknell University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Lafayette has produced four consensus All-Americans (FBS), 11 FCS All-Americans, four College Football Hall of Fame
players, and three College Football Hall of Fame coaches. Lafayette football has produced and nurtured several legendary football personalities, such as George Barclay
, inventor of the football helmet, and Jock Sutherland
, legendary coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers
and Pittsburgh Steelers
. Lafayette is also credited with inventing the huddle during a game in which Pennsylvania was stealing hand signals.
Lafayette's nickname is the Leopards, dating from 1924 or 1927. In its early history, the students, alumni, and press referred to the team as the 'Maroon.' The Leopards are still occasionally referred to as the 'Maroon' or the 'Maroon and White.' Currently, Lafayette has 650 wins, 33rd all-time in Division I.
, served as the first team captain. Early football at Lafayette was not organized. In 1880 and 1881, students competed amongst each other on campus. However, in the fall of 1882, Lafayette traveled to Rutgers to partake in its first intercollegiate football contest. On November 7, 1882, Lafayette fell to Rutgers 0-0/8-3. One week later, Lafayette lost its second game ever against the University of Pennsylvania
0-0/1-3. Although official records reflect only two games being played in 1882, Welles mentions playing Swarthmore College
and the Stevens Institute of Technology
on College Hill, winning both contests.
With one season of intercollegiate football experience, Lafayette won its first game ever in 1883. After dropping its first three games to Princeton, Pennsylvania, and Stevens, Lafayette broke through against Rutgers on November 10. With four inches of slushy snow covering the Quad, Lafayette avenged the previous year's defeat 25-0 with four touchdowns despite a water-logged ball.
The first game of the 1884 brought a new team to Lafayette's schedule: Lehigh University
. Located in nearby Bethlehem, Lehigh would be playing its first football game. With experience and superior skill on its side, Lafayette annihilated Lehigh 50-0 in what would shortly become known as "The Rivalry". Due to the proximity of the schools, Lafayette played a Lehigh as their last opponent in 1884, winning 36-0 in Bethlehem. True animosity soon developed between both teams. In 1886, Lafayette was winning 12-0 until a severe downpour halted play 15 minutes into the second half (in 1886, there were two 45 minute halves). Both team captains mutually agreed to end the game even though football tradition called for football to be played in all weather. The game's referee wrote Walter Camp
on how to resolve the game. Camp said that the game should be declared a tie, but Lehigh acknowledged they were outplayed and gave Lafayette the victory. Later in the season, with the game tied 0-0 late in the second half, Lehigh was protesting the officiating of the game. As the Lehigh captain pulled his team off the field in protest, Lafayette picked up the ball and scored a touchdown. To this day, Lafayette counts the game as a 4-0 win, while Lehigh considers the game a 0-0 tie. The schools would play each other twice per season until 1902.
A bitter rivalry also emerged with Pennsylvania. During their annual contest on the Lafayette Quad on November 6, 1889, Lafayette's right tackle Wells, who had been ejected by the umpire earlier in the contest, tripped a Pennsylvania player running with the ball along the sidelines. As the two players converged following the trip, a crowd of spectators surged the Penn player and "struck, kicked, and generally misused him." Many outside newspapers trumped up the incident to make it seem like a mob had severely beaten the Penn player and there was general unruliness at the Lafayette game. However, since it was the late 19th century, it is possible that the account of the unruly mob was an instance of yellow journalism
. Additionally, the umpire who ejected Wells, Dr. Shell, was from the University of Pennsylvania and was cited in the newspaper for making several bad calls against Lafayette, including negating a five-point field goal on a phantom offside. Regardless, Pennsylvania was upset about the altercation relations between the two schools were strained. The incident was a key catalyst in forming the Alumni Advisory Committee in January 1890. Pennsylvania played only two more times at Lafayette, in 1891 and 1893, until 1973.
Although there were no formal conferences, Lafayette, Lehigh, and Pennsylvania were loosely affiliated and their games, two against each opponent, were considered the battle for the Pennsylvania State Championship.
since he was familiar with the Yale system and was considered a good player. His stipend was $400. As coach from 1891 to 1892, Moyle played in nearly every game and carried the ball on nearly every down. He was lauded as a football hero until the faculty disapproved of his playing. However, he was regarded as 'good coach' who 'taught for the first time what teamwork was.'
Despite hiring coaches, Lafayette's record had a losing record each season. Between 1891 and 1894, Lafayette went 2-9 against Lehigh, including two losses and a neutral site loss before 3,000 spectators in Wilkes-Barre in 1891.
In 1895, the alumni athletic advisors hired who would become a legendary college football figure, Parke H. Davis
. Writing a history of Lafayette Athletics in 1926, Francis A. March, Jr. said, "With the advent of Davis, little Lafayette stepped from comparative obscurity to a level with the football giants." Davis, who played at Princeton, was the first coach hired based on experience, having coached Amherst College
and the University of Wisconsin
in previous seasons. Lafayette went 6-2 and had its first winning season since 1888 swept Lehigh for the first time since 1886. Davis is credited with bringing organization, recognition, and enthusiasm to Lafayette football through his charismatic personality and writing college fight songs. The following season, Lafayette won its first National Championship, which featured a dramatic 6-4 win against Pennsylvania at Franklin Field.
Davis coached one more season, a 9-2-1 campaign in 1897. Samuel B. Newton, who arrived after coaching Penn State
led Lafayette to its most victories ever with a 12-1 record in 1899, with a lone 12-0 defeat to national champions Princeton (12-1) and outscoring opponents 253-23. Newton was 7-0 against Lehigh and 33-14 overall through his last season of 1902 before leaving Lafayette to coach Lehigh. In four games against Lafayette, Newton only won twice while going 23-20-2 overall. During this time, Newton coached Walter E. Bachman, who developed the roving center concept in football. Bachman was named second-team All-American by Walter Camp in 1900 and 1901, one of the first players outside of the 'Big Four' to earn the honor.
The legendary roll of Lafayette coaches continued after the departure of Newton. Dr. Alfred E. Bull
coached between 1903 and 1907, compiling a 37-10-3 record in five seasons, with one loss to Lehigh. Tragically, Lafayette football hero and helmet inventor George "Rose" Barclay, who became coach in 1908 and was the first Lafayette player to coach the team, died following after one season after suffering from an appendicitis. His successor, Bob Folwell
, became one of the most decorated coaches in Lafayette history by posting a 19-2-1 record. Folwell led the University of Iowa
to its first conference championship and after Lafayette, led Washington & Jefferson University
to be recognized as 'an elite power team,' along with Notre Dame
, Michigan
, the University of Chicago
, and Yale
. In 1925, he became the first coach of the New York Giants
.
Folwell coached Lafayette to its first win against Princeton
on October 23, 1909 in what the New York Times said was, "the most sensational finish that has ever been seen in a football game." With six second remaining and the score 0-0, Princeton was set to attempt a game winning field goal from the Lafayette 10 yard line. Irmschler blitzed through the tackle and guard, caught the ball as it left the kicker's foot, and raced 92-yards for the win as time expired for a 6-0 win. The team was greeted with a jubilant crowd that paraded through Easton and College Hill when the team returned. In their next game two weeks later, Lafayette tied Pennsylvania 6-6 and ultimately finished second behind Yale (10-0-0) in the East and for the National Championship. Lafayette outscored the opposition 176-6.
Folwell left in the middle of the 1911 season with Lafayette holding a 5-0 record. It came at an inopportune moment as Lafayette was set to host the Carlisle Indians and Jim Thorpe
. Lafayette lost 19-0 and went 2-3 the rest of the season under S.B. Newton.
.
in 1919 started Lafayette on the road to national prominence during the 1920s. After coaching an undefeated team at an Army base in Georgia during World War I and only a few years removed from playing for the University of Pittsburgh
and Pop Warner
, Sutherland was prepared to enter a career in dentistry. However, a chance meeting with a friend propelled Sutherland to take a coaching job at Lafayette.
Lafayette finished 1919 at 6-2 and 5-3 the following season. According to Sutherland, with virtually the same team as 1920, Lafayette went 9-0 in 1921 and went on a 17-game winning streak that stretched between 1920 and 1922, where Lafayette outscored opponents 495-47, with wins over major teams such as Penn, coached by John Heisman
, Pittsburgh (twice), Fordham University, and Boston College
. During the National Championship season of 1921, no team came within three touchdowns of Lafayette except Pittsburgh, coached by Pop Warner. Late in game, Lafayette used a triple pass and touchdown by ‘Bots’ Brunner near the Pitt goal line to gain a 6-0 lead. Pitt was inside the Lafayette ten with under two minutes to play, but an illegal substitution by Pitt cost the Panthers dearly and Lafayette held on for the win.
Six games into the 1922 season, Lafayette was poised to claim another National Championship. The Maroon defeated Pittsburgh at Forbes Field
, the only loss of the season for a 10-1 team that claimed a 'post-season' victory at Stanford. Facing the 1922 Rose Bowl
participant Washington & Jefferson before 38,000 at the Polo Grounds
in New York City, Lafayette took a commanding 13-0 halftime lead. However, a dramatic and miraculous comeback by the Presidents resulted in a 14-13 Maroon defeat, one of the most bitter in Lafayette football history.
Sutherland coached the Maroon until 1923, when he returned to his alma mater, Pittsburgh, for the 1924 season. New coachHerb McCracken
, also a recent player under Pop Warner
, quickly proved himself by defeating Sutherland at Pittsburgh 10-0 in the second game of the season. McCracken won his first five games before falling to Pennsylvania
6-3. Before the game, McCracken discovered that Penn had decoded Lafayette's play calling signals. McCracken responded with a new and innovative solution: the huddle
. Although McCracken is often credited as the inventor of the huddle, there are earlier, though some less substantiated claims of other schools implementing the huddle only a few years earlier.
At the start of the 1926 season, Lafayette inaugurated its new, unfinished 18,000 seat stadium with a 35-0 win over Muhlenberg College
. The Maroon continued to win by dominate scores enroute to their third National Championship on the back of All-American halfback Mike “George” Wilson, who led the nation in scoring with 120 points and 20 touchdowns, a national record at the time. The Maroon also led the East in scoring, with 328 points, and only surrendered 37 points in nine games. Halfback and team captain Frank Kirkleski
, who later starred for the NFL’s Pottsville Maroons
, also received All-American praise played in the East-West Shrine Game
in San Francisco.
Lafayette continued to dominate opponents in the late 1920s, but would win only a few games against major teams, such as Penn State
. In 1929, Lafayette joined with Lehigh and Rutgers to form the Middle Three Conference, which consisted of round-robin games between the two teams. The schools split the first year of the series at 1-1-0 each. Lafayette won their first Middle Three title the following season.
before 25,000. The Presidents won 7-0 on an easy touchdown within the two yard line with the help of a play that is illegal today – a recovered “fumble” by pushing a Lafayette defender into the kicker and the ball. In their final game of the season, Lafayette defeated Lehigh 16-6 before 20,000 at Fisher Field, the largest crowd to witness "The Rivalry" at the time.
After a 7-2 season in 1931, Lafayette’s record began to decline. Coach Herb McCracken
had only won less than five games once since his first season in 1924, but did not win more than three games through his final season at Lafayette in 1935. Although he was only 36 at the time, McCracken retired from coaching to help friend Maurice Robinson start-up Scholastic Publications and write a popular magazine, Scholastic Coach.
To return the Leopards to the spotlight, Lafayette called on Ernie Nevers, an assistant coach at Stanford University
who helped lead the Indians to three straight Rose Bowl
games. Nevers, along with Jim Thorpe
, was considered one of the two best college football players ever and had a legendary career in the early NFL. Hope was high on College Hill as the 1935 freshman team went undefeated against the leading freshmen teams of the East, including Princeton. However, with a young team plagued by injuries, the Leopards went 1-8, their worst record since their first season of football in 1882, and were blown out in their last five games. Despite stating he would stay for the 1937 season, Nevers resigned to become an assistant coach at the University of Iowa
.
Absent a coach for the second straight season, Lafayette turned to Edward “Hook” Mylin
, the inaugural Orange Bowl
winning head coach of Bucknell University
. In one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college football at the time, the 1-8 Leopards of 1936 went 8-0 in 1937. Furthermore, the Leopards posted seven shutouts, outscored opponents 130-6, and featured an unscored upon defense, including a 13-0 win over heavily favored New York University
at Yankee Stadium. The key win featured a key 79-yard punt by quarterback Tommy Kearns and a 50-yard and 30-yard touchdown pass. Media sources such as “The Lafayette” student newspaper began referring to the 1937 team as the “Mylin Miracle Men” since the victory left Lafayette as the only undefeated, untied, and unscored upon team in the East. Two games later, Lafayette surrendered their only touchdown of the season against Rutgers. Early in the game, Rutgers defender Bill Tranavitch, who was the leading scorer in the nation at the time, returned an 87-yard interception for a touchdown. The victory elicited the first football parade in downtown Easton in 12 years as boisterous students clogged trolley and car traffic. Lafayette concluded their perfect season with a 6-0 win over Lehigh, their first victory over the Engineers since 1933. There was speculation that Lafayette would receive an Orange Bowl
bid for the January 1, 1938 game. Sources at New York newspapers told the student newspaper that Lafayette was at the top of the list of the Bowl Committee as ‘feelers’ were sent to inquire about schools’ interest. Associated Press news releases at the end of the season also listed Lafayette at the top of a list that included Colorado, Fordham, Holy Cross, Villanova, Detroit, and Nebraska. However, the administration did not want to interfere with academic activity and a trustee doubted permission would be granted to play in Miami. Michigan State University
was ultimately selected from the East.
Mylin continued with a strong team in 1938, posting a 5-3 record and a 7-0 win at Penn State
. Lafayette defeated Lehigh in 1938 and again in 1939. Following the 1939 season, Leopard captain John Quigg was invited to play in the Eastern Collegiate All-Star Game against the New York Giants
, but the invitation arrived after the game was played.
in their second game and missing several injured players, Lafayette carried a 4-0 record into their meeting with Army
at West Point. The team was suddenly awakened at 4 a.m. as the Cadets, cavalrymen, and horses paraded in front of the team hotel in attempt to rattle the Leopards. It was also an important dates at West Point since a visiting delegation of South American generals would be reviewing the cadets before the game. Army advanced deep into Lafayette territory early in the first quarter, but a missed field goal and key stops kept the Leopards in the game. Zirinsky scored in the third for a 6-0 lead, a spread formation newly unveiled by Mylin helped Lafayette to a 12-0 lead. A 70-yard interception return by Zirinsky in the final minute sealed Lafayette’s 19-0 win. Despite injuries and facing many Army substitutes, Lafayette outgained Army 184-104. The following week, Army fell to Notre Dame
7-0 on a returned interception, leading many writers to compare Lafayette to Notre Dame. As of 2011, the 1940 victory over Army is Lafayette’s only victory in 20 meetings.
Two weeks later, Lafayette edged Rutgers University
by an extra point 7-6 in New Brunswick before 20,000. At 8-0, Lafayette demolished Lehigh 46-0. Zirinsky scored three touchdowns as Lafayette gained 585 total yards, a record at the time in “The Rivalry.” Lafayette finished 1940 with 238 points, third in the nation behind Boston College and leader Tennessee. Lafayette was once again considered for the Orange Bowl
as ‘feelers’ from the Committee approached Lafayette. Despite being in the final three from the East, the Committee selected Georgetown University
. Ironically, the Administration elected to participate in the Bowl, with President Lewis going as far as throwing out an orange to open a post-season student pep rally. The Sun Bowl
expressed interest in Lafayette, but the Administration declined. Farrell and Moyer received AP All-American honorable mention status as Lafayette achieved its only Associated Press Poll ranking: 19.
The following year, Zirinsky scored two touchdowns to finish his career with 55 points against Lehigh, the most of any player in “The Rivalry.” Coupled with the 1939 game, Zirinsky outscored the entire Lehigh team 55-20 during the three-year span. Drafted by the Cleveland Rams
in 1942, Zirinsky played in only the 1945 season.
World War II soon impacted the Leopard football as many players and coaches became enlisted men, including Mylin. Lafayette went 3-5-1 in 1942, including a 19-13 win over the University of Virginia
at Fisher Field and coming up one-yard short against Lehigh in the final seconds of a 7-7 tie. In 1943 and 1944, Lafayette continued to play football as other colleges suspended their programs such as nearby Moravian College
, the former team of new Leopard coach Ben Wolfson. Unlike Harvard and Yale, Lafayette and Lehigh continued their rivalry, playing each other twice, as well as Rutgers twice and one game against nearby Willow Grove Naval Air Station. Only 5,000 attended the game in Easton, and 3,500 in Taylor Stadium, both Lafayette routs and devoid of bands or cheerleaders. In 1944, Lafayette expanded their schedule to include ‘local’ trips to Syracuse University and NYU, as well as two games against Rutgers and Lehigh. Only 300 fans attended the first game against Lehigh in a rainstorm. Lafayette romped in the finale 64-0, their largest margin of victory in the series, to finish 6-1.
Between 1945 and 1946, Lafayette won three games, including two shutouts over Lehigh. Mylin returned for the 1946 season, his last, and finished his Lafayette career with a 6-0-1 mark against Lehigh.
Ivan Williamson
replaced Mylin in 1947 and went 6-3 in his first season, including a 14-7 win over Syracuse and the fifth straight shutout of Lehigh.
(Texas College of Mines) in the 1949 Sun Bowl
. Lafayette accepted the bid contingent upon being able to bring David Showell, an African-American halfback and former Tuskegee Airmen
. Texas law at the time prohibited African-Americans from playing on the same field as Caucasian players in a state supported stadium. Showell’s team members also did not want to accept the bid unless Showell could accompany the team to El-Paso. The Chairman of the Sun Bowl, C.D. Belding, rejected the provision and Lafayette declined the bid. The Athletic Department did not issue a reason for the rejection, prompting a protest of 1,500 students and a bonfire. The students marched on the President’s house, demanding an explanation. President Ralph Cooper Hutchison explained the situation and along with student leaders, phoned the Bowl Committee chairman to reconsider. Upon a prompt rejection by Belding, the student protest marched downtown and received an audience at the local radio station. The station and the students sent a telegram to President Truman condemning racial intolerance and segregation with a terse, “Denied Sun Bowl bid with Negro on team. Is that Democracy?”
The protest and received national media attention in the New York Times and AP wires. The incident was also basis of a popular song, “The Greatest Game they Never Played.” The situation was also significant in that it drew attention to segregation and discrimination against African-American players in bowl games and college football.
Lafayette's 1896 championship was one of the most surprising and dramatic in the history of college football, and included arguably the first college football 'upset.' Lafayette began their season by tying Princeton 0-0, the first tie in their series, and defeated the University of West Virginia
three times in three days by a combined score of 56-0. At 4-0-1, Lafayette was set to meet Pennsylvania
on October 24 at Franklin Field. Penn, coached by George Woodruff
, was in the midst of a 34-game winning streak and was only guaranteeing Lafayette $150 for a game that would net $10,000. As an intense media war surrounded the game, Lafayette enrolled Fielding H. Yost, a tackle from West Virginia, whom Lafayette had defeated in the final game of their series on October 17. With Yost, College Football Hall of Famer Charles "Babe" Rinehart
, and the inventor of the football helmet George 'Rose' Barclay on the field, Lafayette won 6-4. It was the first victory of a 'small school' over one of the Big Four (Harvard-Yale-Penn-Princeton). Penn would win its next 31 games. Lafayette closed its season with an 18-6 win over Navy
. Following the season, Lafayette was recognized as national champions along with Princeton (11-0-1) and was the first national champion outside of the H-Y-P-P rotation. However, absent from their 1896 schedule was Lehigh, who protested the eligibility and amateur status of "Babe" Rinehart and his playing one game of professional the previous summer.
28-6, prompting major papers such as the New York Herald
to proclaim Lafayette to possess a share of the mythical title. Lafayette was mentioned in the press along with the University of Iowa
(7-0), which upset Knute Rockne
and Notre Dame (10-1) to end a 20-game winning streak. Officially, the NCAA record book recognizes the University of California
(9-0-1), Cornell University
(8-0), Lafayette, Iowa, and Washington & Jefferson
(10-0-1) as champions, with only California, Cornell, and Lafayette claiming the title.
According to Sutherland, Lafayette was approached by promoters to play a postseason game against a team from the west or southwest. Ultimately, Washington & Jefferson accepted an invitation to play California in the 1922 Rose Bowl
. Lafayette and the Presidents had three common opponents in 1921: Pittsburgh, Bucknell University
, and Lehigh. And both Lafayette and the Presidents won by nearly identical scores: Pittsburgh 6-0 vs. 7-0, Bucknell University 20-7 vs. 26-0, Lehigh 28-6 vs. 14-7. However, the policy of the athletic committee prohibited Lafayette from playing postseason games. Sutherland was also hesitant to play any postseason games as well, citing the 1921 team had the same players as the ‘mediocre’ 1920 team.
for the Panthers lone loss in a season where they would be crowned Eastern champions. However, Lafayette tied Colgate University
7-7 at Franklin Field and lost to Washington & Jefferson University
7-6 at the Polo Grounds
.
The Leopards received a boost on opening day by inaugurating Lafayette Stadium. Their still unfinished stadium, which was soon to be known as Fisher Field
and modeled after Harvard Stadium
, saw the Leopards defeat Muhlenberg University 35-0. Lafayette and Pittsburgh played another classic at Forbes Field
, a 17-7 Maroon victory. Entering their sixth game at 5-0 and averaging 34 points per game, Lafayette met Washington & Jefferson and legendary coach Andy Kerr
in what would soon become one of the greatest games in school history. Down 10-0 heading into halftime, Herb McCracken
benched the entire starting 11 and had a starters-only closed door meeting at halftime. The strategy worked, as Lafayette scored on the sixth play of the second half. Late in the fourth, down 10-9 and at their own 12 on third down, a fake punt handoff kept the drive alive. After a long pass to the W&J 35, a reverse-lateral-forward pass put the Maroon on the four with seconds to play. Tuffy Guest punched in the winning score and sent the Presidents to their only loss in a 7-1-1 season. McCracken called the victory the most dramatic, spirited and determined of his career, while sportswriters dubbed the game among the top ten they had witnessed.
Lafayette did not surrender a point the rest of the season and scored the least number of points in a 35-0 win over Lehigh. Following the season and the nation’s leading scorer Mike “George” Wilson’s exploits, Lafayette was crowned Eastern champion. The Associated Press also crowned Lafayette as the national 5-year champion, ahead of Michigan, Notre Dame, and the selected Rose Bowl
participant Alabama.
Previously, Fisher Field contained a six-lane running track and track and field competition areas adjacent the playing surface. The field was natural grass and a simple scoreboard at the west end of the stadium, which is the current location of the Bourger Varsity House. Additionally, the bleachers on the home side of the field were natural wood and thought to have been the original seats dating to the 1920s. In the early 21st century, seating areas became dangerous as rotting wood seats and their loose screws were uncomfortable for spectators. The press box and coaches' boxes rested at the top of the grandstand and were constructed approximately in the 1950s, according to old photos. The visiting stands' dimension and capacity altered several times, with the last concrete grandstand being built in 1973 along with the construction of Allan P. Kirby Field House
.
The site for the athletics grounds, which would be known as March Field, was identified as early as 1890. “The ground lies on the historic Sullivan road, or as it is more commonly called, Lover’s Lane, fronting 440 feet on that street, beginning 7 feet west of the reservoir, and extending southwest between parallel lines to the Bushkill Creek, and contains about 7 acres.” Plans included a 440-yard circular track, 100-yard straight away track, baseball and football fields, grand stand, large bleachers, and carriage stand. The entrance would be at the reservoir, which was at the time a reserve reservoir of the Easton Water Company.
Engineers in the sophomore class surveyed the grounds in 1890, but financing was difficult. Originally anticipated to cost $2,000, the rocky subsurface on the upper half of the field and required grading on the lower half increased the cost to $3,000. The Panic of 1893
, along with funds solicited mainly from the Alumni Advisory Committee members and alumni meetings, slowed progress on the field. Professor Francis A. March Jr. enabled the field’s completion in 1894 by writing an alumni fundraising letter and selling bonds on the field, with the new field’s mortgage as collateral.
The field opened on June 19, 1894 with an all-Lafayette track meet that featured Olympic events, baseball throw, and tennis matches. Before baseball and football games could be played, special soil had to be imported since the hard, clay soil was not suitable to grow grass. The first football game was hosted on October 3, with a 36-0 defeat of Gettysburg College
. Ultimately, the cost of the field was $12,000.
The new field was soon unable to accommodate the athletics program. Since the football, baseball, and track configurations overlapped each other due the angle of the field and the reservoir, the Athletic Association had to spend money on contractors to build and disassemble the bleachers for each season. The effort soon plunged the Alumni Advisory Committee into debt. However, the Committee devised a permanent solution: purchase the reservoir, enlarge the grounds, and build a field house. At commencement in 1904, the field house cornerstone was laid and work on the new field was completed towards the end of 1905 for a total cost of $9,000.
is Lafayette's primary rival and is the most played rivalry in college football (146 games as of the 2010 season). The rivalry is also the longest running annual college football series in the United States, with the two schools meeting every year since 1897. Many publications, such as ESPN and Sports Illustrated, have dubbed the Lafayette-Lehigh rivalry as one of the most fierce and 'must-see' events in college football. The schools played twice annually from 1884 until 1902, with three games in 1891, one at a neutral site in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
. The schools also played two games annually during 1943 and 1944.
The series started in 1884 with Lehigh's first collegiate football game, a 50-0 loss in Easton. Lafayette dominated the series from the mid-1890s until 1949, including a 14-1 stretch from 1919 to 1933 and a 14-0-1 strecth from 1937 to 1949. From 1950 until 1980, Lehigh controlled the series as Lafayette won only eight games. The series regained competitive balance between 1981 and 1994, with no team winning more than two consecutive games. However, Lafayette's possible downgrade evaluation study of football in the late 1990s, along with Lehigh's rise as a Division I-AA power, led to seven consecutive Lehigh victories between 1995 and 2001. Since in 2002 and through 2010, the series has regained its competitive balance.
Many festivities, traditions, and pranks have surrounded 'The Rivalry' since the beginning. In recent years, the Patriot League Championship and FCS playoff berth have added a new dimension to the Rivalry and are often decided upon the outcome of the game.
The winner of the game is presented with the MVP trophy and the game ball. As of 2010, Lafayette leads 76-65-5.
and Lafayette have met annually since 1945 have played 88 games (as of 2010) since the series began in 1883. Since the 1983 game, an outstanding player from each team is awarded the George McGaughey Memorial Award. McGaughey was a star center on the 1933 Bucknell Orange Bowl team and was an athletic adminstrator at Lafayette for 32 years.
leads the all-time series 21-62-4, Lafayette has played Penn since the Leopards' first season in 1882. During the 1880s and 1890s, the two teams were apart of a fierce rivalry that often became boisterous and violent. Lafayette was awarded the 1896 National Championship by ending Penn's 34-game winning streak in a 6-4 upset.
Due to Lafayette's strong alumni base in Philadelphia, the large capacity of Franklin Field, and strong attendance at Penn football games, Lafayette has played a majority of its games against Penn at Franklin Field. From 1892 until 1973, which included only seven Lafayette victories, the two teams did not play a game on the Leopards' home field. The schools will meet for the 88th Game in 2011.
played annually between 1921 and 1975. Along with Lehigh, Lafayette battled Rutgers for the Little Brass Cannon and the Middle Three Conference Championship. Through 1945, Lafayette went 27-14-1 against Rutgers, but won only three games in the next 30 years to finish 30-41-1.
Lafayette's poor record and Rutgers increasing enrollment and dedication to major college football led to the end of the series. If not for the discontinuation of the rivalry in the 72nd meeting in 1975, the teams would be playing the 108th Game in 2011. As of 2011, there is a possibility that Rutgers and Lafayette will meet in a future season, contingent upon Lafayette instilling at least 57 football athletic scholarships or scholarship equivliancies.
Lafayette football played the first game in its history against Rutgers in 1882, and earned the program's first victory against Rutgers in 1883.
battled for supremecy of the Eastern football. The two schools played many dramatic, close games before large crowds at nuetral sites such as the Polo Grounds
, Yankee Stadium
, and Franklin Field
. Both schools have the distinction of playing the first night indoor football game in history at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall in 1930, a 7-0 Presidents victory, as well as the first non-New York City college football teams to play a game in the Big Apple.
Washington & Jefferson, due to its small size, gradually demphasized football in the face of the Depression and alleged impropriety in the program. The series ended in 1948, with a 12-9-2 Lafayette advantage.
Although Lafayette earned many All-America team selections from various publications, especially in the early half of the 20th century, the Leopards' major college football All-Americans are considered consensus selections by receiving the majority of votes at their respective position by the NCAA Football Records book. Its FCS era selections were named first-team All-Americans by a variety of recognized publications.
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
in college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
. One of the oldest college football programs in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Lafayette currently plays in the Patriot League
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I) for a number of sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision...
at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. Fielding their first team in 1882, Lafayette has won three college football national championships (1896
1896 college football season
The 1896 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Lafayette and Princeton as national champions.-Conference standings:The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:...
, 1921
1921 college football season
The 1921 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing California Golden Bears, Cornell Big Red, Iowa Hawkeyes, Lafayette Leopards, and Washington & Jefferson Presidents as champions...
, 1926
1926 college football season
The 1926 college football season was the first to attempt recognition of a national champion. Stanford University, coached by Glenn "Pop" Warner, was the #1 team in the nation under the Dickinson System, and awarded the Rissman Trophy. Unbeaten Stanford faced unbeaten Alabama in the Rose Bowl...
), six Patriot League championships (1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2005, 2006), six undefeated seasons (1896, 1909
1909 college football season
The 1909 college football season was the first for the 3-point field goal, which had previously been worth 4 points. The season ran from Saturday, September 25, until Thanksgiving Day, November 25, although a few games were played on the week before....
, 1921, 1926, 1937
1937 college football season
The 1937 college football season ended with the Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh being named the nation’s #1 team by 30 of the 33 electors in the Associated Press writers' poll...
, 1940
1940 college football season
The 1940 college football season ended with the Gophers of the University of Minnesota being named the nation’s #1 team and national champion, and the Stanford University Indians in second, with the two teams receiving 65 and 44 first place votes respectively...
) and four undefeated, untied seasons (1921, 1926, 1937, 1940).
For most of its history, Lafayette played an independent schedule until joining the Patriot League in 1986. Between 1929 and 1975, the Leopards were a part of an unofficial conference, the “Middle Three Conference,” which consisted of Rutgers University
Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision play...
and Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
. Today, Lafayette is most noted for its fierce arch-rivalry with Lehigh, which is the most played rivalry in college football (146 games) and the most consecutive years played (since 1897). ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
considers "The Rivalry" to be among the top ten in college football, and was the subject of a PBS documentary narrated by NFL Films voice and Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
broadcaster Harry Kalas
Harry Kalas
Harry Norbert Kalas was an American sportscaster, best known for his Ford C. Frick Award-winning role as lead play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies...
. Aside from Lehigh and Rutgers, Lafayette’s primary rivals are Bucknell University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Lafayette has produced four consensus All-Americans (FBS), 11 FCS All-Americans, four College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
players, and three College Football Hall of Fame coaches. Lafayette football has produced and nurtured several legendary football personalities, such as George Barclay
George Barclay (baseball)
George Oliver Barclay was an American football and baseball player. He played Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and later the Boston Beaneaters. He was also an early professional football player-coach for the Greensburg Athletic Association. He was nicknamed "The Rose" for his...
, inventor of the football helmet, and Jock Sutherland
Jock Sutherland
Dr. John Bain "Jock" Sutherland, D.D.S., was an American football coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College and the University of Pittsburgh and professional football for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Steelers...
, legendary coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers
Pittsburgh Panthers football
Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...
and Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
. Lafayette is also credited with inventing the huddle during a game in which Pennsylvania was stealing hand signals.
Lafayette's nickname is the Leopards, dating from 1924 or 1927. In its early history, the students, alumni, and press referred to the team as the 'Maroon.' The Leopards are still occasionally referred to as the 'Maroon' or the 'Maroon and White.' Currently, Lafayette has 650 wins, 33rd all-time in Division I.
Early history (1882–1890)
'Rugby' football was first introduced on College Hill in the fall of 1880 by Theodore H. Welles. A member of the class of 1884, Welles brought football to Easton after learning the new game at Wilkes Barre Academy and Princeton University, where he studied as a college freshman. H.R. Craven, who played and learned the sport at the Lawrenceville SchoolLawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational, independent preparatory boarding school for grades 9–12 located on in the historic community of Lawrenceville, in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, U.S., five miles southwest of Princeton....
, served as the first team captain. Early football at Lafayette was not organized. In 1880 and 1881, students competed amongst each other on campus. However, in the fall of 1882, Lafayette traveled to Rutgers to partake in its first intercollegiate football contest. On November 7, 1882, Lafayette fell to Rutgers 0-0/8-3. One week later, Lafayette lost its second game ever against the University of Pennsylvania
Penn Quakers football
The Penn Quakers football team is the college football team at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. The Penn Quakers have competed in the Ivy League since its inaugural season of 1956, and are currently a Division I Football Championship Subdivision member of the National...
0-0/1-3. Although official records reflect only two games being played in 1882, Welles mentions playing Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
and the Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a technological university located on a campus in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA – founded in 1870 with an 1868 bequest from Edwin A. Stevens. It is known for its engineering, science, and technological management curricula.The institute has produced leading...
on College Hill, winning both contests.
With one season of intercollegiate football experience, Lafayette won its first game ever in 1883. After dropping its first three games to Princeton, Pennsylvania, and Stevens, Lafayette broke through against Rutgers on November 10. With four inches of slushy snow covering the Quad, Lafayette avenged the previous year's defeat 25-0 with four touchdowns despite a water-logged ball.
The first game of the 1884 brought a new team to Lafayette's schedule: Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
. Located in nearby Bethlehem, Lehigh would be playing its first football game. With experience and superior skill on its side, Lafayette annihilated Lehigh 50-0 in what would shortly become known as "The Rivalry". Due to the proximity of the schools, Lafayette played a Lehigh as their last opponent in 1884, winning 36-0 in Bethlehem. True animosity soon developed between both teams. In 1886, Lafayette was winning 12-0 until a severe downpour halted play 15 minutes into the second half (in 1886, there were two 45 minute halves). Both team captains mutually agreed to end the game even though football tradition called for football to be played in all weather. The game's referee wrote Walter Camp
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...
on how to resolve the game. Camp said that the game should be declared a tie, but Lehigh acknowledged they were outplayed and gave Lafayette the victory. Later in the season, with the game tied 0-0 late in the second half, Lehigh was protesting the officiating of the game. As the Lehigh captain pulled his team off the field in protest, Lafayette picked up the ball and scored a touchdown. To this day, Lafayette counts the game as a 4-0 win, while Lehigh considers the game a 0-0 tie. The schools would play each other twice per season until 1902.
A bitter rivalry also emerged with Pennsylvania. During their annual contest on the Lafayette Quad on November 6, 1889, Lafayette's right tackle Wells, who had been ejected by the umpire earlier in the contest, tripped a Pennsylvania player running with the ball along the sidelines. As the two players converged following the trip, a crowd of spectators surged the Penn player and "struck, kicked, and generally misused him." Many outside newspapers trumped up the incident to make it seem like a mob had severely beaten the Penn player and there was general unruliness at the Lafayette game. However, since it was the late 19th century, it is possible that the account of the unruly mob was an instance of yellow journalism
Yellow journalism
Yellow journalism or the yellow press is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism...
. Additionally, the umpire who ejected Wells, Dr. Shell, was from the University of Pennsylvania and was cited in the newspaper for making several bad calls against Lafayette, including negating a five-point field goal on a phantom offside. Regardless, Pennsylvania was upset about the altercation relations between the two schools were strained. The incident was a key catalyst in forming the Alumni Advisory Committee in January 1890. Pennsylvania played only two more times at Lafayette, in 1891 and 1893, until 1973.
Although there were no formal conferences, Lafayette, Lehigh, and Pennsylvania were loosely affiliated and their games, two against each opponent, were considered the battle for the Pennsylvania State Championship.
College football upstart (1891–1918)
After being managed by students, Lafayette hired its first paid football coach for the 1891 season, W.S. Moyle. Moyle was hired from Yale UniversityYale Bulldogs football
The Yale Bulldogs football program represents Yale University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . Yale's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1872...
since he was familiar with the Yale system and was considered a good player. His stipend was $400. As coach from 1891 to 1892, Moyle played in nearly every game and carried the ball on nearly every down. He was lauded as a football hero until the faculty disapproved of his playing. However, he was regarded as 'good coach' who 'taught for the first time what teamwork was.'
Despite hiring coaches, Lafayette's record had a losing record each season. Between 1891 and 1894, Lafayette went 2-9 against Lehigh, including two losses and a neutral site loss before 3,000 spectators in Wilkes-Barre in 1891.
In 1895, the alumni athletic advisors hired who would become a legendary college football figure, Parke H. Davis
Parke H. Davis
Parke Hill Davis was an American football player, coach and historian who retroactively named the national championship teams in American college football from the 1869 through the 1932 seasons. He also named co-national champions at the conclusion of the 1933 season...
. Writing a history of Lafayette Athletics in 1926, Francis A. March, Jr. said, "With the advent of Davis, little Lafayette stepped from comparative obscurity to a level with the football giants." Davis, who played at Princeton, was the first coach hired based on experience, having coached Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
and the University of Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...
in previous seasons. Lafayette went 6-2 and had its first winning season since 1888 swept Lehigh for the first time since 1886. Davis is credited with bringing organization, recognition, and enthusiasm to Lafayette football through his charismatic personality and writing college fight songs. The following season, Lafayette won its first National Championship, which featured a dramatic 6-4 win against Pennsylvania at Franklin Field.
Penn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
led Lafayette to its most victories ever with a 12-1 record in 1899, with a lone 12-0 defeat to national champions Princeton (12-1) and outscoring opponents 253-23. Newton was 7-0 against Lehigh and 33-14 overall through his last season of 1902 before leaving Lafayette to coach Lehigh. In four games against Lafayette, Newton only won twice while going 23-20-2 overall. During this time, Newton coached Walter E. Bachman, who developed the roving center concept in football. Bachman was named second-team All-American by Walter Camp in 1900 and 1901, one of the first players outside of the 'Big Four' to earn the honor.
The legendary roll of Lafayette coaches continued after the departure of Newton. Dr. Alfred E. Bull
Alfred E. Bull
-External links:...
coached between 1903 and 1907, compiling a 37-10-3 record in five seasons, with one loss to Lehigh. Tragically, Lafayette football hero and helmet inventor George "Rose" Barclay, who became coach in 1908 and was the first Lafayette player to coach the team, died following after one season after suffering from an appendicitis. His successor, Bob Folwell
Bob Folwell
Robert Cook "Bob" Folwell, Jr. was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Lafayette College , Washington & Jefferson College , the University of Pennsylvania , and the United States Naval Academy , compiling a career college football record of...
, became one of the most decorated coaches in Lafayette history by posting a 19-2-1 record. Folwell led the University of Iowa
Iowa Hawkeyes football
The Iowa Hawkeyes football team is the interscholastic football team at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have competed in the Big Ten Conference since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
to its first conference championship and after Lafayette, led Washington & Jefferson University
Washington & Jefferson Presidents football
The Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team represents Washington & Jefferson College in collegiate level football. The team competes in NCAA Division III and is affiliated with the Presidents' Athletic Conference...
to be recognized as 'an elite power team,' along with Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
, Michigan
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
, the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, and Yale
Yale Bulldogs football
The Yale Bulldogs football program represents Yale University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . Yale's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1872...
. In 1925, he became the first coach of the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Folwell coached Lafayette to its first win against Princeton
Princeton Tigers football
The Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision...
on October 23, 1909 in what the New York Times said was, "the most sensational finish that has ever been seen in a football game." With six second remaining and the score 0-0, Princeton was set to attempt a game winning field goal from the Lafayette 10 yard line. Irmschler blitzed through the tackle and guard, caught the ball as it left the kicker's foot, and raced 92-yards for the win as time expired for a 6-0 win. The team was greeted with a jubilant crowd that paraded through Easton and College Hill when the team returned. In their next game two weeks later, Lafayette tied Pennsylvania 6-6 and ultimately finished second behind Yale (10-0-0) in the East and for the National Championship. Lafayette outscored the opposition 176-6.
Folwell left in the middle of the 1911 season with Lafayette holding a 5-0 record. It came at an inopportune moment as Lafayette was set to host the Carlisle Indians and Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...
. Lafayette lost 19-0 and went 2-3 the rest of the season under S.B. Newton.
National college football power (1919–1948)
Between 1921 and 1948, Lafayette was considered one of the premiere college football programs. The team earned two national championships, had four undefeated seasons, featured several All-Americans, played in major games, and was involved in several bowl scenarios. During nearly every season of the era, the team was led by a coach that would later be inducted into the College Football Hall of FameCollege Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
.
The 1920s
The hiring of Jock SutherlandJock Sutherland
Dr. John Bain "Jock" Sutherland, D.D.S., was an American football coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College and the University of Pittsburgh and professional football for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Steelers...
in 1919 started Lafayette on the road to national prominence during the 1920s. After coaching an undefeated team at an Army base in Georgia during World War I and only a few years removed from playing for the University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Panthers football
Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...
and Pop Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner , most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American football player and coach...
, Sutherland was prepared to enter a career in dentistry. However, a chance meeting with a friend propelled Sutherland to take a coaching job at Lafayette.
Lafayette finished 1919 at 6-2 and 5-3 the following season. According to Sutherland, with virtually the same team as 1920, Lafayette went 9-0 in 1921 and went on a 17-game winning streak that stretched between 1920 and 1922, where Lafayette outscored opponents 495-47, with wins over major teams such as Penn, coached by John Heisman
John Heisman
John William Heisman was an American player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College , Buchtel College, now known as the University of Akron , Auburn University , Clemson University , Georgia Tech , the...
, Pittsburgh (twice), Fordham University, and Boston College
Boston College Eagles football
The Boston College Eagles football team is the collegiate football program of Boston College. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a Division I Bowl Subdivision league governed by the NCAA. Within the ACC, the Eagles are one of six teams in the Atlantic Division...
. During the National Championship season of 1921, no team came within three touchdowns of Lafayette except Pittsburgh, coached by Pop Warner. Late in game, Lafayette used a triple pass and touchdown by ‘Bots’ Brunner near the Pitt goal line to gain a 6-0 lead. Pitt was inside the Lafayette ten with under two minutes to play, but an illegal substitution by Pitt cost the Panthers dearly and Lafayette held on for the win.
Six games into the 1922 season, Lafayette was poised to claim another National Championship. The Maroon defeated Pittsburgh at Forbes Field
Forbes Field
Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to 1971. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League franchise...
, the only loss of the season for a 10-1 team that claimed a 'post-season' victory at Stanford. Facing the 1922 Rose Bowl
1922 Rose Bowl
The 1922 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 1922, between Washington & Jefferson College and the University of California, Berkeley...
participant Washington & Jefferson before 38,000 at the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
in New York City, Lafayette took a commanding 13-0 halftime lead. However, a dramatic and miraculous comeback by the Presidents resulted in a 14-13 Maroon defeat, one of the most bitter in Lafayette football history.
Sutherland coached the Maroon until 1923, when he returned to his alma mater, Pittsburgh, for the 1924 season. New coachHerb McCracken
Herb McCracken
G. Herbert McCracken was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Allegheny College from 1921 to 1923 and at Lafayette College from 1924 to 1935, compiling a career college football record of 75–48–7. His 1926 Lafayette Leopards team was recognized as a...
, also a recent player under Pop Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner , most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American football player and coach...
, quickly proved himself by defeating Sutherland at Pittsburgh 10-0 in the second game of the season. McCracken won his first five games before falling to Pennsylvania
Penn Quakers football
The Penn Quakers football team is the college football team at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. The Penn Quakers have competed in the Ivy League since its inaugural season of 1956, and are currently a Division I Football Championship Subdivision member of the National...
6-3. Before the game, McCracken discovered that Penn had decoded Lafayette's play calling signals. McCracken responded with a new and innovative solution: the huddle
Huddle
In sport, a huddle is when a team gathers together, usually in a tight circle, to strategise, motivate or celebrate. It is a popular strategy for keeping opponents insulated from sensitive information, and acts as a form of insulation when the level of noise in the venue is such that normal...
. Although McCracken is often credited as the inventor of the huddle, there are earlier, though some less substantiated claims of other schools implementing the huddle only a few years earlier.
At the start of the 1926 season, Lafayette inaugurated its new, unfinished 18,000 seat stadium with a 35-0 win over Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America.- History...
. The Maroon continued to win by dominate scores enroute to their third National Championship on the back of All-American halfback Mike “George” Wilson, who led the nation in scoring with 120 points and 20 touchdowns, a national record at the time. The Maroon also led the East in scoring, with 328 points, and only surrendered 37 points in nine games. Halfback and team captain Frank Kirkleski
Frank Kirkleski
Frank William Kirkleski was a professional football player from Nutley, New Jersey. He played during the early years of the National Football League for the Pottsville Maroons, Orange Tornadoes, Newark Tornadoes and the Brooklyn Dodgers...
, who later starred for the NFL’s Pottsville Maroons
Pottsville Maroons
The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they went on to play in the National Football League for four seasons, from 1925–1928...
, also received All-American praise played in the East-West Shrine Game
East-West Shrine Game
The East–West Shrine Game is an annual post-season college football all-star game played each January since 1925. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners...
in San Francisco.
Lafayette continued to dominate opponents in the late 1920s, but would win only a few games against major teams, such as Penn State
Penn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
. In 1929, Lafayette joined with Lehigh and Rutgers to form the Middle Three Conference, which consisted of round-robin games between the two teams. The schools split the first year of the series at 1-1-0 each. Lafayette won their first Middle Three title the following season.
The 1930s
Lafayette made college football history on October 25, 1930, when the Leopards and Washington & Jefferson University played the first night indoor college football game in history at the Atlantic City Boardwalk HallBoardwalk Hall
Boardwalk Hall, formally known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is an arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States...
before 25,000. The Presidents won 7-0 on an easy touchdown within the two yard line with the help of a play that is illegal today – a recovered “fumble” by pushing a Lafayette defender into the kicker and the ball. In their final game of the season, Lafayette defeated Lehigh 16-6 before 20,000 at Fisher Field, the largest crowd to witness "The Rivalry" at the time.
After a 7-2 season in 1931, Lafayette’s record began to decline. Coach Herb McCracken
Herb McCracken
G. Herbert McCracken was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Allegheny College from 1921 to 1923 and at Lafayette College from 1924 to 1935, compiling a career college football record of 75–48–7. His 1926 Lafayette Leopards team was recognized as a...
had only won less than five games once since his first season in 1924, but did not win more than three games through his final season at Lafayette in 1935. Although he was only 36 at the time, McCracken retired from coaching to help friend Maurice Robinson start-up Scholastic Publications and write a popular magazine, Scholastic Coach.
To return the Leopards to the spotlight, Lafayette called on Ernie Nevers, an assistant coach at Stanford University
Stanford Cardinal football
The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The...
who helped lead the Indians to three straight Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
games. Nevers, along with Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...
, was considered one of the two best college football players ever and had a legendary career in the early NFL. Hope was high on College Hill as the 1935 freshman team went undefeated against the leading freshmen teams of the East, including Princeton. However, with a young team plagued by injuries, the Leopards went 1-8, their worst record since their first season of football in 1882, and were blown out in their last five games. Despite stating he would stay for the 1937 season, Nevers resigned to become an assistant coach at the University of Iowa
Iowa Hawkeyes football
The Iowa Hawkeyes football team is the interscholastic football team at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have competed in the Big Ten Conference since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
.
Absent a coach for the second straight season, Lafayette turned to Edward “Hook” Mylin
Edward Mylin
Edward Everett "Hook" Mylin was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Lebanon Valley College , Bucknell University , Lafayette College , and New York University...
, the inaugural Orange Bowl
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935 and celebrated its 75th playing on January 1, 2009...
winning head coach of Bucknell University
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania in the town of Lewisburg, 30 miles southeast of Williamsport and 60 miles north of Harrisburg. The university consists of the College of...
. In one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college football at the time, the 1-8 Leopards of 1936 went 8-0 in 1937. Furthermore, the Leopards posted seven shutouts, outscored opponents 130-6, and featured an unscored upon defense, including a 13-0 win over heavily favored New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
at Yankee Stadium. The key win featured a key 79-yard punt by quarterback Tommy Kearns and a 50-yard and 30-yard touchdown pass. Media sources such as “The Lafayette” student newspaper began referring to the 1937 team as the “Mylin Miracle Men” since the victory left Lafayette as the only undefeated, untied, and unscored upon team in the East. Two games later, Lafayette surrendered their only touchdown of the season against Rutgers. Early in the game, Rutgers defender Bill Tranavitch, who was the leading scorer in the nation at the time, returned an 87-yard interception for a touchdown. The victory elicited the first football parade in downtown Easton in 12 years as boisterous students clogged trolley and car traffic. Lafayette concluded their perfect season with a 6-0 win over Lehigh, their first victory over the Engineers since 1933. There was speculation that Lafayette would receive an Orange Bowl
1938 Orange Bowl
The 1938 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Auburn Tigers and Michigan State Spartans at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida on January 1, 1938. It was the fourth Orange Bowl, and the first held in the stadium. The Tigers won 6–0, scoring the game's only points in the...
bid for the January 1, 1938 game. Sources at New York newspapers told the student newspaper that Lafayette was at the top of the list of the Bowl Committee as ‘feelers’ were sent to inquire about schools’ interest. Associated Press news releases at the end of the season also listed Lafayette at the top of a list that included Colorado, Fordham, Holy Cross, Villanova, Detroit, and Nebraska. However, the administration did not want to interfere with academic activity and a trustee doubted permission would be granted to play in Miami. Michigan State University
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...
was ultimately selected from the East.
Mylin continued with a strong team in 1938, posting a 5-3 record and a 7-0 win at Penn State
Penn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
. Lafayette defeated Lehigh in 1938 and again in 1939. Following the 1939 season, Leopard captain John Quigg was invited to play in the Eastern Collegiate All-Star Game against the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, but the invitation arrived after the game was played.
The 1940s
Mylin led Lafayette to its second undefeated season in four years with the help of a physical team and the triumvirate of Walt Zirinsky, Sammy Moyer, and James Farrell. With a narrow 9-7 win over New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in their second game and missing several injured players, Lafayette carried a 4-0 record into their meeting with Army
Army Black Knights football
The Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946....
at West Point. The team was suddenly awakened at 4 a.m. as the Cadets, cavalrymen, and horses paraded in front of the team hotel in attempt to rattle the Leopards. It was also an important dates at West Point since a visiting delegation of South American generals would be reviewing the cadets before the game. Army advanced deep into Lafayette territory early in the first quarter, but a missed field goal and key stops kept the Leopards in the game. Zirinsky scored in the third for a 6-0 lead, a spread formation newly unveiled by Mylin helped Lafayette to a 12-0 lead. A 70-yard interception return by Zirinsky in the final minute sealed Lafayette’s 19-0 win. Despite injuries and facing many Army substitutes, Lafayette outgained Army 184-104. The following week, Army fell to Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
7-0 on a returned interception, leading many writers to compare Lafayette to Notre Dame. As of 2011, the 1940 victory over Army is Lafayette’s only victory in 20 meetings.
Two weeks later, Lafayette edged Rutgers University
Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision play...
by an extra point 7-6 in New Brunswick before 20,000. At 8-0, Lafayette demolished Lehigh 46-0. Zirinsky scored three touchdowns as Lafayette gained 585 total yards, a record at the time in “The Rivalry.” Lafayette finished 1940 with 238 points, third in the nation behind Boston College and leader Tennessee. Lafayette was once again considered for the Orange Bowl
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935 and celebrated its 75th playing on January 1, 2009...
as ‘feelers’ from the Committee approached Lafayette. Despite being in the final three from the East, the Committee selected Georgetown University
Georgetown Hoyas football
The Georgetown Hoyas football team represents Georgetown University in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level of college football. Like other sports teams from Georgetown, the team is named the Hoyas, which derives from the chant, Hoya Saxa...
. Ironically, the Administration elected to participate in the Bowl, with President Lewis going as far as throwing out an orange to open a post-season student pep rally. The Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
expressed interest in Lafayette, but the Administration declined. Farrell and Moyer received AP All-American honorable mention status as Lafayette achieved its only Associated Press Poll ranking: 19.
The following year, Zirinsky scored two touchdowns to finish his career with 55 points against Lehigh, the most of any player in “The Rivalry.” Coupled with the 1939 game, Zirinsky outscored the entire Lehigh team 55-20 during the three-year span. Drafted by the Cleveland Rams
Cleveland Rams
The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio.The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio. The NFL considers the franchise as a second incarnation of the previous Cleveland Rams team that was a charter member of the second American Football League...
in 1942, Zirinsky played in only the 1945 season.
World War II soon impacted the Leopard football as many players and coaches became enlisted men, including Mylin. Lafayette went 3-5-1 in 1942, including a 19-13 win over the University of Virginia
Virginia Cavaliers football
Virginia Cavaliers football is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I-FBS and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
at Fisher Field and coming up one-yard short against Lehigh in the final seconds of a 7-7 tie. In 1943 and 1944, Lafayette continued to play football as other colleges suspended their programs such as nearby Moravian College
Moravian College
Moravian College a private liberal arts college, and the associated Moravian Theological Seminary are located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Lehigh Valley region.-History:...
, the former team of new Leopard coach Ben Wolfson. Unlike Harvard and Yale, Lafayette and Lehigh continued their rivalry, playing each other twice, as well as Rutgers twice and one game against nearby Willow Grove Naval Air Station. Only 5,000 attended the game in Easton, and 3,500 in Taylor Stadium, both Lafayette routs and devoid of bands or cheerleaders. In 1944, Lafayette expanded their schedule to include ‘local’ trips to Syracuse University and NYU, as well as two games against Rutgers and Lehigh. Only 300 fans attended the first game against Lehigh in a rainstorm. Lafayette romped in the finale 64-0, their largest margin of victory in the series, to finish 6-1.
Between 1945 and 1946, Lafayette won three games, including two shutouts over Lehigh. Mylin returned for the 1946 season, his last, and finished his Lafayette career with a 6-0-1 mark against Lehigh.
Ivan Williamson
Ivy Williamson
Ivan B. "Ivy" Williamson was a player and coach of American football and basketball, and a college athletics administrator. He played college football and basketball at the University of Michigan from 1930 to 1932 and was captain of the national champion 1932 Michigan football team...
replaced Mylin in 1947 and went 6-3 in his first season, including a 14-7 win over Syracuse and the fifth straight shutout of Lehigh.
"The Greatest Game They Never Played"—the 1949 Sun Bowl incident
Following a 7-2 mark in 1948 and a 23-13 against Lehigh before 21,000 at Fisher Field, Lafayette received an invitation to play UTEPUTEP Miners football
The UTEP Miners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Texas at El Paso . With a history dating back to 1914, UTEP currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of Conference USA . UTEP currently plays their home games at the Sun Bowl...
(Texas College of Mines) in the 1949 Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
. Lafayette accepted the bid contingent upon being able to bring David Showell, an African-American halfback and former Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
. Texas law at the time prohibited African-Americans from playing on the same field as Caucasian players in a state supported stadium. Showell’s team members also did not want to accept the bid unless Showell could accompany the team to El-Paso. The Chairman of the Sun Bowl, C.D. Belding, rejected the provision and Lafayette declined the bid. The Athletic Department did not issue a reason for the rejection, prompting a protest of 1,500 students and a bonfire. The students marched on the President’s house, demanding an explanation. President Ralph Cooper Hutchison explained the situation and along with student leaders, phoned the Bowl Committee chairman to reconsider. Upon a prompt rejection by Belding, the student protest marched downtown and received an audience at the local radio station. The station and the students sent a telegram to President Truman condemning racial intolerance and segregation with a terse, “Denied Sun Bowl bid with Negro on team. Is that Democracy?”
The protest and received national media attention in the New York Times and AP wires. The incident was also basis of a popular song, “The Greatest Game they Never Played.” The situation was also significant in that it drew attention to segregation and discrimination against African-American players in bowl games and college football.
National championships
Lafayette has won three national championships. Although only one Lafayette National Championship team, 1896, is recognized as a consensus champion, several recognized and reputable sources of the era have selected Lafayette as National Champions in 1921 and 1926. The level of competition, numerous All-Americans, undefeated teams, and dominant scoring also support the claim that Lafayette was national champions in the 1920s.1896
West Virginia Mountaineers football
The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University in the NCAA FBS division of college football. Dana Holgorsen is the team's 33rd head coach. He has held the position since he was promoted in June 2011 after the resignation of Bill Stewart. The Mountaineers play their...
three times in three days by a combined score of 56-0. At 4-0-1, Lafayette was set to meet Pennsylvania
Penn Quakers football
The Penn Quakers football team is the college football team at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. The Penn Quakers have competed in the Ivy League since its inaugural season of 1956, and are currently a Division I Football Championship Subdivision member of the National...
on October 24 at Franklin Field. Penn, coached by George Woodruff
George Washington Woodruff
Note: Before 1936, national champions were determined by historical research and retroactive ratings and polls. 1894 Poll Results = Penn: Parke H. Davis, Princeton: Houlgate, Yale: Billingsley, Helms, National Championship Foundation, Parke H. Davis1895 Poll Results = Penn: Billingsley, Helms,...
, was in the midst of a 34-game winning streak and was only guaranteeing Lafayette $150 for a game that would net $10,000. As an intense media war surrounded the game, Lafayette enrolled Fielding H. Yost, a tackle from West Virginia, whom Lafayette had defeated in the final game of their series on October 17. With Yost, College Football Hall of Famer Charles "Babe" Rinehart
Charles Rinehart
Charles Ramsay Rinehart was an American football player, engineer and businessman. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1964....
, and the inventor of the football helmet George 'Rose' Barclay on the field, Lafayette won 6-4. It was the first victory of a 'small school' over one of the Big Four (Harvard-Yale-Penn-Princeton). Penn would win its next 31 games. Lafayette closed its season with an 18-6 win over Navy
Navy Midshipmen football
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...
. Following the season, Lafayette was recognized as national champions along with Princeton (11-0-1) and was the first national champion outside of the H-Y-P-P rotation. However, absent from their 1896 schedule was Lehigh, who protested the eligibility and amateur status of "Babe" Rinehart and his playing one game of professional the previous summer.
1921
In their final game, Lafayette defeated Lehigh UniversityLehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
28-6, prompting major papers such as the New York Herald
New York Herald
The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...
to proclaim Lafayette to possess a share of the mythical title. Lafayette was mentioned in the press along with the University of Iowa
Iowa Hawkeyes football
The Iowa Hawkeyes football team is the interscholastic football team at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have competed in the Big Ten Conference since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
(7-0), which upset Knute Rockne
Knute Rockne
Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
and Notre Dame (10-1) to end a 20-game winning streak. Officially, the NCAA record book recognizes the University of California
California Golden Bears football
The California Golden Bears football team is the college football team of the University of California. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium, however the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium was being renovated, the team will return to...
(9-0-1), Cornell University
Cornell Big Red football
The Cornell Big Red football team represents Cornell University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football competition as a member of the Ivy League. It is one of the oldest and most storied football programs in the nation...
(8-0), Lafayette, Iowa, and Washington & Jefferson
Washington & Jefferson Presidents football
The Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team represents Washington & Jefferson College in collegiate level football. The team competes in NCAA Division III and is affiliated with the Presidents' Athletic Conference...
(10-0-1) as champions, with only California, Cornell, and Lafayette claiming the title.
According to Sutherland, Lafayette was approached by promoters to play a postseason game against a team from the west or southwest. Ultimately, Washington & Jefferson accepted an invitation to play California in the 1922 Rose Bowl
1922 Rose Bowl
The 1922 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 1922, between Washington & Jefferson College and the University of California, Berkeley...
. Lafayette and the Presidents had three common opponents in 1921: Pittsburgh, Bucknell University
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania in the town of Lewisburg, 30 miles southeast of Williamsport and 60 miles north of Harrisburg. The university consists of the College of...
, and Lehigh. And both Lafayette and the Presidents won by nearly identical scores: Pittsburgh 6-0 vs. 7-0, Bucknell University 20-7 vs. 26-0, Lehigh 28-6 vs. 14-7. However, the policy of the athletic committee prohibited Lafayette from playing postseason games. Sutherland was also hesitant to play any postseason games as well, citing the 1921 team had the same players as the ‘mediocre’ 1920 team.
1926
The Maroon entered 1926 having narrowly missed winning the 1925 National Championship. The previous year, Lafayette defeated the University of PittsburghPittsburgh Panthers football
Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...
for the Panthers lone loss in a season where they would be crowned Eastern champions. However, Lafayette tied Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
7-7 at Franklin Field and lost to Washington & Jefferson University
Washington & Jefferson Presidents football
The Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team represents Washington & Jefferson College in collegiate level football. The team competes in NCAA Division III and is affiliated with the Presidents' Athletic Conference...
7-6 at the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
.
The Leopards received a boost on opening day by inaugurating Lafayette Stadium. Their still unfinished stadium, which was soon to be known as Fisher Field
Fisher Field
Fisher Field at Fisher Stadium is a 13,132-seat multi-purpose stadium in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States. It opened in 1926 and it is home to the Lafayette College Leopards football team. Fisher Field, this past year, was voted the best gameday atmosphere in the Patriot League. A popular...
and modeled after Harvard Stadium
Harvard Stadium
Harvard Stadium is a horseshoe-shaped football stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Built in 1903, the stadium seats 30,323. The stadium seated up to 57,166 in the past, as permanent steel stands were installed in the north end of the stadium in 1929...
, saw the Leopards defeat Muhlenberg University 35-0. Lafayette and Pittsburgh played another classic at Forbes Field
Forbes Field
Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to 1971. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League franchise...
, a 17-7 Maroon victory. Entering their sixth game at 5-0 and averaging 34 points per game, Lafayette met Washington & Jefferson and legendary coach Andy Kerr
Andrew Kerr
Andrew "Andy" Kerr IV was an American football, basketball, and track and field coach. He served as the head football coach at Stanford University , Washington & Jefferson College , Colgate University , and Lebanon Valley College , compiling a career college football record...
in what would soon become one of the greatest games in school history. Down 10-0 heading into halftime, Herb McCracken
Herb McCracken
G. Herbert McCracken was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Allegheny College from 1921 to 1923 and at Lafayette College from 1924 to 1935, compiling a career college football record of 75–48–7. His 1926 Lafayette Leopards team was recognized as a...
benched the entire starting 11 and had a starters-only closed door meeting at halftime. The strategy worked, as Lafayette scored on the sixth play of the second half. Late in the fourth, down 10-9 and at their own 12 on third down, a fake punt handoff kept the drive alive. After a long pass to the W&J 35, a reverse-lateral-forward pass put the Maroon on the four with seconds to play. Tuffy Guest punched in the winning score and sent the Presidents to their only loss in a 7-1-1 season. McCracken called the victory the most dramatic, spirited and determined of his career, while sportswriters dubbed the game among the top ten they had witnessed.
Lafayette did not surrender a point the rest of the season and scored the least number of points in a 35-0 win over Lehigh. Following the season and the nation’s leading scorer Mike “George” Wilson’s exploits, Lafayette was crowned Eastern champion. The Associated Press also crowned Lafayette as the national 5-year champion, ahead of Michigan, Notre Dame, and the selected Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
participant Alabama.
Fisher Field
The Leopards have played their home games at Fisher Field at Fisher Stadium since the 1926 season. The Field's west end was the site of the Easton City Dump. Fisher Field was made possible through a substantial donation by Thomas Fisher, Class of 1888, who almost single-handed raised the $445,000 for the Field's construction. The Field used to be known solely as Fisher Field until the 2006 season, when it was upgraded with FieldTurf, jogging track, new visitor stands, new bleacher seats, chairback seats, a video replay board, landscaping, lighting, press box, convenience stands, and the Bourger Varsity House. It acquired the name 'Fisher Stadium' to reflect the generosity of James Fisher, Class of 1977 (no relation), who donated a significant sum for the $23 million renovation. Fisher Field at Fisher Stadium is subsequently recognized as having one of the best FCS facilities in the country.Previously, Fisher Field contained a six-lane running track and track and field competition areas adjacent the playing surface. The field was natural grass and a simple scoreboard at the west end of the stadium, which is the current location of the Bourger Varsity House. Additionally, the bleachers on the home side of the field were natural wood and thought to have been the original seats dating to the 1920s. In the early 21st century, seating areas became dangerous as rotting wood seats and their loose screws were uncomfortable for spectators. The press box and coaches' boxes rested at the top of the grandstand and were constructed approximately in the 1950s, according to old photos. The visiting stands' dimension and capacity altered several times, with the last concrete grandstand being built in 1973 along with the construction of Allan P. Kirby Field House
Kirby Sports Center
Kirby Sports Center is a 3,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Easton, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1973 and is home to the Lafayette College Leopards basketball team. It hosted the 2000 Patriot League men's basketball tournament....
.
March Field
March Field served as the primary venue from 1894 through 1925. The first organized athletic structure built at Lafayette was a small grandstand in front of Martien Hall (located on dormitory row, near the site of the current Kirby House), seating roughly 250 spectators. The grandstand, built in 1890, was one of the first acts of the newly formed Alumni Advisory Committee. Though the grandstand was well received by the College at the time, the Alumni Advisory Committee wanted to establish a formal athletics grounds.The site for the athletics grounds, which would be known as March Field, was identified as early as 1890. “The ground lies on the historic Sullivan road, or as it is more commonly called, Lover’s Lane, fronting 440 feet on that street, beginning 7 feet west of the reservoir, and extending southwest between parallel lines to the Bushkill Creek, and contains about 7 acres.” Plans included a 440-yard circular track, 100-yard straight away track, baseball and football fields, grand stand, large bleachers, and carriage stand. The entrance would be at the reservoir, which was at the time a reserve reservoir of the Easton Water Company.
Engineers in the sophomore class surveyed the grounds in 1890, but financing was difficult. Originally anticipated to cost $2,000, the rocky subsurface on the upper half of the field and required grading on the lower half increased the cost to $3,000. The Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
, along with funds solicited mainly from the Alumni Advisory Committee members and alumni meetings, slowed progress on the field. Professor Francis A. March Jr. enabled the field’s completion in 1894 by writing an alumni fundraising letter and selling bonds on the field, with the new field’s mortgage as collateral.
The field opened on June 19, 1894 with an all-Lafayette track meet that featured Olympic events, baseball throw, and tennis matches. Before baseball and football games could be played, special soil had to be imported since the hard, clay soil was not suitable to grow grass. The first football game was hosted on October 3, with a 36-0 defeat of Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
. Ultimately, the cost of the field was $12,000.
The new field was soon unable to accommodate the athletics program. Since the football, baseball, and track configurations overlapped each other due the angle of the field and the reservoir, the Athletic Association had to spend money on contractors to build and disassemble the bleachers for each season. The effort soon plunged the Alumni Advisory Committee into debt. However, the Committee devised a permanent solution: purchase the reservoir, enlarge the grounds, and build a field house. At commencement in 1904, the field house cornerstone was laid and work on the new field was completed towards the end of 1905 for a total cost of $9,000.
The Quad
The Quad is located in the center of Lafayette's campus and served as the venue of the first Lafayette-Lehigh in 1884 and other games through 1893. Baseball was also played on the Quad. Sources from the period indicate that games were played on the level ground between McKeen Hall and college buildings to the south (known today as the Quad). Since football was a new sport and organized by the undergraduates, games were played on the open field in the central area of campus. Small, but manageable crowds would attend the games, mostly consisting of students, alumni, and faculty. Spectators stood or sat alongside the unenclosed field, while undergrads watched the games from their dormatories that flanked the Quad. Around 1888 and 1889, crowds at Lafayette football games began to surge. Attempts were made to collect money for ticket revenues to offset the costs of athletic equipment, a trainer, and a training table. Policemen would be stationed at the entrances of the College to enforce the new ticket policies, however, it was not difficult to avoid paying the small fee. Young boys and many citizens of Easton would easily gain admittance, with only alumni wishing to support the new, informal athletic association paid for tickets. The need to raise revenue from ticket sales, as well as growing crowds, a few spectator incidents, and the persistent destruction of the Quad's grass, led to the formation of the Alumni Advisory Committee that soon raised funds for the new enclosed March Field.Lehigh
LehighLehigh Mountain Hawks football
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks football program represents Lehigh University in college football. Lehigh competes as the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level as members of the Patriot League. The Mountain Hawks play their home games at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania...
is Lafayette's primary rival and is the most played rivalry in college football (146 games as of the 2010 season). The rivalry is also the longest running annual college football series in the United States, with the two schools meeting every year since 1897. Many publications, such as ESPN and Sports Illustrated, have dubbed the Lafayette-Lehigh rivalry as one of the most fierce and 'must-see' events in college football. The schools played twice annually from 1884 until 1902, with three games in 1891, one at a neutral site in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
. The schools also played two games annually during 1943 and 1944.
The series started in 1884 with Lehigh's first collegiate football game, a 50-0 loss in Easton. Lafayette dominated the series from the mid-1890s until 1949, including a 14-1 stretch from 1919 to 1933 and a 14-0-1 strecth from 1937 to 1949. From 1950 until 1980, Lehigh controlled the series as Lafayette won only eight games. The series regained competitive balance between 1981 and 1994, with no team winning more than two consecutive games. However, Lafayette's possible downgrade evaluation study of football in the late 1990s, along with Lehigh's rise as a Division I-AA power, led to seven consecutive Lehigh victories between 1995 and 2001. Since in 2002 and through 2010, the series has regained its competitive balance.
Many festivities, traditions, and pranks have surrounded 'The Rivalry' since the beginning. In recent years, the Patriot League Championship and FCS playoff berth have added a new dimension to the Rivalry and are often decided upon the outcome of the game.
The winner of the game is presented with the MVP trophy and the game ball. As of 2010, Lafayette leads 76-65-5.
Bucknell
BucknellBucknell Bison football
The Bucknell Bison football team represents Bucknell University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. Bucknell is a member of the Patriot League...
and Lafayette have met annually since 1945 have played 88 games (as of 2010) since the series began in 1883. Since the 1983 game, an outstanding player from each team is awarded the George McGaughey Memorial Award. McGaughey was a star center on the 1933 Bucknell Orange Bowl team and was an athletic adminstrator at Lafayette for 32 years.
Penn
Although PennPenn Quakers football
The Penn Quakers football team is the college football team at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. The Penn Quakers have competed in the Ivy League since its inaugural season of 1956, and are currently a Division I Football Championship Subdivision member of the National...
leads the all-time series 21-62-4, Lafayette has played Penn since the Leopards' first season in 1882. During the 1880s and 1890s, the two teams were apart of a fierce rivalry that often became boisterous and violent. Lafayette was awarded the 1896 National Championship by ending Penn's 34-game winning streak in a 6-4 upset.
Due to Lafayette's strong alumni base in Philadelphia, the large capacity of Franklin Field, and strong attendance at Penn football games, Lafayette has played a majority of its games against Penn at Franklin Field. From 1892 until 1973, which included only seven Lafayette victories, the two teams did not play a game on the Leopards' home field. The schools will meet for the 88th Game in 2011.
Rutgers
Lafayette and Rutgers UniversityRutgers Scarlet Knights football
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision play...
played annually between 1921 and 1975. Along with Lehigh, Lafayette battled Rutgers for the Little Brass Cannon and the Middle Three Conference Championship. Through 1945, Lafayette went 27-14-1 against Rutgers, but won only three games in the next 30 years to finish 30-41-1.
Lafayette's poor record and Rutgers increasing enrollment and dedication to major college football led to the end of the series. If not for the discontinuation of the rivalry in the 72nd meeting in 1975, the teams would be playing the 108th Game in 2011. As of 2011, there is a possibility that Rutgers and Lafayette will meet in a future season, contingent upon Lafayette instilling at least 57 football athletic scholarships or scholarship equivliancies.
Lafayette football played the first game in its history against Rutgers in 1882, and earned the program's first victory against Rutgers in 1883.
Washington & Jefferson
During the 1920s, Lafayette and Washington & Jefferson UniversityWashington & Jefferson Presidents football
The Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team represents Washington & Jefferson College in collegiate level football. The team competes in NCAA Division III and is affiliated with the Presidents' Athletic Conference...
battled for supremecy of the Eastern football. The two schools played many dramatic, close games before large crowds at nuetral sites such as the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
, Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
, and Franklin Field
Franklin Field
Franklin Field is the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, field hockey, lacrosse, sprint football, and track and field . It is also used by Penn students for recreation, and for intramural and club sports, including touch football and cricket, and is the site of Penn's graduation...
. Both schools have the distinction of playing the first night indoor football game in history at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall in 1930, a 7-0 Presidents victory, as well as the first non-New York City college football teams to play a game in the Big Apple.
Washington & Jefferson, due to its small size, gradually demphasized football in the face of the Depression and alleged impropriety in the program. The series ended in 1948, with a 12-9-2 Lafayette advantage.
All-Americans
The Leopards have placed 13 players on the All-American team, two of which earned the distinction twice. Due to the division of college football between FBS (I-A) and FCS (I-AA), Lafayette's All-Americans are divided between different eras.Although Lafayette earned many All-America team selections from various publications, especially in the early half of the 20th century, the Leopards' major college football All-Americans are considered consensus selections by receiving the majority of votes at their respective position by the NCAA Football Records book. Its FCS era selections were named first-team All-Americans by a variety of recognized publications.
Major college football First-Team All-Americans
- Walter E. Bachman, C, 1900, 1901
- Frank "Dutch" SchwabFrank SchwabFrank "Dutch" Schwab graduated from high school in 1912 and worked in coal mines until World War I, when he served as a sergeant in the Army. He played for a service team, where Coach "Jock" Sutherland of Lafayette College saw him. He persuaded Schwab to enroll after the war. Schwab stood 5'11" and...
, G, 1921, 1922
FCS First-Team All-Americans
- Rich Smith, TE, 1979
- Joe Skladany, LB, 1981
- Tony Green, DL, 1982
- Frank Baur, QB, 1988
- Edward Hudak, OL, 1992
- B. J. Galles, DB, 1992
- Dan Bengele, LB, 1997
- Joe McCourt, RB, 2004
- Maurice Bennett, LB, 2005
- Mike Saint Germain, OL, 2006
- Jesse Padilla, OL, 2007
Players
- Charlie BerryCharlie BerryCharles Francis Berry was an American athlete and sports official who enjoyed careers as a catcher and umpire in Major League Baseball and as an offensive end and official in the National Football League...
, E, 1921-1924 - Charles "Babe" RinehartCharles RinehartCharles Ramsay Rinehart was an American football player, engineer and businessman. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1964....
, G, 1893-1897 - Frank "Dutch" SchwabFrank SchwabFrank "Dutch" Schwab graduated from high school in 1912 and worked in coal mines until World War I, when he served as a sergeant in the Army. He played for a service team, where Coach "Jock" Sutherland of Lafayette College saw him. He persuaded Schwab to enroll after the war. Schwab stood 5'11" and...
, G, 1919-1923 - George "Mike" Wilson, HB, 1926–1928
Coaches
- Herb McCrackenHerb McCrackenG. Herbert McCracken was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Allegheny College from 1921 to 1923 and at Lafayette College from 1924 to 1935, compiling a career college football record of 75–48–7. His 1926 Lafayette Leopards team was recognized as a...
, 1924-1935 - Edward "Hook" MylinEdward MylinEdward Everett "Hook" Mylin was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Lebanon Valley College , Bucknell University , Lafayette College , and New York University...
, 1937–1942, 1946 - Jock SutherlandJock SutherlandDr. John Bain "Jock" Sutherland, D.D.S., was an American football coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College and the University of Pittsburgh and professional football for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Steelers...
, 1919–1924