It was a cold and cloudy November afternoon when 15 players from Harvard and Yale met in New Haven to play a game that was a mixture of soccer and rugby. Harvard won that game in 1875, four goals to none, in the first game of what today stands as one of America's oldest and most intense football rivalries.
That first Game did a lot more than entertain the 3000 spectators who doled out 50 cents on November 13, 1875. That first Crimson-Eli clash had a significant effect on how football developed in America.
Playing on their home turf, the Bulldogs conceded to play the game as Harvard asked, with rules allowing a player to run the ball as well as kick it. Although it doesn't seem like much today--as the Elis trot into Soldiers Field for the 97th matchup of the series--Harvard set the trend in football back then. Even though Yale walked away with a defeat, the Elis adopted the rules and stuck to them in the following years.
After Yale's initial setback, the Elis picked up the new rules for the game and went on to beat the Crimson in 21 of the next 28 games. Yale still leads in the series with 52 wins to Harvard's 36 (they have tied eight times), but after 1900, things have been much more even. 1875-76 Harvard, 4-0 1876-77 Yale, 1-0 1878 Yale, 1-0 1879 Tie, 0-0 1880 Yale, 1-0 1881* Yale, 0-0 1882 Yale, 1-0 1883 Yale, 23-2 1884 Yale, 52-0 1886 Yale, 29-4 1887 Yale, 17-8 1889 Yale, 6-0 1890 Harvard, 12-6 1891 Yale, 10-0 1892 Yale, 6-0 1893 Yale, 6-0 1894 Yale, 12-4 1897 Tie, 0-0 1898 Harvard, 17-0 1899 Tie, 0-0 1900 Yale, 28-0 1901 Harvard, 22-0 1902 Yale, 23-0 1903 Yale, 16-0 1904 Yale, 12-0 1905 Yale, 6-0 1906 Yale, 6-0 1907 Yale, 12-0 1908 Harvard, 4-0 1909 Yale, 8-0 1910 Tie, 0-0 1911 Tie, 0-0 1912 Harvard, 20-0 1913 Harvard, 15-5 1914 Harvard, 36-0 1915 Harvard, 41-0 1916 Yale, 6-3 1919 Harvard, 10-3 1920 Harvard, 9-0 1921 Harvard, 10-3 1922 Harvard, 10-3 1923 Yale, 13-0 1924 Yale, 19-6 1925 Tie, 0-0 1926 Yale, 12-7 1927 Yale, 14-0 1928 Harvard 17-0 1929 Harvard, 10-6 1930 Harvard, 13-0 1931 Yale, 3-0 1932 Yale, 19-0 1933 Harvard, 19-6 1934 Yale, 14-0 1935 Yale, 14-7 1936 Yale, 14-13 1937 Harvard, 13-6 1938 Harvard, 7-0 1939 Yale, 20-7 1940 Harvard, 28-0 1941 Harvard, 14-0 1942 Yale, 7-3 1945 Yale, 28-0 1946 Yale, 27-14 1947 Yale, 31-21 1948 Harvard, 20-7 1949 Yale, 29-6 1950 Yale, 14-6 1951 Tie, 21-21 1952 Yale, 41-14 1953 Harvard, 13-0 1954 Harvard, 13-9 1955 Yale, 21-7 1956 Yale, 42-12 1957 Yale, 54-0 1958 Harvard, 28-0 1959 Harvard, 35-6 1960 Yale 39-6 1961 Harvard, 27-0 1962 Harvard, 14-6 1963 Yale, 20-6 1964 Harvard, 18-14 1965 Harvard, 13-0 1966 Harvard, 17-0 1967 Yale, 24-20 1968 Tie, 29-29 1969 Yale, 7-0 1970 Harvard, 14-12 1971 Harvard, 35-16 1972 Yale, 28-17 1973 Yale, 35-0 1974 Harvard, 21-16 1975 Harvard, 10-7 1976 Yale, 21-7 1977 Yale, 24-7 1978 Yale, 35-28 1979 Harvard, 22-7 * Yale won