Harvard–Princeton football rivalry

The Harvard–Princeton football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Harvard Crimson football team of Harvard University and the Princeton Tigers football team of Princeton University.^[1][2] Princeton leads the series 60–49–7.

Harvard–Princeton football rivalry

Harvard Crimson Princeton Tigers
First meeting	April 28, 1877 Harvard, 1–0
Latest meeting	October 26, 2024 Harvard, 45–13
Next meeting	2025
Statistics
Meetings total	116
All-time series	Princeton leads 60–49–7
Largest victory	Harvard, 49–7 (2014)
Longest win streak	Harvard, 9 (1996–2004)
Current win streak	Harvard, 1 (2024–present)

100km
62miles

Harvard

Princeton

  

Locations of Harvard and Princeton

Significance

The football rivalry is constituent to the Big Three academic, athletic and social rivalry among alumni and students associated with Harvard, Yale and Princeton universities.

Agreements among the athletics departments in 1906, 1916, the "Three Presidents Agreement" on eligibility,^[3] and a revision of that Agreement in 1923 have been considered precursors to the Ivy Group Agreement creating the Ivy League, each agreement addressing amateurism and college football.^[4]

Twenty eight different teams, 17 representing Harvard and 11 representing Princeton, have shared or won outright the Ivy League football title.

Bad blood has flowed between the two football programs. Princeton, for example, turned down Harvard's offer of a Thanksgiving Day contest in 1892, with Harvard refusing to play Princeton that season.^[5]

The 1920s was a nadir for athletic relations between the institutions.^[vague]

Harvard and Princeton ceased the football series for nearly a decade, 1926 – 1934, in part because of an over the top Harvard Lampoon spoof issue of The Harvard Crimson distributed during the 1926 contest that announced the death of Princeton's head coach, Bill Roper, a man who had a history of serious illness. Roper, who coached Princeton's Team of Destiny,^[6] is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. William J. Bingham, a Harvard alumnus and athletics administrator, decided Harvard football could not guarantee to play any football program save Yale. That Harvard wanted to play a national schedule was the declared reason for the change.^[7]

Notable games

1926

Princeton shut out Harvard, 12–0, then shunned Harvard for eight football seasons; then Princeton shut out Harvard, 19–0, in 1934. Thereafter, save the World War II years, the two programs have met annually.

1950

The 1950 Princeton Tigers football team, coached by former Princeton player Charley Caldwell, claimed a national title. The undefeated, untied team embarrassed Harvard, 63–26, at Palmer Stadium en route to a HYP and other championships.

1951

The 1951 Princeton football team crushed the Crimson, 54–13 in Boston.

1967

Ellis Moore ran for five touchdowns versus Harvard. Moore's effort is the 20th-century Princeton record for rushing touchdowns in a game. Princeton won, 45–6. Moore rushed for three touchdowns versus Harvard two seasons later.

2012

Quinn Epperly tossed, with 0:13 remaining in the game, a 36-yard touchdown to Roman Wilson to take the lead and win eventually, 39–34, at Princeton Stadium. Harvard led, 34–10, early in the fourth quarter. Wilson caught five passes.

2016

"Princeton certainly didn't deserve to lose the game,"^[8] Harvard's Tim Murphy said, a sentiment shared at least by Princeton partisans, after Harvard's 23 – 20 win at Princeton University Stadium. Joe Viviano, Harvard quarterback, scored from the one on second down after Princeton settled for a field goal in overtime. Harvard's Luke Hutton defended successfully a pass play at the one yard line during Princeton's overtime possession.

Princeton shares League title with Penn after Yale defeats Harvard later in the season, denying Harvard a fourth-straight outright or shared League title.

Game results

Harvard victories

Princeton victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 April 28, 1877 Boston, MA Harvard 1–0 2 November 3, 1877 St. George's CC Princeton 1–0 3 November 16, 1878 Boston, MA Princeton 1–0 4 November 15, 1879 St. George's CC Princeton 1–0 5 November 13, 1880 Princeton, NJ Princeton 1–0 6 November 19, 1881 Princeton, NJ Tie 0–0 7 November 18, 1882 Cambridge, MA Harvard 1–0 8 November 17, 1883 Princeton, NJ Princeton 26–7 9 November 19, 1884 Cambridge, MA Princeton 36–6 10 November 13, 1886 Princeton, NJ Princeton 12–0 11 November 12, 1887 Cambridge, MA Harvard 12–0 12 November 17, 1888 Princeton, NJ Princeton 18–6 13 November 16, 1889 Cambridge, MA Princeton 41–15 14 November 2, 1895 Princeton, NJ Princeton 12–4 15 November 7, 1896 Allston, MA Princeton 12–0 16 November 4, 1911 Princeton, NJ Princeton 8–6 17 November 2, 1912 Allston, MA Harvard 16–6 18 November 8, 1913 Princeton, NJ Harvard 3–0 19 November 7, 1914 Allston, MA Harvard 20–0 20 November 6, 1915 Princeton, NJ Harvard 10–6 21 November 11, 1916 Allston, MA Harvard 3–0 22 November 8, 1919 Princeton, NJ Tie 10–10 23 November 6, 1920 Allston, MA Tie 14–14 24 November 5, 1921 Princeton, NJ Princeton 10–3 25 November 11, 1922 Allston, MA Princeton 10–3 26 November 10, 1923 Princeton, NJ Harvard 5–0 27 November 8, 1924 Allston, MA Princeton 34–0 28 November 7, 1925 Princeton, NJ Princeton 36–0 29 November 6, 1926 Allston, MA Princeton 12–0 30 November 3, 1934 Allston, MA Princeton 19–0 31 November 9, 1935 Princeton, NJ Princeton 35–0 32 October 31, 1936 Allston, MA Tie 14–14 33 October 30, 1937 Princeton, NJ Harvard 34–6 34 October 29, 1938 Allston, MA Harvard 26–7 35 November 4, 1939 Princeton, NJ Princeton 9–6 36 November 2, 1940 Allston, MA Tie 0–0 37 November 1, 1941 Princeton, NJ Harvard 6–4 38 October 31, 1942 Allston, MA Harvard 19–14 39 October 12, 1946 Princeton, NJ Harvard 13–12 40 November 8, 1947 Allston, MA Princeton 33–7 41 November 6, 1948 Princeton, NJ Princeton 47–7 42 November 5, 1949 Allston, MA Princeton 33–13 43 November 11, 1950 Princeton, NJ Princeton 63–26 44 November 10, 1951 Allston, MA Princeton 54–13 45 November 8, 1952 Princeton, NJ Princeton 41–21 46 November 7, 1953 Allston, MA Princeton 6–0 47 November 6, 1954 Princeton, NJ Harvard 14–9 48 November 5, 1955 Allston, MA Harvard 7–6 49 November 10, 1956 Princeton, NJ Princeton 35–20 50 November 9, 1957 Allston, MA Princeton 28–20 51 November 8, 1958 Princeton, NJ Princeton 16–14 52 November 7, 1959 Allston, MA Harvard 14–0 53 November 5, 1960 Princeton, NJ Princeton 14–12 54 November 11, 1961 Allston, MA Harvard 9–7 55 November 10, 1962 Princeton, NJ Harvard 20–0 56 November 9, 1963 Allston, MA Harvard 21–7 57 November 7, 1964 Princeton, NJ Princeton 16–0 58 November 6, 1965 Allston, MA Princeton 14–6 59 November 5, 1966 Princeton, NJ Princeton 18–14 No. Date Location Winner Score 60 November 11, 1967 Allston, MA Princeton 45–6 61 November 9, 1968 Princeton, NJ Harvard 9–7 62 November 8, 1969 Allston, MA Princeton 51–20 63 November 7, 1970 Princeton, NJ Harvard 29–7 64 November 6, 1971 Allston, MA Princeton 21–10 65 November 11, 1972 Princeton, NJ Princeton 10–7 66 November 10, 1973 Allston, MA Harvard 19–14 67 November 9, 1974 Princeton, NJ Harvard 34–17 68 November 8, 1975 Allston, MA Princeton 24–20 69 October 23, 1976 Princeton, NJ Harvard 20–14 70 October 22, 1977 Allston, MA Princeton 20–7 71 October 28, 1978 Princeton, NJ Tie 24–24 72 October 27, 1979 Allston, MA Princeton 9–7 73 October 25, 1980 Princeton, NJ Princeton 7–3 74 October 24, 1981 Allston, MA Tie 17–17 75 October 23, 1982 Princeton, NJ Harvard 27–15 76 October 22, 1983 Allston, MA Harvard 28–26 77 October 27, 1984 Princeton, NJ Harvard 17–15 78 October 26, 1985 Allston, MA Princeton 11–6 79 October 25, 1986 Princeton, NJ Princeton 14–3 80 October 24, 1987 Allston, MA Harvard 24–19 81 October 22, 1988 Princeton, NJ Princeton 23–8 82 October 28, 1989 Allston, MA Princeton 28–14 83 October 20, 1990 Princeton, NJ Harvard 23–20 84 October 26, 1991 Allston, MA Harvard 24–21 85 October 24, 1992 Princeton, NJ Princeton 21–6 86 October 23, 1993 Allston, MA Princeton 21–10 87 October 22, 1994 Princeton, NJ Princeton 18–7 88 October 21, 1995 Allston, MA Princeton 14–3 89 October 26, 1996 Princeton, NJ Harvard 24–0 90 October 25, 1997 Allston, MA Harvard 14–12 91 October 24, 1998 Princeton, NJ Harvard 23–22 92 October 23, 1999 Allston, MA Harvard 13–6 93 October 21, 2000 Princeton, NJ Harvard 35–21 94 October 20, 2001 Allston, MA Harvard 28–26 95 October 26, 2002 Princeton, NJ Harvard 24–17 96 October 25, 2003 Allston, MA Harvard 43–402OT 97 October 23, 2004 Princeton, NJ Harvard 39–14 98 October 22, 2005 Allston, MA Princeton 27–24 99 October 21, 2006 Princeton, NJ Princeton 34–31 100 October 20, 2007 Allston, MA Harvard 27–10 101 October 25, 2008 Princeton, NJ Harvard 24–20 102 October 24, 2009 Allston, MA Harvard 37–3 103 October 23, 2010 Princeton, NJ Harvard 45–28 104 October 22, 2011 Allston, MA Harvard 56–39 105 October 20, 2012 Princeton, NJ Princeton 39–34 106 October 26, 2013 Allston, MA Princeton 51–483OT 107 October 25, 2014 Princeton, NJ Harvard 49–7 108 October 24, 2015 Allston, MA Harvard 42–7 109 October 22, 2016 Princeton, NJ Harvard 23–20OT 110 October 20, 2017 Allston, MA Princeton 52–17 111 October 20, 2018 Allston, MA Princeton 29–21 112 October 26, 2019 Princeton, NJ Princeton 30–24 113 October 23, 2021 Princeton, NJ Princeton 18–165OT 114 October 21, 2022 Allston, MA Princeton 37–10 115 October 21, 2023 Princeton, NJ Princeton 21–14 116 October 26, 2024 Allston, MA Harvard 45–14 Series: Princeton leads 60–49–7

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games
• List of most-played college football series in NCAA Division I

References

1. "Harvard—Princeton Rivalry".
2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. The Harvard Crimson, Princeton: A Second-Class Power? Was treated as Such the Roaring Twenties, November 10, 1961, by line James R. Ullyot
4. The "Big Three" and the Harvard-Princeton Football Break, 1926 – 1934, by Marcia G. Synott, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, Journal of Sport History, University of Illinois Press, pg. 188
5. princeton.edu/mudd/2014/11/a-princeton-thanksgiving
6. Princeton Football, Arcadia Press, Mount Pleasant, SC, by Mark F. Bernstein, 2009, pg. 50
7. Harvard Crimson, Princeton A Second Class Power? Was Treated As Such the Roaring Twenties, November 10, 1961, by line James R. Ullyot
8. The Boston Globe, October 22, 2016, Harvard Princeton game story, by line Paul Franklin, Globe Correspondent