1970 Lafayette Leopards football team

The 1970 Lafayette Leopards football team was an American football team that represented Lafayette College as an independent during the 1970 NCAA College Division football season. In their fourth and final year under head coach Harry Gamble, the Leopards compiled a 6–5 record.^[1] Richard McKay was the team captain.^[2]

1970 Lafayette Leopards football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Harry Gamble (4th season)
Captain	Richard McKay
Home stadium	Fisher Field
Seasons ← 1969 1971 →

1970 NCAA College Division independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Tampa			–					10	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Tennessee State			–					10	–	0	–	0
No. 11 Delaware			–					9	–	2	–	0
Hawaii			–					9	–	2	–	0
Northern Michigan			–					8	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Eastern Michigan			–					7	–	2	–	1
Akron			–					7	–	3	–	0
Central Michigan			–					7	–	3	–	0
Temple			–					7	–	3	–	0
Drake			–					7	–	4	–	0
Wayne State (MI)			–					6	–	2	–	0
Arkansas AM&N			–					6	–	3	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					6	–	3	–	0
St. Norbert			–					6	–	3	–	0
Nevada			–					6	–	3	–	1
Portland State			–					6	–	4	–	0
UNLV			–					6	–	4	–	0
Boston University			–					5	–	4	–	0
Cortland			–					5	–	4	–	0
Indiana (PA)			–					5	–	4	–	0
Santa Clara			–					5	–	4	–	1
Lafayette			–					6	–	5	–	0
Colorado College			–					4	–	4	–	0
Drexel			–					4	–	4	–	0
Hofstra			–					5	–	5	–	0
Indiana State			–					5	–	5	–	0
Samford			–					5	–	5	–	0
Wabash			–					3	–	3	–	2
Saint Mary's			–					3	–	4	–	0
Ashland			–					4	–	6	–	0
Bucknell			–					4	–	6	–	0
Lehigh			–					4	–	6	–	0
Rose Poly			–					3	–	5	–	1
Northeastern			–					3	–	5	–	0
Indiana Central			–					3	–	6	–	0
Lake Forest			–					3	–	6	–	0
Kentucky State			–					3	–	6	–	0
Chicago			–					2	–	5	–	0
Chattanooga			–					3	–	8	–	0
Parsons			–					2	–	7	–	0
Eastern Illinois			–					2	–	8	–	0
Milwaukee			–					1	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP small college poll

Following the decision by the Middle Atlantic Conference to end football competition in its University Division, the Leopards competed as a football independent in 1970, though five of the former league rivals (Bucknell, Delaware, Gettysburg, Lafayette and Lehigh) continued to play an informal round-robin called the "Middle Five".^[3] The three-way rivalry with Lehigh and Rutgers remained on Lafayette's football schedule, but press reports in 1970 make no mention of a Middle Three Conference champion.

Lafayette played its home games at Fisher Field on College Hill in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	East Stroudsburg	Fisher Field Easton, PA	W 27–16	7,000–9,500	[4]
September 19	at Rutgers	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 16–41	13,000	[5]
September 26	at Columbia	Baker Field New York, NY	L 9–23	5,079	[6]
October 3	Drexel	Fisher Field Easton, PA	W 19–14	6,500	[7]
October 10	at No. 11 Delaware	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	L 20–36	17,116	[8]
October 17	at Penn	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	L 20–31	7,913–7,933	[9]
October 24	at Bucknell	Memorial Stadium Lewisburg, PA	L 28–30	10,000–10,115	[10]
October 31	Gettysburg	Fisher Field Easton, PA	W 21–14	8,200–8,500	[11]
November 7	at Davidson	Richardson Stadium Davidson, NC	W 53–34	4,500	[12]
November 14	Vermont	Fisher Field Easton, PA	W 31–14	4,000–6,000	[13]
November 21	Lehigh	Fisher Field Easton, PA (The Rivalry)	W 31–28	17,000	[14]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[15]

References

1. "Lafayette Football 1963-1986". 2019 Lafayette Football Record Book (PDF). Easton, Pa.: Lafayette College. p. 104. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
2. "Team Captains 1882-2019". 2019 Lafayette Football Record Book (PDF). Easton, Pa.: Lafayette College. p. 97. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
3. Bodley, Hal (July 31, 1970). "Yankee for Hens?". Evening Journal. Wilmington, Del. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Reinhard, Paul (September 13, 1970). "Lafayette Rally Beats ESSC 27-16". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Reinhard, Paul (September 20, 1970). "Lafayette Bows 41-16 to Rugged Rutgers". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Werden, Lincoln A. (September 27, 1970). "Columbia Downs Lafayette, 23-9". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
7. "Lafayette Nips Drexel as Defense Holds Off Dragons in 4th Period". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. Associated Press. October 4, 1970. sect. 3, p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Reinhard, Paul (October 11, 1970). "Delaware Outlasts Lafayette". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Dell, John (October 18, 1970). "Penn Clips Lafayette; Odell Gets Game Ball". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. sect. 3, p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Reinhard, Paul (October 25, 1970). "Bucknell Nips the Leopards". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Reinhard, Paul (November 1, 1970). "Slump Ended by Lafayette". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
12. White, Dale (November 8, 1970). "Leopards Outscore Defenseless Davidson, 53-34". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, N.C. p. 2F – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Lafayette's 53-34 Win Is Biggest Since 1948". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. November 8, 1970. sect. 3, p. 2.
13. Reinhard, Paul (November 15, 1970). "Vermont Drops 9th; Lafayette Breezes 31-14". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Lafayette Wallops Vermont". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. November 15, 1970. p. 89.
14. Reinhard, Paul (November 22, 1970). "Lafayette Tops Lehigh 31-28; FG by Nowell Saves Leopards". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Final 1970 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Lafayette)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved August 16, 2024.