That set up the big one, for the loser would be eliminated from the title chase. "Haggerty's running was worth the price of admission," Devore's report said, and he may have been right.ĭespite a muddy field and pouring ran-Cornell had no artificial turf in those days-Haggerty rushed for 148 yards in 15 carries, netting two touchdowns on runs of 64 and 47 yards, plus an 84-yard return to set a school scoring record and Ivy League rushing mark. The New York Times thought so much of Columbia's win, they noted it ahead of Kelso, the wonder horse, in their Sunday front-page headlines.Īfter a 14-7 upset by a huge Lehigh team, Columbia rebounded once again to blast the Big Red. The trio outgained the entire Harvard team, 236 yards to 158, and Warren even foiled a late Crimson threat when he used his speed to deflect a lateral and recover it. Tom Haggerty scored two touchdowns, Tom O'Connor and Russ Warren had one each as the Light Blue scored 20 second quarter points and held on for the win. It was a fitting homecoming for the Massachusetts boys. As manager Larry Devore wrote in the official game report, "It was quite a day for Columbia." Butts also intercepted another pass, and was voted Ivy Back of the Week, while guard Tony Day, who had a key fumble recovery, made the All-East Team. But the Lions were more than equal to the task, scoring a second period touchdown and getting a late field goal, while the defense gave the Elis their first shutout since 1958.Īl Butts, a sophomore making his first start, scored on a 4-yard slant, and then set up a field goal with a pass interception at the Lions' 38. Still smarting from the Princeton game, they had to tackle undefeated (through 11 games) Yale, the defending Ivy League champs. Before the first period was over, they had scored, and before the day was over-though militantly pushed around by our sturdy force-they had feloniously stolen the game."įrom the frying pan into the fire was Columbia's plight. It is those damned Princetonians and they're in again. Tom O'Connor had given Columbia the lead with two early touchdowns, one of 47 yards, and Russ Warren scored again to make it 20-15, but Princeton roared back behind quarterback Jim Rockenback, who passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, and tailback Greg Riley, who ran 87 yards for the clinching score.Īs sports writer Stanley Woodward of the New York Herald Tribune wrote, "But soft, what baleful light o'er yonder Hudson breaks. More than 23,000 Homecoming fans were on hand in the old wooden stadium, but they were unable to rally the Lions. It appeared that Columbia's chance of beating Princeton for the first time since 1945 looked good, but the Lions disappointed the home folks in their Baker Field opener by relinquishing 14-0 and 20-15 leads to fall, 30-20. "Columbia played as if the title was on the line," wrote one New York Times man, while another wrote a few weeks later, "nothing…has been quite so eye-popping as the 50-0 victory. Fellow running back Tom Haggerty also had two touchdowns, and the writers went wild. Senior Russell Warren scored three touchdowns to make Ivy Back of the Week, one on a 5-yard run, one on a 44-yard pass from Tommy Vasell, and one on a 26-yard return after Lee Black had blocked a punt. They scored their first touchdown just minutes into the game, following a three-yard punt, then added two more for a 22-0 first quarter lead. Columbia was picked for only sixth, despite four votes for the top spot.įew were prepared for the Brown blastoff when Columbia scored the most points in its Ivy League history by beating Brown 50-0 in Providence. Several writers picked Dartmouth to win the Ivy League, while 55 writers and broadcasters tabbed Yale to repeat as Ivy champions, with Cornell the second choice. The football picture closer to home was strictly status quo, however. Amateur Championship, while still an undergraduate at Ohio State, and the antics of a frantic, scrambling rookie quarterback named Fran Tarkenton were making not only his Minnesota Vikings teammates, but the whole NFL sit up and take notice. Both were on target for Babe Ruth's 60 home runs would either get it? Jack Nicklaus was the favorite to win the U.S. On the playing fields, all eyes were on Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle of the Yankees. Kennedy and Russia's Nikita Khruschev, and the U.S. There was the Berlin crisis, matching President John F. NEW YORK-The fall of 1961 was an exciting one in the world. This story appears on page 34 and 35 of tomorrow's game day program. Dawson '87CC, an undergraduate intern in the Columbia Sports Information Office. Article based on the research of Richard F. This story and memories are reprinted from Columbia's 1986 Homecoming Game Program, which celebrated the 25-year anniversary of the 1961 Ivy League championship team. Great Columbia Teams: 1961 Ivy League Champions.
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