When the goalposts came down at the end of Rivalry 160, Lehigh alumni from years past felt nostalgia run through their veins.
While the wooden posts were replaced with steel in 1991, effectively ending the tradition of toppling the opposing team’s posts after the game, the memories — and momentos — still remain.
“It was part of the fraternity tradition to try to bring back as much of the goalpost as possible,” says Tom Keating '84 '15P. “I do not know about other houses, but Psi U has quite a few pieces of goalposts in the house.”
Other pieces have gone the way of urban legend.
“Two years ago at our reunion, a piece was still in the bar at Psi Upsilon,” Tom Wible ’71 says. “But it had disappeared when I visited last fall.”
The bonfire was the annual tradition that got Lance Bell ’79 fired up. He recalls a vivid memory from his freshman year.
“Lafayette students torched our first attempt at building a bonfire. A local alumnus provided replacement wood for us to load up and bring back. I remember joining other students to load wood. Rain started pouring down while we were picking up wood. I was so tired upon returning that I crashed on my dorm bed in Drinker and missed the actual bonfire lighting.”
“The Marching 97 is a key part of the Lehigh experience and, of course, the L-L Rivalry”, says Mark Hembarsky ’80. “The band’s pre-game appearances amongst the fans and tailgates, performances and antics during the game, and their classic half-time show are legendary. I was so impressed with the Marching 97, I married one of them, Susan (Bregstein) Hembarsky ’80!”
Karen Fischer ’99 and Jennifer Keen '96 P'28 concur that the Marching 97 brought spectacular game day hype to campus.
“I liked how the Marching 97 would parade through the classrooms,” says Keen.
Keen also notes that another one of her favorite traditions was hanging bedsheets out the windows with clever insults written on them, roasting Lafayette long before social media was a place to burn your rivals. While some previous classes might not have participated in this fun as strongly as students do today, there were plenty of other Greek traditions meant to celebrate the weeklong event.
“I remember many fraternities [...] would build elaborate decorations on their lawns on Lehigh-Lafayette weekend,” says Ron Workman ’65 ’66. “I recall one year when I visited the DU chapter at Carnegie Mellon a few weeks before the game and discovered they had the same kind of tradition, and I brought their idea for a display back with me and we duplicated it, just changing the names of the schools.”
Some events evolved as the university became coeducational.
“There were a series of powder puff football games between the women of Lehigh and Lafayette each year around Thanksgiving, starting in 1971, the first year Lehigh admitted women,” Thomas Hirsch ’75 P’11 recalls. “I know it went on for at least four years. It was probably discontinued once Lehigh’s women intercollegiate sports program became more robust.”
Reliving memories like these is what keeps alumni coming back for a homecoming-style event each November. Some attend telecasts hosted by alumni, others religiously tailgate whether the game is at home or away, and many host watch parties at their homes.
Phil Kinzel Sr. ’63 P’92 captures the motivation to travel miles to share the Rivalry experience each year.
“We [have] lots of fun reminiscing about the pranks that led up to the game when we were at Lehigh — like attempts to set fire to the Lafayette bonfire; capturing a Lafayette student to get his Lafayette jacket in order to sneak in to light the bonfire; having a ‘L’ shaved in your head to show you were captured; the coldest day when the last game was played at Taylor Stadium; and, of course, the famous game where pears were hurled at spectators. Today those pranks would be classified as arson, kidnapping, larceny, and assault, punishable as crimes."
We just call it all legendary.
In This Image: Opposing forces collide in the endzone in an attempt to topple the goal posts.
In This Image: The Marching 97 has a reputation for keeping energy high with a vibrant tempo.
In This Image: Competition is the theme of Rivalry season.
In This Image: The sweet taste of victory.
In This Image: Pep rallies were often followed by lighting the bonfire the night before the big game.
In This Image: The Bed Races once brought unique designs and Lehigh-branded ingenuity.
In This Image: The 1974 Lehigh Powder Puff team.
In This Image: With aviators and a helmet, coolness and safety were sometimes hand-in-hand at Bed Races.
In This Image: Joe Walton ’65 (who played in the Rivalry game four times and never lost to Lafayette) shares a photo of his class at their 25th Reunion in 1990. Their reunion theme was “The 100th Game!”
