August 3, 1852 – It was the first American intercollegiate sporting event that had ever taken place. The Harvard heavyweight rowing crew competed against their rivals Yale on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. Harvard triumphed by 2 lengths in over 2 miles over the Eli rowing group.
This started the competitive athletic rivalry between the two Eastern Universities. Most famously the football rivalry between the schools dates back to 1875 and is the second-oldest rivalry in college football, but as we see these two were rivals long before that.
To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.
More From Sports History Network

NFL Gratitude to Greats Project (with John Vairin)
John Vairin was diagnosed with a rare occurrence of oral squamous cell cancer. He

NFL Players Who Stepped Into the Boxing Ring
In this segment, I will be speaking of NFL Players who stepped into the

Super Bowl XXI (Broncos vs. Giants): An Ultimate Recount of the Game
Today we have Super Bowl XXI, which was held on January 25, 1987, between

Emmitt Smith: Why Do People Diminish His Accomplishments?
Emmitt Smith could do it all–run, catch, and block. He’s the NFL’s all-time rushing

Joe Savoldi: From NFL Scandal to Super Spy in World War II
Welcome to this episode of “When Football Was Football.” We hope that you enjoy

Why The Mike Webster Story Is So Important!!!
If you were an NFL fan during the late 1970s and early 1980s, you

The Top Pound-For-Pound Boxers of All-Time
I am going to focus on 3 of the top men who ever laced

Super Bowl XX (Patriots vs. Bears): An Ultimate Recount of the Game
Today we have Super Bowl XX, which was held on January 26, 1986, between