Wikipedia

The Rivalry (Lafayette–Lehigh)

The Rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played by the Lafayette Leopards football team of Lafayette College and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team of Lehigh University. It is the most-played football rivalry in the nation and is the longest uninterrupted rivalry game.[1][2][3][4]

The Rivalry
Lafayette Leopards
Lehigh Mountain Hawks
SportFootball
First meetingOctober 25, 1884
Lafayette 56, Lehigh 0
Latest meetingNovember 23, 2024
Lehigh 38, Lafayette 14
Next meetingNovember 22, 2025
Fisher Stadium, Easton, Pennsylvania
TrophyNone
Statistics
Meetings total160 (most in college football)
All-time seriesLafayette Leopards: 82–73–5
Largest victoryLehigh Mountain Hawks: 78–0 (1917)
Longest win streakLafayette: 10 (1919–1928)
Current win streakLehigh: 1 win (2024–present)
Map
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
5km
3miles
Lehigh
.
Lafayette
Locations in Lehigh Valley

As of 2024, The Rivalry has been played 160 times since 1884 with only one interruption in 1896. No game was played in 2020 due to COVID-19 issues, but the teams played in April 2021 after the Patriot League, home to both schools, moved its originally planned fall 2020 season to spring 2021. The colleges' football teams met twice annually until 1901 (except 1891, when they played three games, and 1896, when they did not play at all). The two institutions are located seventeen miles apart in the Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania.

Despite popular belief, Harvard and Yale did not play The Game in four separate years during The Rivalry's streak of 159 consecutive games. Furthermore, Lehigh and Lafayette met twice per season in 1943 and 1944 during World War II. The Rivalry is so old that it predates football trophies; the winning team instead keeps the game ball. These are painted with the score and kept at the winning institution's campus. Lehigh displays its game balls in its athletic hall of fame, and Lafayette keeps its game balls at the official residence of its president. The evolution of the shape of the football can be seen in the displays of past game balls, since the early ones predate even the invention of the forward pass.

The game has inspired books and a PBS television documentary narrated by Harry Kalas. In 2006, ESPNU ranked The Rivalry No. 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."[5] In 2018, The Rivalry was ranked among Athlon Sports top 25 rivalries in the history of college football.[6]

The 150th game, on November 22, 2014, was played at Yankee Stadium in New York City.[7] The game was broadcast live nationally on CBS Sports Network.

Series history

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Early days

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Further information: Lafayette Leopards football and Lehigh Mountain Hawks football
 
The Lafayette–Lehigh MVP Trophy plaque prior in February 2011

Although they did not meet on the football field until 1884, an anecdote from David Bishop Skillman's history of Lafayette College reveals that bad blood existed between the two places even before Lehigh University was founded. When Asa Packer first moved to Mauch Chunk in present-day Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania as an uneducated carpenter, he followed his family's footsteps in joining a local Presbyterian church. However, he did not fit in well with the other more strait-laced members of the congregation, and so he left and joined an Episcopalian congregation that was more welcoming to him.

After Packer had risen to affluence and before he founded Lehigh University, Ario Pardee, a coal baron from Hazleton, approached Judge Packer in connection with the addition of an engineering wing to Lafayette College. While eager at first in the proposition, Packer's enthusiasm turned sour when Pardee mentioned that the school would be under the control of the Presbyterian Church. Packer let him know that he would have nothing to do with any school run by the Presbyterians.[8] Packer later enlisted the help of the Episcopal Bishop of Philadelphia, William Bacon Stevens, in founding Lehigh University.

First athletic events

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Lafayette records indicate that the first athletic meeting between the two schools was a series of baseball games played in Easton and Bethlehem in October 1869. The first game was a 45–45 tie, and Lafayette won the second meeting 31–24.[9]

The first joint athletic track and field event held between the two institutions was on May 14, 1881, on the grounds of Lehigh University. The meet consisted of fourteen events: a 100-yard dash, a half-mile run, a hammer throw, high jump, 440-yards dash, mile walk, shotput, broad jump, 220-yard dash, mile run, pole vaulting, 120-yard hurdle race, bicycle race, a standing high jump, and tug of war. Lehigh won the event decisively, winning ten of the fourteen events.[10]

As a sign of the intense rivalry that was already developing between the two schools, an article in Lafayette's student newspaper, the Lafayette College Journal, called Lafayette's loss to Lehigh a "defeat in our recent contest with Lehigh University, -a defeat, too, doubly humiliating, coming, as it did, from an adversary in every other respect our inferior."[11]

Early football

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Lafayette football began in 1882. The game was closer to rugby back then and even the goals and touchdowns were recorded separately in the scores. After football rules were standardized in 1883, Lafayette's manager Theodore L. Welles approached Lehigh and offered to play them. Lehigh thus formed its first team in 1884, managed by Richard Harding Davis, which gamely played and lost twice to the more experienced Lafayette team.

The Lehigh freshmen were dismayed by the lack of support that the administration showed the team. They thought the rickety stands built for the 1887 event in Bethlehem were a disgrace and set them on fire at the end of the game to celebrate Lehigh's first win.[12] Thus, the tradition of exuberance surrounding the game was started.[13]

Since the start in 1884, only in one season (1896) have the teams not met. Because few schools were playing football at the time and travel was more difficult in the horse and buggy era, Lehigh and Lafayette played each other twice in the early years with each school hosting one of the games. This continued until the development of modern football in 1902, when the current annual game was established.

Only twice have Lafayette and Lehigh played somewhere other than in Easton or Bethlehem. In 1891, the teams played a third game in Wilkes-Barre, before 3,000 spectators. A newspaper report stated: "... by far the largest crowd that ever witnessed a football game in Wilkes-Barre, and the cheering of the students seemed to startle the natives."[14] That was one of three Lafayette-Lehigh games that year; Lehigh won all three. The next meeting outside the Lehigh Valley did not take place until 2014, when the schools played at Yankee Stadium to commemorate the 150th game in the series.[13]

20th century

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Plaque on the Lafayette College campus in Easton commemorating The Rivalry

The Rivalry's football game was postponed only twice during the 20th century.[15] The first postponement occurred in 1904 because of the death of Dr. Henry S. Drown, president of Lehigh and former faculty member at Lafayette.[16] The only other postponement was in 1963 when the game was moved from November 23 to 30 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.[15][17]

During World War II, the war restricted travel to other opponents and Lehigh was hosting officer training programs which limited sports programs. Thus, to fill out their schedules, the nearby schools played two football games again in 1943 and 1944, with Lehigh students forming ad hoc teams just to keep The Rivalry tradition alive.[18] Between November 1943 and November 1947, Lafayette won six games in a row by a combined score of 193–0, but by the early 1950s Lehigh was winning in lopsided shutouts.

The combination of only missing one year of play since 1884, plus 19 years with two games and one year with three, has led to The Rivalry becoming the most played in college football.

Prior to 1991, when new rules and game start times were imposed, it was traditional for the fans to tear down the temporary wooden goalposts that the schools erected for the event.[19][20] The pieces were kept as souvenirs in the fraternities of each school. Eventually, taking down the goalposts got out of hand with students fighting for the torn down goal posts, and with each other, as early as before the third quarter. New rules were implemented for the 1991 game played at Lehigh when H-shaped steel goalposts anchored 10 feet into the ground were first used. The fans who rushed the field were frustrated by the new changes and showed this by tearing up and throwing pieces of sod at the security guards and police who were surrounding the posts. Only one fan actually was able to climb the posts, and when he was pulled down, he was maced and handcuffed.[20]

21st century

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Fisher Stadium's scoreboard in Easton following Lafayette College's victory over Lehigh in the 142nd edition of "The Rivalry" in 2006

Starting in the 2000s, the regular season ending game has often become a factor in deciding the winner of the Patriot League. During the 2004 and 2006 meetings, Lehigh came into Fisher Stadium leading Lafayette by one game. Due to tie breaking rules, the winner of the game would be crowned the League champion.[21] The second runner-up during this period was Colgate University, which had beaten Lafayette or Lehigh that year.

Following nine years of consecutive Lehigh victories, Lafayette earned a four-year parade of Lafayette victories from 2004 to 2007 wherein the Lehigh Class of 2008 witnessed no football victory against Lafayette at all. This was then reversed by Lehigh, with Lehigh running a five-year streak from 2008 to 2012, making the Lafayette Classes of 2012 and 2013 winless. The tide changed in 2013, when, for the first time since 2006, The Rivalry was played with a Patriot League championship on the line.[22] Much like in 2006, the Leopards jumped out to a large lead, fought off a Lehigh rally, and pulled away down the stretch, winning 50-28 and claiming the Patriot League crown outright, this time on their rival's home turf. Quarterback Drew Reed took MVP honors, becoming the first Lafayette freshman in almost 25 years to do so.[22]

150th meeting

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The 150th meeting of The Rivalry took place in 2014 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.[23][13] While this was the first neutral-site game in more than a century, Lafayette was the designated home team. The stadium was much larger than either school's regular venue, and likely larger than any venue where all but a tiny number of players from either side would ever play. Each team debuted special uniforms with Lafayette sporting a plain gray jersey, while Lehigh paid tribute to the stadium and usual home team by sporting a pinstripe jersey.

While Lafayette had won the last meeting, and had a slightly better record than their competitor, Lehigh's chances were vastly improved as Lafayette's starting and backup quarterbacks were injured in the previous game and in practice respectively, leaving third string senior Zach Zweizig to lead the team. Lafayette still won, defeating Lehigh 27–7.[23][24][25]

COVID-19 postponement

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The 157th meeting of The Rivalry and the first regular meeting of the rivalry after the COVID-19 pandemic at Goodman Stadium on November 20, 2021

The game was originally canceled in 2020 for the first time in 124 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of fall sports by the Patriot League. A decision was later made to move the Patriot League fall 2020 season to spring 2021, thereby allowing the Rivalry to remain uninterrupted in the school calendar year. Lafayette and Lehigh were originally scheduled to play on April 3, but the game was postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Lafayette program.[26] The teams eventually played on April 10, with Lafayette winning 20–13.[27]

Schedule deviation

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The two schools announced on May 25, 2023, that the venues for the games in 2024 and 2025 were swapped. Lehigh will host the matches in 2023 and 2024, with the contests moving to Lafayette in 2025 and 2026. The change was to accommodate Lafayette's bicentennial celebration in the 2025–26 academic year in honor of the school's 1826 founding. The Rivalry will revert to its regular venue schedule in 2027.[28]

Memorable moments

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No game in 1896

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The only season, and first calendar year, in which there was no game was 1896, when Lehigh refused to play Lafayette over a dispute about the eligibility of their best running back, George Barclay, who had played professional baseball at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, the previous summer. The question of his eligibility centered around whether Barclay had received more than reimbursement of travel expenses.[29]

Longest run in 1918

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During a 17–0 Lehigh victory in 1918, it is rumored that Lehigh halfback Raymond B. "Snooks" Dowd ran 115 yards for a touchdown. As Lehigh Athletic Media Relations relate the story, "Dowd ran the wrong way, circled his own goalposts," and then ran the length of the field for the touchdown eluding Lafayette's All-American linebacker Zac "Baker" Howes in the process.[30] Some reports have been exaggerated to credit the length of the run to as much as 160 yards.[31]

Overtime catch in 1995

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In the 1995 game, the first year in which the Patriot League used overtime, the game was decided in the second overtime session. Following a 30–30 regulation score and a scoreless first possession of overtime, Lehigh wide receiver Brian Klingerman caught a pass with one hand from quarterback Bob Aylsworth in the back of the end zone. The catch not only won the game for Lehigh, which trailed 30–14 midway in the fourth quarter, but led them to clinch the Patriot League championship.[30][32]

Lafayette's catch in 2005

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In the 2005 game played at Lehigh, Lafayette backup quarterback Pat Davis threw a 37-yard TD pass to running back Jonathan Hurt on 4th-and-10 with 38 seconds left to give the Leopards a 23–19 win. The victory gave Lafayette the second of three straight Patriot League championships and NCAA Division I-AA (FCS) Playoff appearances. Davis entered the game after Lafayette starting quarterback Brad Maurer, the MVP of wins in 2004 (24–10) and later 2006 (49–27), was injured on the game's first series.[33]

Lehigh's goalpost in 2024

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In the 160th meeting played in 2024 Lehigh would defeat Lafyatte 38–13 at home in front of a sellout 16,000 crowd, earning Lehigh its first winning season since 2016, and its 13th Patriot League championship and entry into the Division I FCS Playoffs.[34] After the game ended, Lehigh students stormed the field and tore down a goalpost, marching it more than four miles over South Mountain to throw it into the Lehigh River at the Fahy bridge.[35] This would be the first time that goalposts would come down at Lehigh since 1989.[36] Northampton County district attorney Stephen Baratta, a Lafayette alumnus, stated that the act constituted "criminal code violations" and that "this is not behavior that we can really sanction."[37]

Football record

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Summary

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160 meetings since 1884

Lafayette–Lehigh game results
from 1884 to 2024
Games won by Lafayette
82
Games won by Lehigh
73
Games tied
5

Game results

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Lafayette victoriesLehigh victoriesTie games
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
1 October 25, 1884 Easton Lafayette 56 Lehigh 0
2 November 12, 1884 Bethlehem Lafayette 34 Lehigh 4
3 October 31, 1885 Bethlehem Lafayette 6 Lehigh 0
4 November 21, 1885 Easton Tie6Tie6
5 November 6, 1886 Easton Lafayette 12 Lehigh 0
6 November 24, 1886 Bethlehem Lafayette 4 Lehigh 0
7 October 29, 1887 Bethlehem Lehigh 10 Lafayette 4
8 November 23, 1887 Easton Lafayette 6 Lehigh 0
9 November 17, 1888 Easton Lehigh 6 Lafayette 4
10 November 27, 1888 Bethlehem Lehigh 16 Lafayette 0
11 October 30, 1889 Bethlehem Lehigh 16 Lafayette 10
12 November 16, 1889 Easton Tie6Tie6
13 November 1, 1890 Easton Lehigh 30 Lafayette 0
14 November 15, 1890 Bethlehem Lehigh 66 Lafayette 6
15 November 4, 1891 Bethlehem Lehigh 22 Lafayette 4
16 November 11, 1891 Easton Lehigh 6 Lafayette 2
17 November 25, 1891 Wilkes-Barre Lehigh 16 Lafayette 2
18 November 5, 1892 Easton Lafayette 4 Lehigh 0
19 November 19, 1892 Bethlehem Lehigh 15 Lafayette 6
20 November 8, 1893 Bethlehem Lehigh 22 Lafayette 6
21 November 18, 1893 Easton Lehigh 10 Lafayette 0
22 November 14, 1894 Easton Lafayette 28 Lehigh 0
23 November 24, 1894 Bethlehem Lehigh 11 Lafayette 8
24 November 9, 1895 Bethlehem Lafayette 22 Lehigh 12
25 November 23, 1895 Easton Lafayette 14 Lehigh 0
26 October 30, 1897 Easton Lafayette 34 Lehigh 0
27 November 25, 1897 Bethlehem Lafayette 22 Lehigh 0
28 November 5, 1898 Bethlehem Lehigh 22 Lafayette 0
29 November 24, 1898 Easton Lafayette 11 Lehigh 5
30 November 4, 1899 Easton Lafayette 17 Lehigh 0
31 November 25, 1899 Bethlehem Lafayette 35 Lehigh 0
32 November 3, 1900 Bethlehem Lafayette 34 Lehigh 0
33 November 24, 1900 Easton Lafayette 18 Lehigh 0
34 November 1, 1901 Easton Lafayette 29 Lehigh 0
35 November 23, 1901 Bethlehem Lafayette 41 Lehigh 0
36 November 22, 1902 Easton Lehigh 6 Lafayette 0
37 November 21, 1903 Bethlehem Lehigh 12 Lafayette 6
38 November 24, 1904 Easton Lafayette 40 Lehigh 6
39 November 15, 1905 Bethlehem Lafayette 53 Lehigh 0
40 November 24, 1906 Easton Lafayette 33 Lehigh 0
41 November 23, 1907 Bethlehem Lafayette 22 Lehigh 5
42 November 21, 1908 Easton Lehigh 11 Lafayette 5
43 November 20, 1909 Bethlehem Lafayette 21 Lehigh 0
44 November 19, 1910 Easton Lafayette 14 Lehigh 0
45 November 25, 1911 Bethlehem Lafayette 11 Lehigh 0
46 November 23, 1912 Easton Lehigh 10 Lafayette 0
47 November 22, 1913 Bethlehem Lehigh 7 Lafayette 0
48 November 21, 1914 Easton Lehigh 17 Lafayette 7
49 November 20, 1915 Bethlehem Lafayette 35 Lehigh 6
50 November 25, 1916 Easton Lehigh 16 Lafayette 0
51 November 24, 1917 Bethlehem Lehigh 78 Lafayette 0
52 November 23, 1918 Easton Lehigh 17 Lafayette 0
53 November 22, 1919 Bethlehem Lafayette 10 Lehigh 6
54 November 20, 1920 Easton Lafayette 27 Lehigh 7
55 November 19, 1921 Bethlehem Lafayette 28 Lehigh 6
56 November 25, 1922 Easton Lafayette 3 Lehigh 0
57 November 24, 1923 Bethlehem Lafayette 13 Lehigh 3
58 November 22, 1924 Easton Lafayette 7 Lehigh 0
59 November 21, 1925 Bethlehem Lafayette 14 Lehigh 0
60 November 20, 1926 Easton Lafayette 35 Lehigh 0
61 November 19, 1927 Bethlehem Lafayette 43 Lehigh 0
62 November 24, 1928 Easton Lafayette 38 Lehigh 14
63 November 23, 1929 Bethlehem Lehigh 13 Lafayette 12
64 November 22, 1930 Easton Lafayette 16 Lehigh 6
65 November 21, 1931 Bethlehem Lafayette 13 Lehigh 7
66 November 19, 1932 Easton Lafayette 25 Lehigh 6
67 November 25, 1933 Bethlehem Lafayette 54 Lehigh 12
68 November 24, 1934 Easton Lehigh 13 Lafayette 7
69 November 23, 1935 Bethlehem Lehigh 48 Lafayette 0
70 November 21, 1936 Easton Lehigh 18 Lafayette 0
71 November 20, 1937 Bethlehem Lafayette 6 Lehigh 0
72 November 19, 1938 Easton Lafayette 6 Lehigh 0
73 November 25, 1939 Bethlehem Lafayette 29 Lehigh 13
74 November 23, 1940 Easton Lafayette 46 Lehigh 0
75 November 22, 1941 Bethlehem Lafayette 47 Lehigh 7
76 November 21, 1942 Easton Tie7Tie7
77 October 23, 1943 Easton Lafayette 39 Lehigh 7
78 November 27, 1943 Bethlehem Lafayette 58 Lehigh 0
79 October 21, 1944 Bethlehem Lafayette 44 Lehigh 0
80 November 18, 1944 Easton Lafayette 64 Lehigh 0
81 November 24, 1945 Bethlehem Lafayette 7 Lehigh 0
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
82 November 23, 1946 Easton Lafayette 13 Lehigh 0
83 November 22, 1947 Bethlehem Lafayette 7 Lehigh 0
84 November 20, 1948 Easton Lafayette 23 Lehigh 13
85 November 19, 1949 Bethlehem Lafayette 21 Lehigh 12
86 November 18, 1950 Easton Lehigh 38 Lafayette 0
87 November 17, 1951 Bethlehem Lehigh 32 Lafayette 0
88 November 22, 1952 Easton Lehigh 14 Lafayette 7
89 November 21, 1953 Bethlehem Lafayette 33 Lehigh 13
90 November 20, 1954 Easton Lafayette 46 Lehigh 0
91 November 19, 1955 Bethlehem Lafayette 35 Lehigh 6
92 November 17, 1956 Easton Lehigh 27 Lafayette 10
93 November 23, 1957 Bethlehem Lehigh 26 Lafayette 13
94 November 22, 1958 Easton Tie14Tie14
95 November 21, 1959 Bethlehem Lafayette 28 Lehigh 6
96 November 19, 1960 Easton Lehigh 26 Lafayette 3
97 November 18, 1961 Bethlehem Lehigh 17 Lafayette 14
98 November 17, 1962 Easton Lehigh 13 Lafayette 6
99 November 30, 1963 Bethlehem Lehigh 15 Lafayette 8
100 November 21, 1964 Easton Tie6Tie6
101 November 20, 1965 Bethlehem Lehigh 20 Lafayette 14
102 November 19, 1966 Easton Lafayette 16 Lehigh 0
103 November 18, 1967 Bethlehem Lafayette 6 Lehigh 0
104 November 23, 1968 Easton Lehigh 21 Lafayette 6
105 November 22, 1969 Bethlehem Lehigh 36 Lafayette 19
106 November 21, 1970 Easton Lafayette 31 Lehigh 28
107 November 20, 1971 Bethlehem Lehigh 48 Lafayette 19
108 November 18, 1972 Easton Lehigh 14 Lafayette 6
109 November 17, 1973 Bethlehem Lehigh 45 Lafayette 13
110 November 23, 1974 Easton Lehigh 57 Lafayette 7
111 November 22, 1975 Bethlehem Lehigh 40 Lafayette 14
112 November 20, 1976 Easton Lafayette 21 Lehigh 17
113 November 19, 1977 Bethlehem Lehigh 35 Lafayette 17
114 November 18, 1978 Easton Lehigh 23 Lafayette 15
115 November 17, 1979 Bethlehem Lehigh 24 Lafayette 3
116 November 22, 1980 Easton Lehigh 32 Lafayette 0
117 November 21, 1981 Bethlehem Lafayette 10 Lehigh 3
118 November 20, 1982 Easton Lafayette 34 Lehigh 6
119 November 19, 1983 Bethlehem Lehigh 22 Lafayette 14
120 November 17, 1984 Easton Lafayette 28 Lehigh 7
121 November 23, 1985 Bethlehem Lehigh 24 Lafayette 19
122 November 22, 1986 Easton Lafayette 28 Lehigh 23
123 November 21, 1987 Bethlehem Lehigh 17 Lafayette 10
124 November 19, 1988 Easton Lafayette 52 Lehigh 45
125 November 18, 1989 Bethlehem Lafayette 36 Lehigh 21
126 November 17, 1990 Easton Lehigh 35 Lafayette 14
127 November 23, 1991 Bethlehem Lehigh 36 Lafayette 18
128 November 21, 1992 Easton Lafayette 32 Lehgh 29
129 November 20, 1993 Bethlehem Lehigh 39 Lafayette 14
130 November 19, 1994 Easton Lafayette 54 Lehigh 20
131 November 18, 1995 Bethlehem Lehigh 37 Lafayette 30
132 November 23, 1996 Easton Lehigh 23 Lafayette 19
133 November 22, 1997 Bethlehem Lehigh 43 Lafayette 31
134 November 21, 1998 Easton Lehigh 31 Lafayette 7
135 November 20, 1999 Bethlehem Lehigh 14 Lafayette 12
136 November 18, 2000 Easton Lehigh 31 Lafayette 17
137 November 17, 2001 Bethlehem Lehigh 41 Lafayette 6
138 November 23, 2002 Easton Lafayette 14 Lehigh 7
139 November 22, 2003 Bethlehem Lehigh 30 Lafayette 10
140 November 20, 2004 Easton Lafayette 24 Lehigh 10
141 November 19, 2005 Bethlehem Lafayette 23 Lehigh 19
142 November 18, 2006 Easton Lafayette 49 Lehigh 27
143 November 17, 2007 Bethlehem Lafayette 21 Lehigh 17
144 November 22, 2008 Easton Lehigh 31 Lafayette 15
145 November 21, 2009 Bethlehem Lehigh 27 Lafayette 21
146 November 20, 2010 Easton Lehigh 20 Lafayette 13
147 November 19, 2011 Bethlehem Lehigh 37 Lafayette 13
148 November 17, 2012 Easton Lehigh 38 Lafayette 21
149 November 23, 2013 Bethlehem Lafayette 50 Lehigh 28
150 November 22, 2014 The Bronx, NY Lafayette 27 Lehigh 7
151 November 21, 2015 Bethlehem Lehigh 49 Lafayette 35
152 November 19, 2016 Easton Lehigh 45 Lafayette 21
153 November 18, 2017 Bethlehem Lehigh 38 Lafayette 31
154 November 17, 2018 Easton Lehigh 34 Lafayette 3
155 November 23, 2019 Bethlehem Lafayette 17 Lehigh 16
156 April 10, 2021[a] Easton Lafayette 20 Lehigh 13
157 November 20, 2021 Bethlehem Lehigh 17 Lafayette 10
158 November 19, 2022 Easton Lafayette 14 Lehigh 11
159 November 18, 2023 Bethlehem Lafayette 49 Lehigh 21
160 November 23, 2024 Bethlehem Lehigh 38 Lafayette 14
Series: Lafayette leads 82–73–5
  1. ^ November 21, 2020, game was postponed to April 10, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All Sports Trophy

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The Rivalry was 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.

All Sports Trophy record

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Men's sports
  • Years won by Lehigh – 34
  • Years won by Lafayette – 2
  • Ties – 6
Women's sports
  • Years won by Lafayette – 12
  • Years won by Lehigh – 10
  • Ties – 0

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lopresti, Mike (September 19, 2017). "7 of the most-played college football rivalries of all time". NCAA.com. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  2. ^ "Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry makes history". Lehigh Valley Live. November 15, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  3. ^ ""The Rivalry" that transcends the game". cfbhall.com. College Football Hall of Fame. November 19, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  4. ^ "'The Rivalry' Pauses as Patriot League Cancels Fall Sports". Lehigh University. July 23, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  5. ^ "Lafayette-Lehigh Rivalry to be Featured by ESPN". Lafayette Athletics. Lafayette College. October 11, 2006. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  6. ^ "Ranking the Top 25 Rivalries in College Football History". November 27, 2022.
  7. ^ "150th Lafayette-Lehigh Meeting to be Played at Yankee Stadium in 2014". Lafayette Athletics. Patriot League. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  8. ^ Whelan, Frank; Metz, Lance (1990). The Diaries of Robert Hersham Sayre. Lehigh University.
  9. ^ March, Francis A. (1926). Athletics at Lafayette College. Easton, PA: Lafayette College.
  10. ^ Bowen, Catherine Drinker (1924). History of Lehigh University. The Lehigh Alumni Bulletin.
  11. ^ "At no other time…". Lafayette College Journal. 6 (9): 1–2. June 1881. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
  12. ^ "Most-Played Football Rivalry in History". Lafayette College. September 15, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  13. ^ a b c Golditch, Mitch (November 19, 2014). "Rivalry Earns Its Pinstripes". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  14. ^ The Lafayette Weekly, Volume 18. 1891. p. 95. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  15. ^ a b "The Lafayette-lehigh Football Rivalry By The Numbers 0 -- * Scoreless Ties". The Morning Call. November 22, 1996. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  16. ^ The School Journal, Vol 69. 1904. pp. E.L. Kellogg & Co. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  17. ^ Russo, Ralph D. (November 21, 2014). "Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry reaches 150 on big stage". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  18. ^ "Lehigh vs Lafayette Football History". Lehigh Athletics. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  19. ^ Hiserman, Mike (November 19, 2011). "In many ways, 'The Rivalry' between Lehigh, Lafayette is unrivaled". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  20. ^ a b "Post-game Melee and New Concern". The New York Times. December 1, 1991. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  21. ^ "Lafayette 24, Lehigh 10". ESPN. November 20, 2004. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  22. ^ a b "149th Lafayette-Lehigh Game will Decide Patriot League Title". The Lafayette. November 19, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  23. ^ a b Rawlins, John (November 20, 2014). "Lafayette vs. Lehigh rivalry 150 years in the making". 6abc. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  24. ^ "Lafayette Leopards win storied rivalry anniversary game against Lehigh". The Morning Call. November 22, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  25. ^ Joyce, Greg (November 22, 2014). "Lafayette football team runs past Lehigh in 150th Rivalry game at Yankee Stadium". Lehigh Valley Live.
  26. ^ "Saturday's Lehigh–Lafayette Clash Postponed" (Press release). Lehigh Mountain Hawks. March 30, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  27. ^ Groller, Keith (April 11, 2021). "Lehigh finally reaches end zone, but not enough in a 20-13 loss to Lafayette". The Morning Call. Allentown, PA. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  28. ^ "Football Rivalry Sites to Shift in Upcoming Seasons Due to Lafayette Bicentennial," Lehigh University Athletics, Thursday, May 25, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  29. ^ March, Francis A. (1926). Athletics at Lafayette College. Easton, Pennsylvania: Lafayette College. pp. 150–151.
  30. ^ a b "Lehigh Football Game Notes, Lehigh vs. Lafayette, 139th Meeting" (PDF). Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  31. ^ Rappaport, Ken; Wilner, Barry (2007). Football Feuds: The Greatest College Football Rivalries. Globe Pequot. ISBN 978-1-59921-014-8.
  32. ^ Blockus, Gary R. (November 19, 1995). "Klingerman, Aylsworth Go Out Champs". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  33. ^ "Davis Heave to Hurt Beats Lehigh 23-19". goleopards.com. November 19, 2005. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  34. ^ "WATCH: Lehigh fans tear down goalpost after win over Lafayette. See where it ended up". The Morning Call. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  35. ^ Werner, Barry. "Lehigh fans throw goalposts in river after winning Patriot League title". touchdownwire. USA Today. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  36. ^ Blake, Corky. "Lehigh football plows through rival Lafayette for Patriot League title in No. 160". The Express-Times. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  37. ^ Deegan, Jim. "Bad news for Lehigh goalpost revelers: The county prosecutor is a Lafayette alum". Lehigh Valley News. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
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