Where is the Patriot League?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Yo, PL people! Yoo hoo?

http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.com

Maybe some of these picks might get your keyboards-a-flutter...

[Pards Rule]

Princeton MUST fall!!!!!!!!

[Pard4Life]

Once again LFN, your picks are very humorous lunchtime fodder.. xlolx : smh :

[Pard4Life]

However, you will be happy to know that I am usually excited for game weekends.. but I am feeling particularly mellow and quiet for this week.. I guess it is that 3-35 mark.. :mad:

[carney2]

If Monmouth beats Colgate as LFN predicts, the answer to the question posed by this thread ("Where is the Patriot League?") will be

circling the bowl.

[Go...gate]

The PL ain't dead yet. Lafayette and Colgate both winners.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

xlolx xlolx xlolx

Let me emphasize that I hope I'm wrong about Colgate. But although the NEC spotlight is squarely on CCSU and Albany, Monmouth quietly has been racking up some impressive wins (albeit against some lesser competition). They are certainly capable of pulling of the upset if Colgate is not careful.

[Go...gate]

Two of Monmouth's coaches (HC Kevin Callahan and Ass't Andy Bobik, Colgate '82) either played or coached at 'gate.

[carney2]

The PL ain't dead yet. Lafayette and Colgate both winners.

Hey, gate, at the risk of hijacking LFN's thread, I'll ask a question that's been bothering me for a few weeks: where's 13? Hope that all is well - or at least improving. He is missed.

[LUHawker]

Bold picks, LFN. I'm not surprised by your pick of Princeton over Lafayette, but didn't think you'd take Colgate over Monmouth. Monmouth is good, but Colgate is better. I think you've been jaded, so to speak, by the NEC wins, year-to-date, but Colgate wins this one.

[carney2]

I'm not surprised by your pick of Princeton over Lafayette

The Curse.

[LBPop]

Hey, gate, at the risk of hijacking LFN's thread, I'll ask a question that's been bothering me for a few weeks: where's 13? Hope that all is well - or at least improving. He is missed.

Yes our number 13 is missed, but he's alive and kicking. Family stuff like jobs, kids, moves, etc. have simply monopolized his time. It sure sucks when those minor considerations get in the way of the important stuff like playing around on I-AA websites. xlolx

[TheValleyRaider]

Aside from their thrashing of Fordham, Monmouth's victories have come against Morgan State (who got hammered by our old pals Towson for goodness' sake! :smiley_wi ) and St. Francis. If the Raiders come out strong tomorrow, they'll win. Like any classic upset, the longer Monmouth can stay around, the better their chances will be. Of course, not falling behind by 2-3 TDs like we did to CCSU would also help. I know Monmouth is no pushover, but Colgate will be ready for them.

And as much as I'd love to pick Lafayette over Princeton, I can't do it until I see it. Other than that, the picks seem pretty reasonable to me.

[Pard94]

If Monmouth beats Colgate as LFN predicts, the answer to the question posed by this thread ("Where is the Patriot League?") will be

circling the bowl.


As I said, you are the definition of a glass half empty guy.

[carney2]

As I said, you are the definition of a glass half empty guy.

My mother-in-law loves you.

[Pard94]

I like your t-shirt suggestions. My pick for a Lehigh bashing T-shirt would be...

"Mountain Hawks - tastes like chicken."

or

"Lehigh Football - a once proud tradition"

or maybe

"Hey Sedale, that big dark cloud hanging over you is your father's shadow and you might as well get used to it because, let's face it...your kind of a mediocre Quaterback"

Which one do you like?

[Pard94]

course I would spell "quarterback" correctly on the t shirt.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

course I would spell "quarterback" correctly on the t shirt.

Why am I not surprised? Something to do with that LC degree: :asswhip:

[Pard94]

Why am I not surprised? Something to do with that LC degree: :asswhip:


What can I tell you...unlike Lehigh, Spelling and Phonics aren't on the Lafayette syllabus.

[Pard4Life]

I like your t-shirt suggestions. My pick for a Lehigh bashing T-shirt would be...

"Mountain Hawks - tastes like chicken."

or

"Lehigh Football - a once proud tradition"

or maybe

"Hey Sedale, that big dark cloud hanging over you is your father's shadow and you might as well get used to it because, let's face it...your kind of a mediocre Quaterback"

Which one do you like?

Pard, what are you talking about? They never had a football tradition... no college football hall of famers, a breif light at the end of the 1970s.. their only 'tradition' is the past 10 years. xlolx

[Pard4Life]

How about... "Missing: Lehigh Football... have you seen me?"

[colgate13]

I'm here folks, just in a much reduced capacity. No time to hang out all day and chat I-AA. I read, comment when I can and laugh often!

New (better) job and new baby. Takes up some time!

BTW, why not pick a Monmouth upset? Colgate has really only played one good half of ball out of four this season. Good thing it was the most recent half! I think we'll start to see some momentum out of Hamilton this weekend... or we'll see the NEC continue to break the old mould.

FWIW, I think Monmouth's defense hasn't seen the likes of Jordan Scott just yet... or receivers like Parker and Burke. I also wonder how they're putting up as many points as UMass. We'll see!

[Go...gate]

Hey, gate, at the risk of hijacking LFN's thread, I'll ask a question that's been bothering me for a few weeks: where's 13? Hope that all is well - or at least improving. He is missed.

I understand that 13 changed jobs, which is always good in the short-term for extra points on the blood pressure and, unfortunately, less time for fun stuff like this. It sounds as if he and his family are happy and healthy, which is the most important thing. He'll be back when things settle down.

I miss 13 too. He is a loyal Colgate son and a star on the AGS and Voyforums football boards.

[Go...gate]

I'm here folks, just in a much reduced capacity. No time to hang out all day and chat I-AA. I read, comment when I can and laugh often!

New (better) job and new baby. Takes up some time!

BTW, why not pick a Monmouth upset? Colgate has really only played one good half of ball out of four this season. Good thing it was the most recent half! I think we'll start to see some momentum out of Hamilton this weekend... or we'll see the NEC continue to break the old mould.

FWIW, I think Monmouth's defense hasn't seen the likes of Jordan Scott just yet... or receivers like Parker and Burke. I also wonder how they're putting up as many points as UMass. We'll see!

Hey - CONGRATS on the new job and baby!!!!! :hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

[Pard94]

I have it on good authority that 13 has moved up to God's Country. Welcome 13!

[Pard4Life]

Congrats 13... new baby and job eh? Cool... I thought you were retired for some reason.. guess not.. ooops!

[LUHawker]

Pard, what are you talking about? They never had a football tradition... no college football hall of famers, a breif light at the end of the 1970s.. their only 'tradition' is the past 10 years. xlolx

Boy, for a program that hasn't ever won a playoff game, those Lafayette folks sure are a cocky bunch. I give them credit for winning the right (ie PL) games the last couple of years, but we haven't seen a truly impressive season from Lafayette, since like 1908. you guys are still proud of yourselves for the leather helmet and huddle. Got anything more recent, and please don't say the close loss to Delaware and App State.xcoffeex

[Pard94]

Congrats 13... new baby and job eh? Cool... I thought you were retired for some reason.. guess not.. ooops!


probably because 13 has an unnaturally deep knowledge of I-AA football. Only a retired person could have the kind of time required to accumulate such knowledge...or a savant.

[Go...gate]

Pard, what are you talking about? They never had a football tradition... no college football hall of famers, a breif light at the end of the 1970s.. their only 'tradition' is the past 10 years. xlolx

Hard to agree with this. Lehigh's program has been around a good long time and in the last 35 years has been very strong, with few exceptions, since Fred Dunlap turned it around.

Every PL school has a good share of tradition, and every school has had its share of hard times comparable to whatever Lehigh experienced.

[cosmo here]

Boy, for a program that hasn't ever won a playoff game, those Lafayette folks sure are a cocky bunch. I give them credit for winning the right (ie PL) games the last couple of years, but we haven't seen a truly impressive season from Lafayette, since like 1908. you guys are still proud of yourselves for the leather helmet and huddle. Got anything more recent, and please don't say the close loss to Delaware and App State.xcoffeex

a brief Lafayette football history, since 1908, definitely not definitive

1921 - National Championship
1926 - National Championship

1937 - 8-0, gave up six points
1940 - 9-0

1981 - 9-2, Bill Russo's first year

1988 - 8-2-1, Colonial League champions, first school to beat Holy Cross

1992 - 8-3, Patriot League champions

1994 - 5-6, lost first six, 5-0 in the Patriot League, PL champions

1999-2001 - the lost years

2004 - 8-4, Patriot League champions, 24-10 over Lehigh

2005 - 8-4, Patriot League champions, 23-19 at Lehigh

2006 - first regular season national ranking since 1988

[Pard4Life]

Thank you Cosmo...

We were also ranked in the final AP poll in 1940. We were also invited to the 1948 Sun Bowl but we declined since the racist state of Texas would not let our one African-American player play.

Not to mention... we had Frank Baur, all-star and SI cover boy, College FHOF personel, played the first football game indoors. AND hold the all-time lead in the most played rivalry ever..

In terms of the big picture, our program is much more visible and noteworthy on the national scene than Lehigh.

[Franks Tanks]

a brief Lafayette football history, since 1908, definitely not definitive

1921 - National Championship
1926 - National Championship

1937 - 8-0, gave up six points
1940 - 9-0

1981 - 9-2, Bill Russo's first year

1988 - 8-2-1, Colonial League champions, first school to beat Holy Cross

1992 - 8-3, Patriot League champions

1994 - 5-6, lost first six, 5-0 in the Patriot League, PL champions

1999-2001 - the lost years

2004 - 8-4, Patriot League champions, 24-10 over Lehigh

2005 - 8-4, Patriot League champions, 23-19 at Lehigh

2006 - first regular season national ranking since 1988


Dont Forget the 1896 National Championshio Team, so what if it was in the 19th century

[Lehigh74]

In terms of the big picture, our program is much more visible and noteworthy on the national scene than Lehigh.


You have got to be kidding me! :confused: Some of you Lafayette guys need to get real. Both Lehigh and Lafayette have noteworthy programs in that each school was one of the original 10 colleges with a football team. The first game, I believe, was in 1884. Over the entire life of the rivalry Lafayette has had the better program. However, as Go Gate points out, for the last 35 years Lehigh has had a much stronger and more noteworthy program. To confirm the truth of my premise, all you have to do is look at record of the two teams against each other since 1971 (Lehigh leads 24-11).

[colgate13]

I have it on good authority that 13 has moved up to God's Country. Welcome 13!

Yes, living tax free and loving it!:hurray::hurray::hurray:

(but I will say, registering the car was a bitch on the wallet!)

[colgate13]

Congrats 13... new baby and job eh? Cool... I thought you were retired for some reason.. guess not.. ooops!

Retired? Well, I do get summers and holidays off...:D

[colgate13]

probably because 13 has an unnaturally deep knowledge of I-AA football. Only a retired person could have the kind of time required to accumulate such knowledge...or a savant.

I just was knee deep in it for about a decade, that's all.:thumbsup:

[JoltinJoe]

You have got to be kidding me! :confused: Some of you Lafayette guys need to get real. Both Lehigh and Lafayette have noteworthy programs in that each school was one of the original 10 colleges with a football team. The first game, I believe, was in 1884. Over the entire life of the rivalry Lafayette has had the better program. However, as Go Gate points out, for the last 35 years Lehigh has had a much stronger and more noteworthy program. To confirm the truth of my premise, all you have to do is look at record of the two teams against each other since 1971 (Lehigh leads 24-11).

I don't want to get into the middle of this Lehigh-Lafayette beauty contest. But I do want to say that the PL has a number of storied programs and should do a better job marketing that history. Here's Fordham's contributions:

1927 through 1932: Coached by the legendary Frank "The Iron Major" Cavanaugh.

1929 - 7-0-2. Rated national champions by Sorenson Historical COmputer Rankings.

1930 - 8-1, only loss to St. Mary's in historic contest at Polo Grounds; first college football game broadcast coast-to-coast.

1929-1930 teams featured the first Fordham line known as the "Seven Blocks of Granite."

1933-1941 -- Coahced by the legendary Jim Crowley, one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame.

1933 -- In an eagerly anticipated intersectional game between Alabama and Fordham at the Polo Grounds, Fordham wins 2-0 when a blocked punt rolls out of the endzone for a safety.

1934 -- Fordham is the only team to beat eventual Rose Bowl champion Tennessee, 13-12, in a fiercely fought game at the Polo Grounds.

1935 -- Piit and Fordham, the top programs in the East for years, finally meet to settle the question of Eastern supremacy -- or so it was thought. The teams battle to a 0-0 tie at the Polo Grounds.

It is the first of three consecutive 0-0 games between Fordham and Pitt from 1935 to 1937 in a series that became known -- due to media attention and fan interest -- as "Much Ado About Nothing."

1936 -- The second group of linemen form the more famous version of the "Seven Blocks of Granite" and feature All-Americans Ed Franco and Alex Wojciechowicz. Wojciechowicz goes on to a Hall of Fame NFL career and is still so well known in New York in the 1970s that a Barney Miller sitcom character is given his last name. Even today, Wojciechowicz is rated among the top 100 college football players of all time by College Football News.

Fordham appears headed to the Rose Bowl until a shocking 7-6 loss to NYU in the last game of the season. It is the last game for senior lineman Vince Lombardi, who years later called the loss to NYU "the most devastating loss" he ever had on a football field.

Fordham finishes No. 15 in the first year of the AP Top 20, after being ranked in the top five all season.

1937 -- 7-0-1. The Rams finish No. 3 in the AP Top 20, the highest finish ever in a Major College poll by any team currently playing I-AA football. Fordham allows just 16 points all year and many believed that Fordham deserved the No. 1 ranking. Pitt, which Fordham tied 0-0, gets the No. 1 ranking and the Eastern invitation to the Rose Bowl.

1938 -- The Rams finish 6-1-2 and number 15 in the AP poll. Their only loss is to Pitt.

1939 -- Fordham goes unranked in the AP weekly polls for the first six weeks of the season -- the first time ever Fordham has not appeared in an AP poll since the AP started ranking teams at the beginning of the 1936 season. The young Rams find their form and wind up in the final three polls, finishing at No. 17 with a 6-2 record. A victory over defending Cotton Bowl champion St. Mary's and a win over Pitt highlight the season.

1940 -- Back in the AP Top 20 all season long, Fordham's bid for a No. 1 ranking is set back by its only regular season loss at the hands of St. Mary's. Fordham finishes at No. 12 with a 7-1 regular season record, earning a trip to the Cotton Bowl, where they lose to Texas A&M, 13-12.

1941 -- Fordham makes another strong bid for a nantional championship but a stunning loss to a down Pitt team leaves them with a regular-season record of 7-1. Fordham finishes No. 6 in the nation, and caps the season with 2-0 win over Missouri in the Sugar Bowl.

The Sugar Bowl that year was played just three weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was the last game for many Fordham players, many of whom left college to enlist in the war. Fordham coach Jim Crowley resigns in order to enlist after the Sugar Bowl. He winds up coaching a pre-flight team during the war.

Fordham won the Sugar Bowl on a blocked punt by senior Alex Santilli, when the ball rolled through the endzone for a safety. Santilli becomes one of many Fordham alumni to lose their life in the service of his country in WWII.

A depleted Fordham team goes 5-3 in 1942 and football is then discontinued during the war. Bigh-time football never returns to Fordham.

From 1936 through the end of 1941, Fordham spent only six weeks outside the AP top 20 and finished in the Top 20 each year.

[JoltinJoe]

You have got to be kidding me! :confused: Some of you Lafayette guys need to get real. Both Lehigh and Lafayette have noteworthy programs in that each school was one of the original 10 colleges with a football team. The first game, I believe, was in 1884. Over the entire life of the rivalry Lafayette has had the better program. However, as Go Gate points out, for the last 35 years Lehigh has had a much stronger and more noteworthy program. To confirm the truth of my premise, all you have to do is look at record of the two teams against each other since 1971 (Lehigh leads 24-11).

I don't want to get into the middle of this Lehigh-Lafayette beauty contest. But I do want to say that the PL has a number of storied programs and should do a better job marketing that history. Here's Fordham's contributions:

1927 through 1932: Coached by the legendary Frank "The Iron Major" Cavanaugh.

1929 - 7-0-2. Rated national champions by Sorenson Historical COmputer Rankings.

1930 - 8-1, only loss to St. Mary's in historic contest at Polo Grounds; first college football game broadcast coast-to-coast.

1929-1930 teams featured the first Fordham line known as the "Seven Blocks of Granite."

1933-1941 -- Coahced by the legendary Jim Crowley, one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame.

1933 -- In an eagerly anticipated intersectional game between Alabama and Fordham at the Polo Grounds, Fordham wins 2-0 when a blocked punt rolls out of the endzone for a safety.

1934 -- Fordham is the only team to beat eventual Rose Bowl champion Tennessee, 13-12, in a fiercely fought game at the Polo Grounds.

1935 -- Piit and Fordham, the top programs in the East for years, finally meet to settle the question of Eastern supremacy -- or so it was thought. The teams battle to a 0-0 tie at the Polo Grounds.

It is the first of three consecutive 0-0 games between Fordham and Pitt from 1935 to 1937 in a series that became known -- due to media attention and fan interest -- as "Much Ado About Nothing."

1936 -- The second group of linemen form the more famous version of the "Seven Blocks of Granite" and feature All-Americans Ed Franco and Alex Wojciechowicz. Wojciechowicz goes on to a Hall of Fame NFL career and is still so well known in New York in the 1970s that a Barney Miller sitcom character is given his last name. Even today, Wojciechowicz is rated among the top 100 college football players of all time by College Football News.

Fordham appears headed to the Rose Bowl until a shocking 7-6 loss to NYU in the last game of the season. It is the last game for senior lineman Vince Lombardi, who years later called the loss to NYU "the most devastating loss" he ever had on a football field.

Fordham finishes No. 15 in the first year of the AP Top 20, after being ranked in the top five all season.

1937 -- 7-0-1. The Rams finish No. 3 in the AP Top 20, the highest finish ever in a Major College poll by any team currently playing I-AA football. Fordham allows just 16 points all year and many believed that Fordham deserved the No. 1 ranking. Pitt, which Fordham tied 0-0, gets the No. 1 ranking and the Eastern invitation to the Rose Bowl.

1938 -- The Rams finish 6-1-2 and number 15 in the AP poll. Their only loss is to Pitt.

1939 -- Fordham goes unranked in the AP weekly polls for the first six weeks of the season -- the first time ever Fordham has not appeared in an AP poll since the AP started ranking teams at the beginning of the 1936 season. The young Rams find their form and wind up in the final three polls, finishing at No. 17 with a 6-2 record. A victory over defending Cotton Bowl champion St. Mary's and a win over Pitt highlight the season.

1940 -- Back in the AP Top 20 all season long, Fordham's bid for a No. 1 ranking is set back by its only regular season loss at the hands of St. Mary's. Fordham finishes at No. 12 with a 7-1 regular season record, earning a trip to the Cotton Bowl, where they lose to Texas A&M, 13-12.

1941 -- Fordham makes another strong bid for a nantional championship but a stunning loss to a down Pitt team leaves them with a regular-season record of 7-1. Fordham finishes No. 6 in the nation, and caps the season with 2-0 win over Missouri in the Sugar Bowl.

The Sugar Bowl that year was played just three weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was the last game for many Fordham players, many of whom left college to enlist in the war. Fordham coach Jim Crowley resigns in order to enlist after the Sugar Bowl. He winds up coaching a pre-flight team during the war.

Fordham won the Sugar Bowl on a blocked punt by senior Alex Santilli, when the ball rolled through the endzone for a safety. Santilli becomes one of the first of many Fordham alumni to lose their life in the service of his country in WWII.

A depleted Fordham team goes 5-3 in 1942 and football is then discontinued during the war. Bigh-time football never returns to Fordham.

From 1936 through the end of 1941, Fordham spent only six weeks outside the AP top 20 and finished in the Top 20 each year.

1941 -- The Rams go 8-1, the single loss being a stunning upset by a down Pitt team

[ngineer]

As I said, you are the definition of a glass half empty guy.

Maybe the 'bowl' is half full...;) :D

[ngineer]

Pard, what are you talking about? They never had a football tradition... no college football hall of famers, a breif light at the end of the 1970s.. their only 'tradition' is the past 10 years. xlolx

Hmmm. As far as I know we are the ones with an NCAA Championship banner in our stadium. Not some mythical newspaper poll. Number of wins since 1884 very close to yours; considering our wandering in the desert in the from 1930-49 and most of the '60's, not too bad. Oh yes, Pat Pazetti is in the CHOF. :rolleyes:

[Pard94]

Boy, for a program that hasn't ever won a playoff game, those Lafayette folks sure are a cocky bunch. I give them credit for winning the right (ie PL) games the last couple of years, but we haven't seen a truly impressive season from Lafayette, since like 1908. you guys are still proud of yourselves for the leather helmet and huddle. Got anything more recent, and please don't say the close loss to Delaware and App State.xcoffeex

By "right games" I can only assume you are referring to Lehigh? Can't even bring yourself to say it, huh? If everything you outline above is true what does that make Lehigh (other than our bitches)? Tough to throw stones at us when you've lost all ability to beat our team. Keep trying though, the games are nothing if not entertaining. xcoffeex

[Pard94]

a brief Lafayette football history, since 1908, definitely not definitive

1921 - National Championship
1926 - National Championship

1937 - 8-0, gave up six points
1940 - 9-0

1981 - 9-2, Bill Russo's first year

1988 - 8-2-1, Colonial League champions, first school to beat Holy Cross

1992 - 8-3, Patriot League champions

1994 - 5-6, lost first six, 5-0 in the Patriot League, PL champions

1999-2001 - the lost years

2004 - 8-4, Patriot League champions, 24-10 over Lehigh

2005 - 8-4, Patriot League champions, 23-19 at Lehigh

2006 - first regular season national ranking since 1988

I think you should have included Frank Bauer on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1990. And you didn't even metion that George Barclay invented the football helmet and we are one of two schools credited with inventing the huddle. Just want to help. I'm a helper!

[Pard94]

You have got to be kidding me! :confused: Some of you Lafayette guys need to get real. Both Lehigh and Lafayette have noteworthy programs in that each school was one of the original 10 colleges with a football team. The first game, I believe, was in 1884. Over the entire life of the rivalry Lafayette has had the better program. However, as Go Gate points out, for the last 35 years Lehigh has had a much stronger and more noteworthy program. To confirm the truth of my premise, all you have to do is look at record of the two teams against each other since 1971 (Lehigh leads 24-11).


I love it. Now Lehigh has adopted the "last 35 years" as a measuring stick. So let me get this straight, we lead the overall series, lead the last 5 years, but it's the last 35 years that is important. What happens if we look at the last 40? Do the scales tip in our favor? Can't have that! Clearly the last 35 years is the right number. At least for now.xidiotx

[Pard94]

Maybe the 'bowl' is half full...;) :D

Oh no, as much as I appreciate Carney's contributions, he will never be mistaken for a glass half full guy. He knows it.

[Pard94]

I don't want to get into the middle of this Lehigh-Lafayette beauty contest. But I do want to say that the PL has a number of storied programs and should do a better job marketing that history. Here's Fordham's contributions:

1927 through 1932: Coached by the legendary Frank "The Iron Major" Cavanaugh.

1929 - 7-0-2. Rated national champions by Sorenson Historical COmputer Rankings.

1930 - 8-1, only loss to St. Mary's in historic contest at Polo Grounds; first college football game broadcast coast-to-coast.

1929-1930 teams featured the first Fordham line known as the "Seven Blocks of Granite."

1933-1941 -- Coahced by the legendary Jim Crowley, one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame.

1933 -- In an eagerly anticipated intersectional game between Alabama and Fordham at the Polo Grounds, Fordham wins 2-0 when a blocked punt rolls out of the endzone for a safety.

1934 -- Fordham is the only team to beat eventual Rose Bowl champion Tennessee, 13-12, in a fiercely fought game at the Polo Grounds.

1935 -- Piit and Fordham, the top programs in the East for years, finally meet to settle the question of Eastern supremacy -- or so it was thought. The teams battle to a 0-0 tie at the Polo Grounds.

It is the first of three consecutive 0-0 games between Fordham and Pitt from 1935 to 1937 in a series that became known -- due to media attention and fan interest -- as "Much Ado About Nothing."

1936 -- The second group of linemen form the more famous version of the "Seven Blocks of Granite" and feature All-Americans Ed Franco and Alex Wojciechowicz. Wojciechowicz goes on to a Hall of Fame NFL career and is still so well known in New York in the 1970s that a Barney Miller sitcom character is given his last name. Even today, Wojciechowicz is rated among the top 100 college football players of all time by College Football News.

Fordham appears headed to the Rose Bowl until a shocking 7-6 loss to NYU in the last game of the season. It is the last game for senior lineman Vince Lombardi, who years later called the loss to NYU "the most devastating loss" he ever had on a football field.

Fordham finishes No. 15 in the first year of the AP Top 20, after being ranked in the top five all season.

1937 -- 7-0-1. The Rams finish No. 3 in the AP Top 20, the highest finish ever in a Major College poll by any team currently playing I-AA football. Fordham allows just 16 points all year and many believed that Fordham deserved the No. 1 ranking. Pitt, which Fordham tied 0-0, gets the No. 1 ranking and the Eastern invitation to the Rose Bowl.

1938 -- The Rams finish 6-1-2 and number 15 in the AP poll. Their only loss is to Pitt.

1939 -- Fordham goes unranked in the AP weekly polls for the first six weeks of the season -- the first time ever Fordham has not appeared in an AP poll since the AP started ranking teams at the beginning of the 1936 season. The young Rams find their form and wind up in the final three polls, finishing at No. 17 with a 6-2 record. A victory over defending Cotton Bowl champion St. Mary's and a win over Pitt highlight the season.

1940 -- Back in the AP Top 20 all season long, Fordham's bid for a No. 1 ranking is set back by its only regular season loss at the hands of St. Mary's. Fordham finishes at No. 12 with a 7-1 regular season record, earning a trip to the Cotton Bowl, where they lose to Texas A&M, 13-12.

1941 -- Fordham makes another strong bid for a nantional championship but a stunning loss to a down Pitt team leaves them with a regular-season record of 7-1. Fordham finishes No. 6 in the nation, and caps the season with 2-0 win over Missouri in the Sugar Bowl.

The Sugar Bowl that year was played just three weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was the last game for many Fordham players, many of whom left college to enlist in the war. Fordham coach Jim Crowley resigns in order to enlist after the Sugar Bowl. He winds up coaching a pre-flight team during the war.

Fordham won the Sugar Bowl on a blocked punt by senior Alex Santilli, when the ball rolled through the endzone for a safety. Santilli becomes one of many Fordham alumni to lose their life in the service of his country in WWII.

A depleted Fordham team goes 5-3 in 1942 and football is then discontinued during the war. Bigh-time football never returns to Fordham.

From 1936 through the end of 1941, Fordham spent only six weeks outside the AP top 20 and finished in the Top 20 each year.


Oh I agree with you JJ. Clearly Fordham has a much more storied tradition than Lehigh as well.Then come Georgetown and then Lehigh. Middle of the pack seems about right for the Engineers, I mean Mountain Hawks.

[carney2]

I don't understand all of this. Every program in the League has had its moments. Some have been on bigger stages than others. Some have resulted in bigger trophies than others. Some have been more recent than others. The list goes on and on - and, based on this thread, on ad nauseum. So what. Let's get on with the 2006 season. PLEASE!

[Lehigh74]

I love it. Now Lehigh has adopted the "last 35 years" as a measuring stick. So let me get this straight, we lead the overall series, lead the last 5 years, but it's the last 35 years that is important. What happens if we look at the last 40? Do the scales tip in our favor? Can't have that! Clearly the last 35 years is the right number. At least for now.xidiotx

For me the relavance of 1971 is that it was my first year at Lehigh. My best friend went to Lafayette. I doubt many people on this board were college football fans before 1971. So who cares about ancient history? I, for one, would not trade Lehigh's football history with Lafayette. I doubt any other Lehigh fans on this board would make that trade either. I really like to try and look at the big picture and root for Lafayette when they play an Ivy team like Penn or Princeton. However, inflamatory and unnecessary comments like, "In terms of the big picture, our program is much more visible and noteworthy on the national scene than Lehigh", make it dificult for me to do so.

[carney2]

For me the relavance of 1971 is that it was my first year at Lehigh. My best friend went to Lafayette. I doubt many people on this board were college football fans before 1971. So who cares about ancient history? I, for one, would not trade Lehigh's football history with Lafayette. I doubt any other Lehigh fans on this board would make that trade either. I really like to try and look at the big picture and root for Lafayette when they play an Ivy team like Penn or Princeton. However, inflamatory and unnecessary comments like, "In terms of the big picture, our program is much more visible and noteworthy on the national scene than Lehigh", make it dificult for me to do so.

I hate to be caught agreeing with a Lehigh guy, but I'm with you on this. There is end to end crapola on this thread. As for me, I say once again that I wish for Lehigh a 10-1 every year.

[Pard94]

I hate to be caught agreeing with a Lehigh guy, but I'm with you on this. There is end to end crapola on this thread. As for me, I say once again that I wish for Lehigh a 10-1 every year.


Yeah well that's all well and good Carney but sunshine and butterflies is not what has made one the most storied rivalries in college football. You don't pat your enemy on the back when he does a good job. If everyone thought as you do (AND lEHIGH 74) The Game would be nothing more than the last game of the year. You hate your rival. Why? BECAUSE THEY ARE YOUR RIVAL! Now I will concede that maybe we ought to take this one over to the smack board but I will not pass up the chance to talk smack about Lehigh wherever the opportunity arises. Maybe football isn't the right sport for you. You need something kinder and gentler. How is our crew club faring this year? I hear they turn a blind eye to providing comfort to the enemy. :bang:

[Pard4Life]

I will say Joltin Joe, Fordham does have an outstanding history. If you didn't cancel football, you'd have hands down the best in the league.

[LUHawker]

By "right games" I can only assume you are referring to Lehigh? Can't even bring yourself to say it, huh? If everything you outline above is true what does that make Lehigh (other than our bitches)? Tough to throw stones at us when you've lost all ability to beat our team. Keep trying though, the games are nothing if not entertaining. xcoffeex

No, my friend, I specifically meant Patriot League games, which of course, include Lehigh. Lafayette has not had better records than Lehigh the past couple of years, but has simply won the PL games, which leads to playoffs, whereas Lehigh lost a couple league games. You took the "right games" comment entirely wrong. It was, in a way, a compliment. I'll parden your "bitch" comment as a heat of the moment one - not very becoming of a Lafayette grad. Truth be told, I usually hold LC grads in high esteem, but for the end of November. Try to be gracious.

[Go...gate]

I love it. Now Lehigh has adopted the "last 35 years" as a measuring stick. So let me get this straight, we lead the overall series, lead the last 5 years, but it's the last 35 years that is important. What happens if we look at the last 40? Do the scales tip in our favor? Can't have that! Clearly the last 35 years is the right number. At least for now.xidiotx

Actually, it was a Colgate grad who used the 35-year measuring stick, but who's counting.

[JoltinJoe]

I will say Joltin Joe, Fordham does have an outstanding history. If you didn't cancel football, you'd have hands down the best in the league.

Ah, 12/15/54, a day of infamy at Fordham. Fr. McGinley believed that big-time football and serious academics were becoming incompatible. If he only could see into the future. Our football team was once as popular as Notre Dame's. Look at what football has done for Notre Dame.

The final indignity of the decision to drop football: two weeks earlier, Fordham had hired as its new head football coach a young alumnus who called coaching at Fordham his "dream job." He vowed that he was going to restore Fordham to its rightful place among the nation's best programs.

Two weeks later, Fordham dropped football and released the newly hired coach from his contract. Bitterly disappointed, the young man returned to his job as an assistant coach with the New York Giants.

It was not until five years later that this man lined up his first opportunity to be a head coach. In 1959, he was hired as a head coach for a hapless NFL franchise, the Green Bay Packers.

[Lehigh74]

Yeah well that's all well and good Carney but sunshine and butterflies is not what has made one the most storied rivalries in college football. You don't pat your enemy on the back when he does a good job. If everyone thought as you do (AND lEHIGH 74) The Game would be nothing more than the last game of the year. You hate your rival. Why? BECAUSE THEY ARE YOUR RIVAL! Now I will concede that maybe we ought to take this one over to the smack board but I will not pass up the chance to talk smack about Lehigh wherever the opportunity arises. Maybe football isn't the right sport for you. You need something kinder and gentler. How is our crew club faring this year? I hear they turn a blind eye to providing comfort to the enemy. :bang:


You make it sound like it is a war. Lehigh and Lafayette are both excellent schools and they will always be closely linked to each other. The rivalry is good for each school and good for the Patriot league. However, when they play each other once a year in football, it is not life and death, it is only a game.

[Leopard's Claw]

You make it sound like it is a war. Lehigh and Lafayette are both excellent schools and they will always be closely linked to each other. The rivalry is good for each school and good for the Patriot league. However, when they play each other once a year in football, it is not life and death, it is only a game.

Sorry if this sounds like smack, but- With that comment, there's no way you ever actually strapped it up and left part of you (blood, sweat or whatever else) on any field...it's much, much more than "just a game" (I know, not precisely your words, but certainly your message)