1978: Harvard Ruggers Whip Yale 'A' Squad, Capture Mythical Ivy Crown
Surrounded by tailgaters ravaging daiquiris and culinary delights, the Harvard and Yale rugby squads met Saturday morning for the mythical autumn Ivy championship. Yale's ruggers, winners of last spring's Ivy tournament (spring '78), carried an unblemished league slate into Saturday's match and were considered the favorites. Harvard possessed an unbeaten Ivy record of its own, and the Crimson proved that it was no fluke, overcoming a 7-6 halftime deficit to defeat the Elis, 15-7.
Sabin Willet got Harvard on the board early by taking Peter Hilton's pass and scooting 20 yards for the game's first try. Walter Herbert battled a stiff wind and a difficult angle on the conversion, but his kick sailed through the uprights to make it 6-0. Yale connected on a 40-yd. penalty goal minutes later, then took the lead just before the end of the half on a Crimson turnover. Harvard dropped the ball in its own territory, a Yalie picked it up and passed it out to his wing, who galloped 30 yards to paydirt. Willet tallied another try, and Herbert contributed a penalty goal and the try conversion as the Crimson dominated the second half to trounce their arch-rivals, marking the first time the team's seniors had quashed the Eli menace.
Yale avenged its defeat in the feature match with wins in both the B and C struggles. The Elis scored all their points in the first half of the B match, then held off a late Crimson surge for a 10-6 victory. Alan Alberts accounted for the Harvard try and Dave Miller booted the conversion. The game ended with Harvard threatening, but unable to push the ball over from the five-yard line.
The C game was a defensive battle decided by two first-half Yale tries. The Elis were forced to play members of their A and B squads in the game in order to field a team. Harvard played well, especially in the second half when the Yale team was tired, but was unable to score. The Elis prevailed, 8-0.