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Post by hc87 on Sept 12, 2017 17:57:43 GMT -5
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Post by nhteamer on Sept 13, 2017 7:57:28 GMT -5
was it in the obituaries?
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Post by JRGNYR on Sept 13, 2017 8:22:40 GMT -5
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Post by hc87 on Sept 13, 2017 8:33:11 GMT -5
Thanks JRG....I had forgotten there was a connection between Fordham entering the Colonial League and Davidson leaving.
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Post by JRGNYR on Sept 13, 2017 9:30:05 GMT -5
It's interesting to read the article from the end of '87 where Likens positions the league as not needing or seeking expansion while Fordham is knocking on the window. How quickly things changed in one year. Not sure of when Davidson notified the league of its withdrawal but it was very immediate.
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Post by hc87 on Sept 13, 2017 11:37:57 GMT -5
What's also amusing in retrospect is that Gordie (who finished 5th for the Heisman that year) is not listed as a "key returning player" for HC in their synopsis. To be fair, no one really knew that Gordie would explode on the scene at the time this was written/published.
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Post by Chu Chu on Sept 13, 2017 11:50:44 GMT -5
Very interesting articles, which I had never seen before. Does anyone know why the of the league name was changed?
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Post by matunuck on Sept 13, 2017 11:55:13 GMT -5
Very interesting articles, which I had never seen before. Does anyone know why the of the league name was changed? Believe CAA complained (I think) |
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Post by jkh67 on Sept 13, 2017 14:43:15 GMT -5
The Ivy League relationship was an important factor in establishing the Colonial League...which did indeed have to change its name because the Colonial Athletic Association complained. Back in those days, the last Saturday in September, when all eight Ivies traditionally played out of conference, was known as Black Saturday because they lost so many of those games. Indeed, HC was sometimes called the Scourge of the Ivies. They desperately needed to find a group of "name" opponents who would agree to play generally by their rules and against whom they could expect to have a reasonable measure of success. The PL achieved that purpose for them. The big carrot they dangled was committing most of their non-League games to the PL.
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Post by nhteamer on Sept 13, 2017 14:46:27 GMT -5
Ha!
see avatar
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Sept 13, 2017 17:00:05 GMT -5
Note the attendance for Lehigh-HC at Fitton (15,781) and HC hadn't played Lehigh in 62 years..
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Post by sader81 on Sept 14, 2017 8:32:32 GMT -5
The Ivy League relationship was an important factor in establishing the Colonial League...which did indeed have to change its name because the Colonial Athletic Association complained. Back in those days, the last Saturday in September, when all eight Ivies traditionally played out of conference, was known as Black Saturday because they lost so many of those games. Indeed, HC was sometimes called the Scourge of the Ivies. They desperately needed to find a group of "name" opponents who would agree to play generally by their rules and against whom they could expect to have a reasonable measure of success. The PL achieved that purpose for them. The big carrot they dangled was committing most of their non-League games to the PL. Which, as we know, was a ruse, because the Colonial League would NEVER be a equal. Most all kids offered by Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and the likes of Colgate and HC, and paying based on need, would choose an Ivy over a PL/CL school. It didn't take long for the talent pool to weigh heavily in favor of the Ivies. What is amazing to me is that it took so long for the PL leadership to recognize it and adapt. With a long way to go, HC is at least moving in the right direction. |
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Post by joe on Sept 14, 2017 9:48:46 GMT -5
The Ivy League relationship was an important factor in establishing the Colonial League...which did indeed have to change its name because the Colonial Athletic Association complained. Back in those days, the last Saturday in September, when all eight Ivies traditionally played out of conference, was known as Black Saturday because they lost so many of those games. Indeed, HC was sometimes called the Scourge of the Ivies. They desperately needed to find a group of "name" opponents who would agree to play generally by their rules and against whom they could expect to have a reasonable measure of success. The PL achieved that purpose for them. The big carrot they dangled was committing most of their non-League games to the PL. Which, as we know, was a ruse, because the Colonial League would NEVER be a equal. Most all kids offered by Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and the likes of Colgate and HC, and paying based on need, would choose an Ivy over a PL/CL school. It didn't take long for the talent pool to weigh heavily in favor of the Ivies. What is amazing to me is that it took so long for the PL leadership to recognize it and adapt. With a long way to go, HC is at least moving in the right direction.
True. Despite this, and I can speak from experience, many players in the early 90s offered by the Ivies still chose HC because of the championship reputation but ended up being sold a bill of goods. Records from that era did not reflect the talent level. Purely subjective and admittedly bias.
In response to PP's attendance quote of roughly 15k for HC-LU, I believe we had somewhere around 16k for the UMass night game a few years back. I think our stadium should be realistically scaled back to about 18k + standing room. I'd love to see something creative (better than the purple tarp of indifference) done with the closed end to shut off more of the seating, and somehow close in the open end with a few rows to make it feel more like a closed-in bowl. The chain link fence deal with people milling about outside is bush league and distracting. This, in addition to more night games under the lights (temporary or permanent) and a better score board would go a long way.
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Post by timholycross on Sept 14, 2017 20:46:34 GMT -5
Re: 15K vs Lehigh in 1986 (which, IIRC, being at the game; was a fairly accurate attendance figure).
I'll bet you if you eliminate the HC/Fordham game at YS and the Lafayette/Lehigh series, it's the largest crowd in the history of the league.
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Post by JRGNYR on Sept 15, 2017 12:22:20 GMT -5
Re: 15K vs Lehigh in 1986 (which, IIRC, being at the game; was a fairly accurate attendance figure). I'll bet you if you eliminate the HC/Fordham game at YS and the Lafayette/Lehigh series, it's the largest crowd in the history of the league. I seem to recall a pretty substantial crowd at the HC/Lehigh game in Bethlehem in '91, when both teams were great. I believe a 7-7 halftime tie turned into a 43-42 HC win. Not sure of the official attendance but that was some game from what I remember. EDIT: That search didn't take long: www.nytimes.com/1991/10/27/sports/college-football-crusaders-and-the-scoreboard-survive.html?mcubz=314,055 reported attendance. |
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