ECAC Rejects Crimson Protest Over Penn Game

Like any good politician, Cambridge Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci tries to keep his promises.

In late September, he promised the members of the Harvard football team an Italian dinner if they beat Yale.

They did, and last week gave the Elis their worst drubbing in the 99-year rivalry, 45-7. So an aide to Vellucci yesterday mailed out the invitation to the Crimson.

The Mayor, reached in a hotel suite in Los Angeles, where he is attending a National League of Cities conference, said the affair will take place next week at the Steven James House in the Porter Square section of Cambridge and will feature his renowned Italian cooking.

He promised macaroni with Italian sauce, Italian roast chicken, Italian roast potatoes and Italian salad.

Joining the Crimson gridders at the dinner will be the Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School squad, which bested its Thanksgiving Day opponent, Don Bosco High School, 18-0. Cheerleaders and coaches are also invited, bringing the guest list to about 100.

Vellucci noted that he had made a similar offer to the Crimson once before, "when some people from Yale said that [Italian explorer] Christopher Columbus had not discovered America."

Explaining this year's kindly gesture toward the institution which he has heckled repeatedly during his long political career, Vellucci said, "We usually support then, unless they get out of line. Then we root for the opposition."