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Harvard vs. Wesleyan (CT)

Harvard and Wesleyan (CT) first met in 1883 and have played 18 times; Harvard leads the series 17–⁠1. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Harvard 10–⁠0, and Harvard has won the last 15.

Harvard wins
17
Wesleyan (CT) wins
1
Ties
0
First meeting
1883
Longest streak
15 Harvard
Current streak
15 Harvard
Last 10 meetings
Harvard 10–⁠0
Most recent
1903

The series at a glance

’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1880s8–⁠1
1890s5–⁠0
1900s4–⁠0
Average margin
41.5 points; 0 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At Harvard
14–⁠0 Harvard’s record at home
At Wesleyan (CT)
1–⁠3 Wesleyan (CT)‘s record at home
Shutouts
12

Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.

Games that tell the story

  1. Harvard’s biggest win1891: Harvard 124, Wesleyan (CT) 0by 124 points
  2. Wesleyan (CT)‘s biggest win1884: Wesleyan (CT) 16, Harvard 0by 16 points
  3. Upset1884: Wesleyan (CT) 16, Harvard 0Wesleyan (CT) had a 25% chance, by our ratings before kickoff

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of Harvard and Wesleyan (CT), 1883 on1300150017001900192019401960198020002020

Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.

From the newspapers

  • The Daily Kennebec journal's story of the 1886 game: FROM HARVARD. Harvard Defeats wesleyan in a Foot Bali Game.

    1886 · Daily Kennebec journal, Augusta, Me., Nov 8, 1886

  • The The times's story of the 1899 game: Harvard and Wesleyan.

    1899 · The times, District of Columbia, Oct 8, 1899

  • The The times's story of the 1900 game: FOOTBALL AT CAMBRIDGE. Harvard Defents Wesleyan by Score of ~ to o.

    1900 · The times, Washington [D.C.], Sep 30, 1900

  • The Waterbury Democrat's story of the 1901 game: At Cambridge

    1901 · Waterbury Democrat, Connecticut, Oct 17, 1901

  • The The Saint Paul globe's story of the 1902 game: RAPID SCORING DONE HARVARD PILES UP THIRTY-FIVE POINTS IN TWENTY MINUTES BEST SHOWING MADE BY THE TEAM THIS YEAR Wesleyan Eleven Can Make No Head way in the Unequal consest-lt Does Contrive to Score, However, After Using Trick Plays, a Delayed Pass Leading to a Touchdown.

    1902 · The Saint Paul globe, St. Paul, Minn., Oct 16, 1902

Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The earliest meetings with a story on file; each game’s page has the full text.

Every game

Oct 14, 1903Harvard 17, Wesleyan (CT) 6at Harvard
Oct 15, 1902Harvard 35, Wesleyan (CT) 5at Harvard
Oct 16, 1901Harvard 16, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Harvard
Sep 29, 1900Harvard 24, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Harvard
Oct 7, 1899Harvard 20, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Harvard
Nov 6, 1897Harvard 34, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Harvard
Oct 10, 1896Harvard 28, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Harvard
Nov 4, 1891Harvard 124, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Harvard
Oct 25, 1890Harvard 55, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Harvard
Nov 9, 1889Harvard 67, Wesleyan (CT) 2at Wesleyan (CT)
Oct 26, 1889Harvard 64, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Harvard
Nov 10, 1888Harvard 50, Wesleyan (CT) 2at Harvard
Oct 13, 1888Harvard 34, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Wesleyan (CT)
Nov 5, 1887Harvard 110, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Harvard
Nov 6, 1886Harvard 34, Wesleyan (CT) 0at Harvard
Nov 1, 1884Wesleyan (CT) 16, Harvard 0at Wesleyan (CT)
Nov 3, 1883Harvard 18, Wesleyan (CT) 6at Wesleyan (CT)
Oct 6, 1883Harvard 23, Wesleyan (CT) 1at Harvard

Every game is listed as played on the field.