Harvard Crimson football

Harvard Crimson football
2017 Harvard Crimson football team
First season 1873
Head coach Tim Murphy
23rd season, 163–66 (.712)
Stadium Harvard Stadium
(Capacity: 30,323)
Field surface FieldTurf
Location Boston, Massachusetts
Conference Ivy League
All-time record 829–383–50 (.677)
Bowl record 1–0 (1.000)
Claimed nat'l titles 7[1]
Conference titles 14
Colors Crimson, White, and Black[2]
              
Fight song Ten Thousand Men of Harvard
Mascot John Harvard
Outfitter Nike
Rivals Yale Bulldogs (rivalry)
Website GoCrimson.com

The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Harvard's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1873. The Crimson has a legacy that includes nine national championships and 20 College Football Hall of Fame inductees, including the first African-American college football player William H. Lewis, Huntington "Tack" Hardwick, Barry Wood, Percy Haughton, and Eddie Mahan. Harvard is the eighth winningest team in NCAA Division I football history.[3][4]

History

Early history

Ralph Horween

The Harvard Crimson was one of the dominant forces in the early days of intercollegiate football, winning 9 college football national championships between 1890 and 1919.[1][5] In both 1919 and 1920, headed by All-American brothers Arnold Horween and Ralph Horween (who also attended Harvard Law School), Harvard was undefeated (9–0–1, as they outscored their competition 229–19, and 8–0–1, respectively).[6][7][8] The team won the 1920 Rose Bowl against the University of Oregon, 7–6.[9][10][11] It was the only bowl appearance in Harvard history.[12]

In the forty-year period from 1889 to 1928, Harvard had more than 80 first-team All-American selections.[13] Under head coach Percy Haughton, Harvard had three consecutive undefeated seasons from 1912 to 1914, including two perfect seasons in 1912 and 1913.[14]

Harvard claims the following national championships:

Year Selectors Coach Record
1890 PD, NCF, Billingsley Report (BR), Helms Athletic Foundation (HAF), Houlgate System (HS)[5] George Adams, George Stewart 11–0
1898 BR, HAF, HS, NCF[5] William Forbes 11–0
1899 HAF, HS, NCF[5] Benjamin Dibblee 10–0–1
1910 BR, HAF, HS, NCF[5] Percy Haughton 8–0–1
1912 BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD[5] Percy Haughton 9–0–0
1913 HAF, HS, NCF, PD[5] Percy Haughton 9–0–0
1919 College Football Researchers Association (CFRA), HAF, HS, NCF, PD[5] Bob Fisher 9–0–1
Total national championships: 7

NCAA Division I subdivision split

The NCAA decided to split Division I into two subdivisions in 1978, then called I-A for larger schools, and I-AA for the smaller ones. The NCAA had devised the split, in part, with the Ivy League in mind, but the conference did not move down for four seasons despite the fact that there were many indications that the ancient eight were on the wrong side of an increasing disparity between the big and small schools. In 1982, the NCAA created a rule that stated a program's average attendance must be at least 15,000 to qualify for I-A membership. This forced the conference's hand, as only some of the member schools met the attendance qualification. Choosing to stay together rather than stand their ground separately in the increasingly competitive I-A subdivision, the Ivy League, along with several other conferences and independent programs moved down into I-AA starting with the 1982 season (a number of these teams have since returned to I-A/FBS).[15]

Recent history

Current Harvard head coach Tim Murphy on board the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in May 2010

Since the formation of the Ivy League in 1956, Harvard has won outright or shared 17 Ivy League championships (8 outright; 9 shared), 1961 (6-3), 1966 (8–1), 1968 (8–0–1), 1974 (7–2), 1975 (7–2), 1982 (7–3), 1983 (6–2–2), 1987 (8–2), 1997 (9-1), 2001 (9–0), 2004 (10–0), 2007 (8–2), 2008 (9–1), 2011 (9-1), 2013 (9-1), 2014 (10–0) and 2015 (9-1). The Crimson are behind Penn and Dartmouth's 18 Ivy League Football Championships. [16]

Harvard–Yale football rivalry

Harvard and Yale have been competing against each other in football since 1875. The annual rivalry game between the two schools, known as "The Game", is played in November at the end of the football season. As of 2015, Yale led the series 65-59-8. The Game is the second oldest continuing rivalry and also the third most-played rivalry game in college football history, after the Lehigh–Lafayette Rivalry (1884) and the Princeton–Yale game (1873). Sports Illustrated On Campus rated the Harvard–Yale rivalry the sixth-best in college athletics in 2003. Ted Kennedy played football for Harvard and caught a touchdown pass in the 1955 Harvard/Yale game. In 2006, Yale ended a five-game losing streak against Harvard, winning 34–13. That Harvard winning streak was third longest in the history of the series, after Yale's 1902–1907 six-game winning streak and Yale's 1880–1889 eight-game winning streak. Harvard has since beaten Yale in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. The Game is significant for historical reasons as the rules of The Game soon were adopted by other schools. Football's rules, conventions, and equipment, as well as elements of "atmosphere" such as the mascot and fight song, include many elements pioneered or nurtured at Harvard and Yale.[17][18]

Harvard Stadium

Harvard Stadium, November 2008

Harvard Stadium is a horseshoe-shaped football stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. The stadium is an important historic landmark. Built in 1903, it is the nation's 2nd oldest stadium. Penn's Franklin Field is the oldest still in use (1895). It was also the world's first massive reinforced-concrete structure, and considered at the time of construction to be the 'finest structure of its kind in the world'. However, the structure was completed in just six months, mainly by the efforts of Harvard students, and for a budget of $200,000. Thus 'the stadium represents the thought, the money, the ideas, the planning, and the manual labor of Harvard men'.[19] As such, it is one of four athletic arenas distinguished as a National Historic Landmark (the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Rose Bowl and the Yale Bowl are the other three).[20] The stadium seats 30,323. Temporary steel stands were added in the stadiums to expand capacity to 57,166 until 1951. Afterward, there were smaller temporary stands until the building of the Murr Center (which is topped by the new scoreboard) in 1998. In 2006, Harvard installed both FieldTurf and lights.[21][22]

Head coaching history

Name Years Wins Losses Ties Pct.[23]
No coach1873–188972194.779
Lucius Littauer1881512.750
Frank A. Mason18861220.857
George A. Stewart & George C. Adams1890–18923420.944
George A. Stewart & Everett J. Lake18931210.923
William A. Brooks18941120.846
Robert Emmons1895821.773
Bert Waters1896740.636
William Cameron Forbes1897–18982111.935
Benjamin Dibblee1899–19002011.932
Bill Reid1901, 1905–19063031.897
John Wells Farley19021110.917
John Cranston1903930.750
Edgar Wrightington1904721.750
Joshua Crane1907730.700
Percy Haughton1908–19167275.887
Wingate Rollins1917313.643
William F. Donovan1918210.667
Bob Fisher1919–192543145.734
Arnold Horween1926–193020173.537
Eddie Casey1931–193420111.641
Dick Harlow1935–1942; 1945–194745397.533
Henry Lamar1943–1944731.682
Arthur Valpey1948–19495120.294
Lloyd Jordan1950–195624313.440
John Yovicsin1957–197078425.644
Joe Restic1971–1993117976.545
Tim Murphy1994–current128610.677

College Football Hall of Fame inductees

As of 2010, 20 Harvard Crimson football players and coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[24] The inductees from Harvard are as follows:

William H. Lewis was the first African-American college football player and the first African-American All-American
Tackle Marshall Newell was a four-time All-American from 1890–1893.
Name Position Years Inducted
Charley BrewerFullback1892–18951971
Dave CampbellEnd1899–19011958
Eddie CaseyHalfback1916, 19191968
Charles Dudley DalyQuarterback1898–19021951
Hamilton Fish IIITackle1907–19091954
Bob FisherGuard1909–19111973
Huntington HardwickEnd, Halfback1912–19141954
Dick HarlowCoach1915–19471954
Percy HaughtonCoach1899–19241951
Lloyd JordanCoach1932–19561978
William H. LewisCenter1888–18932009
Eddie MahanFullback1913–19151951
Marshall NewellTackle1890–18931957
George OwenHalfback1920–19221983
Endicott PeabodyGuard1939–19411973
Stan PennockGuard1912–19141954
Bill ReidFullback1897–18991970
Ben TicknorCenter1928–19301954
Percy WendellHalfback1910–19121972
Barry WoodQuarterback1929–19311980

Harvard players in the NFL

Over 30 players from Harvard have gone on to play in the National Football League.[25]

Name Position Years Teams
Joe AzelbyLinebacker1984Buffalo Bills
Matt BirkCenter1998–2013Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens
Cameron BrateTight End2014 – presentTampa Bay Buccaneers
Desmond BryantDefensive tackle2009 – presentOakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns
Ben BrauneckerTE2016Chicago Bears
Stanley BurnhamTB-BB1925Frankford Yellow Jackets
Roger CaronTackle1985–1986Indianapolis Colts
Eddie CaseyHalfback1920Buffalo All-Americans
Charlie ClarkGuard1924Chicago Cardinals
Bill CravenDefensive back1976Cleveland Browns
Harrie DadmunGuard, tackle1920–1921Canton Bulldogs, New York Brickley Giants
Clifton DawsonRunning back2007–2008Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts
John DockeryDefensive back1968–1973New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers
Nick EastonCenter2015–presentSan Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings
Chris EitzmannTight end2000New England Patriots
Carl EtelmanB1926Providence Steam Roller
Earl EvansTackle, guard1925–1929Chicago Cardinals, Chicago Bears
Ryan FitzpatrickQuarterback2005 – presentSt. Louis Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets
Herman GundlachGuard1935Boston Redskins
Arnold HorweenB1921–1924Racine Cardinals, Chicago Cardinals
Ralph HorweenB1921–1923Chicago Cardinals
Dan JiggettsTackle, guard1976–1982Chicago Bears
Isaiah KacyvenskiLinebacker2000–2006Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams
Dick KingFullback, halfback1917–1923Pine Village, Hammond Pros, Milwaukee Badgers, Rochester Jeffersons, St. Louis All-Stars
Bobby LeoRunning back, wide receiver1967–1968Boston Patriots
Joe McGloneBB1926Providence Steam Roller
Pat McInallyWide receiver, punter1976–1985Cincinnati Bengals
Al MillerFullback, halfback1929Boston Bulldogs
Joe MurphyGuard1920–1921Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Indians
Kevin MurphyOffensive Tackle2012- 2013Minnesota Vikings
Tyler OttLong Snapper2014-presentNew England Patriots, St. Louis Rams, New York Giants
Joe PellegriniGuard, center1982–1986New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons
Jamil SorianoGuard2003–2005New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins
Red SteeleEnd1921Canton Bulldogs
Rich SzaroKicker1975–1979New Orleans Saints, New York Jets
Kyle JuszczykFullback, Tight End2013–presentBaltimore Ravens

All-Americans

Three-time All-American Eddie Mahan was named by Jim Thorpe as the greatest football player of all time.
Two-time All-American Hamilton Fish III served 25 years in Congress where he investigated the ACLU for ties to the Communist Party.
Huntington "Tack" Hardwick was called "a big, fine-looking aristocrat from blue-blood stock" who "loved combat – body contact at crushing force – a fight to the finish."[26]

Since the first All-American team was selected by Caspar Whitney in 1889, more than 100 Harvard football players have been selected as first-team All-Americans.[13] Consensus All-Americans are noted below with bold typeface.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Harvard Football National Championships". Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Harvard Brand Guides" (PDF). Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  3. ↑ "NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2009. pp. 62–63. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  4. ↑ "NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2009. p. 172. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Official 2009 NCAA Division I Football Records Book (PDF). Indianapolis, IN: National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2009. pp. 78–79. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Horween, Ralph". Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Horween, Arnold". Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum. March 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  8. ↑ Jack Cavanaugh (2010). The Gipper: George Gipp, Knute Rockne, and the Dramatic Rise of Notre Dame Football. Skyhorse Publishing. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  9. ↑ The New York Times Biographical Service. New York Times & Arno Press. 1997. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  10. ↑ Ralph Goldstein (May 29, 1997). "Ralph Horween, 100, the Oldest Ex-N.F.L. Player". New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  11. ↑ Dale Richard Perelman (2012). Centenarians. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  12. ↑ "A League First: Former Player Turns 100". New York Times. August 4, 1996. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  13. 1 2 "Media Center: Harvard Crimson Football All-American Selections". GoCrimson.com.
  14. ↑ "Harvard Yearly Results (1910–1914)". College Football Data Warehouse.
  15. ↑ Mark F. Bernstein, Football: The Ivy League Origins of an American Obsession
  16. ↑ "Harvard Composite Championship Listing". College Football Data Warehouse.
  17. ↑ Thomas G. Bergin (1984). The Game: The Harvard-Yale Football Rivalry, 1875–1983. Yale University Press.
  18. ↑ Bernard M. Corbett and Paul Simpson (2004). The Only Game That Matters. Crown. ISBN 1-4000-5068-5.
  19. ↑ "Harvard's Great Stadium". New York Times. November 22, 1903.
  20. ↑ "Harvard Stadium History". Harvard Crimson.
  21. ↑ "Harvard Stadium: Home of Harvard Football and Lacrosse Harvard Stadium Notes". Harvard University.
  22. ↑ "Harvard Stadium Football History". Harvard University.
  23. ↑ "Harvard Coaching Records". College Football Data Warehouse.
  24. ↑ "Hall of Fame Inductee Search". College Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  25. ↑ "Harvard Players/Alumni". pro-football-reference.com.
  26. ↑ Grantland Rice (July 6, 1949). "Hardwick of Harvard". Miami Daily News.
  27. 1 2 Knobler, Mike (December 1, 1982). "Harvard's Corbat Named To All-America Team | Sports | The Harvard Crimson". Thecrimson.com. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  28. ↑ "Harvard : Media Center: Harvard Crimson Football All-American Selections". Gocrimson.com. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  29. ↑
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