AP Was There: 50th anniversary of famed Harvard-Yale tie

Published Nov. 16, 2018 10:35 a.m. ET

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Harvard and Yale were both undefeated in 1968 heading into what was already almost a century-old rivalry, so that year's edition of The Game was destined to be remembered on both campuses no matter how it ended.

But what an ending it was.

Harvard rallied from a 22-0 deficit, scoring 16 points in the final 42 seconds for a result the school newspaper commemorated with the headline: "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29."

The Tie shared the sports pages the next day with O.J. Simpson breaking the NCAA record for rushing yards in a season, and baseball announcing plans for to decide the pennants with its first five-game playoffs. In basketball, UCLA was a unanimous pick as preseason No. 1 in what was then The Associated Press Top 10; Lew Alcindor — not yet Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — and John Wooden would lead the Bruins to the third of what would become seven straight NCAA titles.

The golden age of sports coincided with a tumultuous time across the country, from the rioting at the Democratic National Convention, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. On the Harvard and Yale campuses, some students protested the Vietnam War; others, including Crimson safety Pat Conway, had fought in it.

Fifty years later, the schools meet for the 135th time this Saturday at Fenway Park — their first neutral site since 1894.

Here is the story that the AP sent to its member newspapers from The Game on Nov. 23, 1968: