November 2007 is Lehigh/Lafayette Month at AGS!! Read the Fact a Day

[agsadmin]

11/2007 is brought to you by the fans of Lehigh University and Lafayette College football, thanks Lehigh and Lafayette fans!

Just in case you forgot, Lehigh University and Lafayette College have one of the most passionate rivalries in college sports. The two well-regarded academic institutions are located 17 miles apart in eastern Pennsylvania. "The Rivalry" in football has been played 142 times since 1884, making it the most-played football rivalry in the nation. It is also the longest uninterrupted rivalry, since the teams have met every year since 1897.

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There may be some posts that have information about each school this month. In an attempt to be impartial, I will post the information in alphabetical order. The posts will be Lafayette first and Lehigh second.

PM Mod66 with any suggestions for the Fact of the Day.

[Mod66]

10/2

COLLEGE FACTS

Lafayette College

Location Easton, PA
Established 1826
Undergraduates 2,403
President Daniel Weiss
Mascot Leopard
Colors Maroon and White
Home Field Fisher Field at Fisher Stadium (13,750)
Playing Surface artificial turf
Affiliations NCAA Championship Subdivision, Patriot League


UNIVERSITY FACTS

Lehigh University

Location Bethlehem, Pa.
Founded 1865 by Asa Packer
Undergraduate Enrollment 4,700
President Dr. Alice P. Gast
Dean of Athletics Joe Sterrett
Nickname Mountain Hawks
Mascot Mountain Hawk
Colors Brown and White
Home Field Goodman Stadium (16,000)
Playing Surface Natural Grass
Affiliations NCAA Championship Subdivision, Patriot League

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11/3

Lafayette Head Coach
When Frank Tavani was hired on December 11, 1999, he was charged with restoring a once proud football program to a championship level. Now under his tutelage, Lafayette is home to the last three Patriot League championships and three straight NCAA Play-off appearances.

Tavani has changed the expectations of a program that was at the bottom of the Patriot League when he took control. Eight years later, Lafayette has made the first three postseason appearances in school history, laying claim to the Patriot League’s automatic bid to the playoffs in 2004 and 2006, while earning the program’s first at-large bid in 2005.

Over the last three years, the Leopards are 15-3 in Patriot League play - and a perfect 8-0 after suffering their first league setback.

In 2004, Tavani was named Patriot League Coach of the Year after leading the Leopards to their first championship in a decade, despite being picked no higher than fifth in the preseason poll of the league’s coaches. He was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award for his efforts.

Lehigh Head Coach
Andy Coen enters his second year as Lehigh’s head football coach after leading the Mountain Hawks to a share of their eighth Patriot League Championship in his first-ever season as a head coach. Coen brings a fiery and passionate personality to the Lehigh sidelines, along with a unique ability to motivate and inspire today’s student-athletes.

By capturing the Patriot League title in 2006, Coen has now been a part of six league championship teams in his past nine seasons as a coach, including three at Lehigh (’98, ’99, ’06) and three at the University of Pennsylvania (’00, ’02 ’03). The 2006 Mountain Hawks boasted a balanced attack on both sides of the ball, topping the Patriot League in scoring offense (27.2 ppg) and defense (20.2 ppg). The New Jersey native also mentored 14 All- Patriot League selections, which included a league-best ten players named to the First-Team.

Coen became the 28th head football coach in Lehigh history on January 3, 2006. That announcement marked his return to Lehigh, where he spent six seasons as an offensive line coach –including four as the team’s offensive coordinator.

In his first stop at Lehigh (1994-99), Coen was a part of three Patriot League championship teams, including the 12-1 1998 squad. That team set a school mark for the most wins in a season, while reaching the NCAA Division I-AA quarterfinals.

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11/4

The Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry is the most-played between any two college teams in the country.

“It’s not just a game, it’s the game,” said Frank Downing, a 76-year-old Lafayette alumnus on the Lehigh Valley PBS documentary, “The Lehigh-Lafayette Legacy,” which debuted in September.

According to “Legends of Lehigh-Lafayette: College Football’s Most Played Rivalry,” written by Todd Davidson and Bob Donchez, the rivalry started before the creation of basketball.

“By the time Dr. James Naismith invented the game of basketball in 1891, Lehigh and Lafayette had already played 14 football games in their historic rivalry,” they said.

It started Oct. 25, 1884.

Theodore L. Welles, the founder of Lafayette football and Richard Harding Davis, the father of Lehigh football, organized a game between the two teams.

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11/5

At the time, the colleges, less than 20 miles apart, were all-male institutions.

According to “Legends of Lehigh-Lafayette,” admission for the game was 25 cents. Two hundred and fifty fans stood along the sidelines of the Easton Athletic Grounds, which only had standing room for the spectators.

It was Lehigh’s first official football game in history. It was Lafayette’s third season.

The spectators watched Lehigh’s infant team get whooped 50-0; thus began the rivalry.

While the roots of the competition center around the football game, the contention between the two schools goes beyond the field – it encompasses the social lives of the students.

In the past, during the week leading up to the game, there have been bonfires and “smokers,” marching bands and tailgates, decorating and riots.

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11/6

In 1887, Lehigh finally beat Lafayette, 16-0. In celebration, freshmen set fire to the grandstand. According to “Legends of Lehigh-Lafayette,” students viewed the grandstand as “an eyesore and a disgrace to the athletic grounds.”

Soon, a bonfire the Thursday before the game became a tradition for Lehigh students.

Each year the height of the flame was equal to the year of graduation of the freshman class. For example, the freshman class of 1965 hosted a 65-foot flame, according to “Legends of Lehigh-Lafayette.”

Al Pedrick, ’43, remembered the annual bonfire. He said it was held in what is now the parking lot behind Taylor Gym, adjacent to Taylor Stadium.

At the time, he said, there were only about 1,500 students at the university.

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11/07

College Football's Most-Played Rivalry

“The Lehigh-Lafayette game is an integral part of a college education. The game provides thrills and excitement and instills an attitude that is essential to succeed in all walks of life. Traditions, pregame hype and celebrations are all as important as the game itself. No other football rivalry is quite like Lehigh-Lafayette. The traditions are pure and the festivities are genuine. Sportswriters are afraid to predict the winner, oddsmakers shy from a point spread and coaches don’t have to worry about getting their players up for the game. Previous records, scores and games against common opponents are meaningless. It’s one game—all or nothing.”

Preface; Legends of Lehigh-Lafayette Todd Davidson and Bob Donchez D&D Publishing Company, 1995.

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11/08

Fisher Field at Fisher Stadium has been home to the Lafayette football program since 1926. The most recent renovation began in 2006 at a cost of $23 million and has given Lafayette one of the premier venues in all of Division I football at the FCS level. New spectator seating has been built throughout the venue, including chair back seating in select areas of the home stands. Additional visitors’ seating has also been added, taking the stadium capacity to 13,132 fans.

FieldTurf’s state-of-the-art in-fill synthetic surface has been added, allowing for year-round use by the football program. For the first time in the venue’s history, night games will be played thanks to the installation of stadium lighting. A press box atop the home grandstands has been added that includes individual booths for television, radio, coaching staffs and game administrators, while a VIP booth has been included at the end opposite the print media area.

Now entering its 81st season, Fisher Field has been host to 393 Lafayette football games with the Leopards enjoying an overall record of 234-146-13. Of the previous 80 seasons, Lafayette has produced 12 undefeated home seasons with the most recent being the 1992 Patriot League champion Leopards that went 5-0, the first undefeated home season since 1970. During the 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons, Lafayette won 10 straight home games, tying the Fisher Field school record for consecutive wins first set by the 1926 and 1927 squads in the first 10 games ever played in the stadium.

The first football game played in the then 18,000-seat structure came on Sept. 25, 1926, a 35-0 win over Muhlenberg College.


http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/lafa/sports/m-footbl/auto_wide/806355.jpeg

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11/09

Goodman Stadium opened on October 1, 1988. Named as the “Best Game Day Atmosphere in the Patriot League” for seven straight years.

Goodman Stadium has been home to over 10,000 fans on game days eight of the past nine seasons and has hosted sellout crowds in five of the past seven seasons. Lehigh has led the Patriot League in attendance for 16 straight years and been among the top Division IAA attendance leaders for several years.

In addition to hosting Lehigh football, Goodman Stadium has also served as the site for National Football League scrimmages involving the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, New York Jets, New York Giants and Buffalo Bills.

The stadium also hosted its first NCAA Football Playoff game on December 1, 2001 as Lehigh defeated Hofstra 27-24 in overtime.

http://www.comfortsuitesbethlehem.com/graphics/lehigh_goodman_stadium.jpg

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11/10

An article from 1913 by The New York Times.

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9C00E1D71E3BE633A25751C2A9679D946296D6CF&oref=slogin

Lehigh won that one 7-0.

Mod 66 has received a few Private Messages about this thread and will try to work them in soon.

[Mod66]

11/11

The only break in the series occurred in 1896. Two games were scheduled, but a dispute arose over the eligibility of Lafayette halfback George Barclay and Lehigh declined to play.

Barclay invented the first football helmet for an earlier game with Penn that year.

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11/12

Lafayette and Lehigh have never played to a scoreless tie. The lowest score in the long series came in 1922 when Lafayette avoided a 0-0 deadlock when “Botts” Brunner kicked a field goal with 45 seconds remaining in the game.

3-0 Lafayette.

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11/13

The football rivalry has been played 142 times since 1884, making it the most-played football rivalry in the nation. It is also the longest uninterrupted rivalry, since the teams have met every year since 1897. (Although Harvard and Yale began The Game in 1875, they did not play in 1885, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1899, 1917, 1918, 1943, or 1944). "The Rivalry" is so old that it predates football trophies; the winning team just gets to keep the game ball. These are painted with the score and displayed in winning institution's hall of fame. The evolution of the shape of the football can be seen in the displays of past game balls.

I received a couple of PM’s about the claim to the “most played” rivalry. I hope this answers your questions about the claim to the “most played” rivalry, not the “longest”.

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11/14

The history of the rivalry between the schools actually predates the first meeting of the football teams.

The First Meeting:

The first joint athletic event held between the two institutions was on May 14, 1881 on the grounds of the Lehigh University Athletic Association.

The meet consisted of fourteen events; Hundred Yards Dash, Half-Mile Run, Throwing the Hammer, Running High Jump, 440 Yards Dash, Mile Walk, Putting the Shot, Running Broad Jump, 220 Yards Dash, Mile Run, Pole Vaulting, 120 Yards Hurdle Race, Bicycle Race, Standing High Jump, and Tug of War. Lehigh emerged with a decisive victory winning ten of the fourteen events.

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11/15

During the game, the bands from both schools battled with song.

The following is a segment to the lyrics of Lafayette’s fight song of 1897:

“Oh! Dear me, what a cinch we’re up against. Poor Lehigh, we have smashed up your defense.”

Lehigh responded with a less abrasive song called “The Old Silver Goblet.”

“Get out the old silver goblet, with Lehigh upon it, and we’ll open another keg of beer. Because we all came to college but we didn't come for knowledge and we'll raise hell while we're here.”

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11/16

Tearing down the goal post after the game was also a deeply rooted tradition. The objective was to tear down and keep the largest piece of the goalpost possible.

After the game, students from both colleges rushed the field, jumped onto the wooden goalposts and pulled until a piece came off.

According to “Legends of Lehigh-Lafayette,” the golden goalpost award was given to the person(s) with the longest piece of goal post.

To be continued...

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11/17

GAMEDAY

Lafayette at Lehigh
Saturday, Nov. 17 :: 12:30p.m.
Bethlehem, Pa.
Goodman Stadium

Lafayette:

SCORE BY QUARTERS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
-------------------- --- --- --- --- ---
Lafayette............... 65 86 61 48 - 260
Opponents.............. 24 65 42 38 - 169

Lehigh:

SCORE BY QUARTERS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
-------------------- --- --- --- --- ---
Lehigh.................... 95 50 37 52 - 234
Opponents............... 45 46 59 61 - 211

Good Luck men, enjoy #143.

[Mod66]

11/18

Continued from 11/ 16

On the day of the bonfire, it was the freshmen’s responsibility to guard the woodpile to prevent Lafayette students from either stealing it or prematurely setting it on fire.

The Thursday before the 1953 game, a Lafayette student snuck onto Lehigh’s campus to try to light the Lehigh bonfire.

According to “Legends of Lehigh-Lafayette,” the student “maneuvered his way around security guards and came a few feet within the target with a gasoline can and a torch in hand.”

However, security guarding the bonfire caught him and “sent him to Lafayette with a South Mountain buzz cut.”

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11/19

Davidson and Donchez said that “the post game goalpost wars are as much a part of the tradition of the rivalry as the game itself” and gave the following account of a riot surrounding to goalposts.

In 1991, the all-wood goalposts were switched to steel. This switch caused a riot after the game.

Students from both colleges rushed the field and unable to take down the goalposts, they started to throw sod from the field at the 40 police officers. The police started to use mace to fend off angry students.

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11/20


As the new goal posts withstood the onslaught, the authorities said the students turned on the 20 Lehigh campus policemen and the 61 off-duty Bethlehem police officers hired to maintain order. According to Bethlehem police reports and to the accounts of witnesses, the students, chanting "We want posts, we want posts," hurled pieces of stadium turf at the police.

Read more here:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5DF1E3FF932A35751C1A9679582 60

credit to kardplayer for finding this article

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11/21

According to “Legends of Lehigh-Lafayette,” there was an air raid at Lehigh.

The bomber was said to be a Lafayette student who flew a yellow plane into South Mountain air space. His ammunition was “Beat Lehigh” pamphlets.

No one was injured.

*********************

Pedrick said it was common for Lehigh students to travel to Lafayette and paint the statue of Marquis de Lafayette. He said the students painted the statue purple.

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11/20

The last tie in series history was Nov. 1, 1964; Easton, Lafayette 6, Lehigh 6
(100th meeting)

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11/21

LAFAYETTE-LEHIGH GAME MVP

Beginning with the 1960 meeting, the media in attendance at the Lafayette-Lehigh football game have selected the game’s Most Valuable Player. There have been six two-time winners of the MVP Award: Tom Costello, Erik Marsh, Brad Maurer and Jonathan Hurt of Lafayette, and Marty Horn and Kim McQuilken of Lehigh.

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11/22

Just two times in 46 previous meetings have there been co-MVP’s (1976 and 2006).

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11/23

Past Rivalry MVPs

1960 Al Richmond (Lehigh), RB, Sr.
1961 Boyd Taylor (Lehigh), RB, Sr.
1962 Walt King (Lehigh), QB, Sr.
1963 Les Kish (Lehigh), QB, So.
1964 George Hossenlopp (Lafayette), QB, Sr.
1965 HalYeich (Lehigh), RB, Sr.
1966 Rick Craw (Lafayette), TB, Jr.
1967 Art Renfro (Lehigh), LB, Sr.
1968 Jim Petrillo (Lehigh), RB, So.
1969 Don Diorio (Lehigh), RB, So.
1970 Rick Nowell (Lafayette), WR/PK, Sr.
1971 Jack Rizzo (Lehigh), RB, Sr.
1972 Kim McQuilken (Lehigh), QB, Jr.
1973 Kim McQuilken (Lehigh), QB, Sr.
1974 Joe Alleva (Lehigh), QB, Sr.
1975 Joe Sterrett (Lehigh), QB, Sr.
1976 Mark Jones (Lafayette), QB, Sr.
Rod Gardner (Lehigh), RB, Sr.
1977 Mike Reiker (Lehigh), QB, Sr.
1978 Steve Kreider (Lehigh), WR, Sr.
1979 Joe Rabuck (Lehigh), RB, So.
1980 Mike Crowe (Lehigh), DE, Sr.
1981 Frank Novak (Lafayette), QB, So.
1982 Jack Gatehouse (Lafayette), WR, Sr.
1983 Marty Horn (Lehigh), QB, So.
1984 Jim Johnson (Lafayette), QB, Fr.
1985 Marty Horn (Lehigh), QB, Sr.
1986 Bruce McIntyre (Lafayette), TB, Sr.
1987 Mark McGowan (Lehigh), QB, Jr.
1988 Tom Costello (Lafayette), TB, Fr.
1989 Tom Costello (Lafayette), TB, So.
1990 Erick Torain (Lehigh), RB, Sr.
1991 Glenn Kempa (Lehigh), QB, Sr.
1992 Erik Marsh (Lafayette), TB, So.
1993 Scott Semptimphelter (Lehigh), QB, Sr.
1994 Erik Marsh (Lafayette), TB, Sr.
1995 Brian Klingerman (Lehigh), WR, Sr.
1996 Phil Stambaugh (Lehigh), QB, Fr.
1997 Rabih Abdullah (Lehigh), RB, Sr.
1998 Ron Jean (Lehigh), RB, Jr.
1999 Ron Jean (Lehigh), RB, Sr.
2000 Matt Salvaterra (Lehigh), DB, So.
2001 Josh Snyder (Lehigh), WR, Sr.
2002 Joe McCourt (Lafayette), TB, So.
2003 Jermaine Pugh (Lehigh), RB, Sr.
2004 Brad Maurer (Lafayette), QB, So.
2005 Jonathan Hurt (Lafayette), TB, Jr.
2006 Brad Maurer (Lafayette), QB, Sr.
Jonathan Hurt (Lafayette), TB, Sr.

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11/24

The night before their 100th meeting, both Lehigh and Lafayette students vandalized each other’s campus.

Lehigh students painted the Lafayette leopard brown and white while Lafayette students painted L-A-F-A-Y-E-T-T-E around Lehigh’s campus. Lafayette students also marched through the streets of Easton holding a coffin with L-E-H-I-G-H written on the sides

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11/25

Students often display their rivalry by decorating fraternity houses. Some fraternities at Lafayette displayed “Lehigh Shall Die” in lights on the front of their houses.

At Lehigh, the “Beat Lafayette” signs were common in most fraternity houses.

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11/26

Unlike some schools who suspended sports during WWII. Lafayette and Lehigh continued football and played twice in 1943 and 1944. Lehigh won all four games by a combined score of 205-7.

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11/27

The football game is always sold out months in advance and has inspired books and a PBS television documentary. ESPNU recently ranked The Rivalry #8 in their Top Ten College Football Rivalries and Sports Illustrated has told its readers that seeing it "is something you have to do once in your life." Similar to the younger Army-Navy Game series, Lafayette and Lehigh alumni annually meet in locations around the world to watch the live telecast of The Rivalry.

11/26

Unlike some schools who suspended sports during WWII. Lafayette and Lehigh continued football and played twice in 1943 and 1944. Lehigh won all four games by a combined score of 205-7.

I have been corrected by one of our members. The post should read that Lafeyette won all four of those games.

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11/28

The All Sports Trophy

The Rivalry is further cemented by the creation of the "All Sports Trophy" in 1968. The trophy is held by the school which wins the most varsity sports meetings during a school year. One point is awarded per victory. At the year end, points are totaled to determine the overall champion.

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11/29

The only game played on neutral ground was on 11-25-1891 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. This was the last game of the season for both teams. It was also the only year with 3 games played.

I don't know why the game was played here or why a third game was played in the same season. If a member knows I will update it here.

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11/30


Per your query--the only information I have is that the 'word' had spread throughout eastern PA about the intensity of the rivalry already--although only seven years old, that there was a big demand for another game. Lehigh had won the first game in Bethlehem 22-4 and the second in Easton 6-2. Therefore, the site for the third game needed to be neutral. The reputation of the intense rivalry was already spreading prompting Wilkes-Barre to invite the two schools to play there the day before Thanksgiving. According to Davidson & Donchez:

The Game attracted 3,000 spectators, the largest crowd to ever witness a football game in Wilkes-Barre at that time. The exuberant cheering students startled the Wilkes-Barre natives, who were not accustomed to a rivalry as intense as Lehigh-Lafayette. The Wilkes-Barre contest stands as the only time in The Series' history that The Game was not played in the cities of Bethlehem or Easton. Lehigh completed the 1891 trifecta by outscoring Lafayette 16-2 at the neutral field.--Page 14.

Interesting note..the following year in 1892, Lehigh's Goodwin Ordway picked up a fumble on the 10 yard line and ran 110 yards for a touchdown. The field, back then, was 120 yards. The run marks the longest in the history of The Game--a record that will likely never be broken..--D&D, p. 15.
This was a PM received from AGS Member, ngineer, and posted with his permission. AGS thanks you for researching this information and allowing us to enjoy it.

The information is from:

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/24/d3/8acb228348a02f9849f42110._AA240_.L.jpg

The page references are also included.

The book is available at Amazon.com.