Old rivals set to battle at Fenway Park

NEW HAVEN — The last time Yale and Harvard played football on a neutral site the President of the United States was Grover Cleveland.

That November 1894 contest, played in Springfield, Massachusetts, would become known as the Hampden Park Blood Bath. It was filled with so many cheap shots and broken bones administrators suspended The Game for the next two years.

Boston’s Fenway Park becomes the first neutral site for a Yale-Harvard game in 124 years. Just don’t expect a similar outbreak of violence when the teams collide on Saturday (noon, ESPN2).

For the first time since 2012 The Game has no Ivy League championship implications, just two teams playing for pride after seasons that didn’t live up to expectations.

Yale (5-4, 3-3) was the favorite to win the Ivy in the preseason polls, but suffered through injuries and a couple of disappointing losses. Harvard (5-4, 3-3) has bounced back after losing three of four games in October, dispatching of Columbia and Penn with ease.

With nothing tangible at stake, the day is as much about nostalgia.

This marks the 50th anniversary of the most famous tie in college football history. Sixty-five members of the Crimson’s 1968 team are expected to be on hand Saturday to celebrate their stunning 29-29 deadlock against one of the best teams ever fielded by Yale.

You already know the story. Yale hadn’t trailed all season and was a heavy favorite, yet allowed two touchdowns and two 2point conversions in the final 42 seconds to tie, leading to the infamous Harvard Crimson newspaper headline, “Harvard Beats Yale 29-29.”

Brian Dowling, Yale’s star quarterback in ’68, and Vic Gatto, 50 years ago a fullback for Harvard, will take part in the pregame coin flip, with members of

Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Running back Alan Lamar and the Yale football team take on rival Harvard on Saturday at Fenway Park in Boston.