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The Game: Harvard, Yale, and America in 1968
*A New York Times Notable Book*
*A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year*
From the bestselling National Book Award finalist and author of The Big House comes “a well-blended narrative packed with top-notch reporting and relevance for our own time” ( The Boston Globe ) about the young athletes who battled in the legendary Harvard-Yale football game of 1968 amidst the sweeping currents of one of the most transformative years in American history.
On November 23, 1968, there was a turbulent and memorable football game: the season-ending clash between Harvard and Yale. The final score was 29-29. To some of the players, it was a triumph; to others a tragedy. And to many, the reasons had as much to do with one side’s miraculous comeback in the game’s final forty-two seconds as it did with the months that preceded it, months that witnessed the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, police brutality at the Democratic National Convention, inner-city riots, campus takeovers, and, looming over everything, the war in Vietnam.
George Howe Colt’s The Game is the story of that iconic American year, as seen through the young men who lived it and were changed by it. One player had recently returned from Vietnam. Two were members of the radical antiwar group SDS. There was one NFL prospect who quit to devote his time to black altruism; another who went on to be Pro-Bowler Calvin Hill. There was a guard named Tommy Lee Jones, and fullback who dated a young Meryl Streep. They played side by side and together forged a moment of startling grace in the midst of the storm.
“Vibrant, energetic, and beautifully structured” (NPR), this magnificent and intimate work of history is the story of ordinary people in an extraordinary time, and of a country facing issues that we continue to wrestle with to this day. “ The Game is the rare sports book that lives up to the claim of so many entrants in this genre: It is the portrait of an era” ( The Wall Street Journal ).
*A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year*
From the bestselling National Book Award finalist and author of The Big House comes “a well-blended narrative packed with top-notch reporting and relevance for our own time” ( The Boston Globe ) about the young athletes who battled in the legendary Harvard-Yale football game of 1968 amidst the sweeping currents of one of the most transformative years in American history.
On November 23, 1968, there was a turbulent and memorable football game: the season-ending clash between Harvard and Yale. The final score was 29-29. To some of the players, it was a triumph; to others a tragedy. And to many, the reasons had as much to do with one side’s miraculous comeback in the game’s final forty-two seconds as it did with the months that preceded it, months that witnessed the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, police brutality at the Democratic National Convention, inner-city riots, campus takeovers, and, looming over everything, the war in Vietnam.
George Howe Colt’s The Game is the story of that iconic American year, as seen through the young men who lived it and were changed by it. One player had recently returned from Vietnam. Two were members of the radical antiwar group SDS. There was one NFL prospect who quit to devote his time to black altruism; another who went on to be Pro-Bowler Calvin Hill. There was a guard named Tommy Lee Jones, and fullback who dated a young Meryl Streep. They played side by side and together forged a moment of startling grace in the midst of the storm.
“Vibrant, energetic, and beautifully structured” (NPR), this magnificent and intimate work of history is the story of ordinary people in an extraordinary time, and of a country facing issues that we continue to wrestle with to this day. “ The Game is the rare sports book that lives up to the claim of so many entrants in this genre: It is the portrait of an era” ( The Wall Street Journal ).
400 pages, Paperback
First published October 9, 2018
66 people are currently reading
928 people want to read
About the author
George Howe Colt
5 books47 followersGeorge Howe Colt is the bestselling author of November of the Soul The Enigma of Suicide and The Big House, which was a National Book Award finalist and a New York Times notable book. He is married to the American author Anne Fadiman and lives with his family in Western Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
June 24, 2019
Fifty years ago, the United States experienced a watershed moment with the tensions that exploded in 1968. Assassinations of politicians, race riots, the Vietnam War, and emotionally charged political conventions are key moments that people focus on when looking back at this momentous year. The polarization of society did not even escape the nation’s highest learning institutions as Harvard and Yale students and faculty dealt with the drama unfolding before them in myriad ways. Despite all of the tension of outside world, life went on, and with it, people needed an escape. The emergence of the counterculture drug movement had developed, yet society needed a real escape, and no where was this more prevalent than with team sports. In spite of all the societal pressures, Harvard and Yale still had a football season to play in the fall of 1968.
George Howe Colt was a teenaged fan of Harvard in 1968, having followed the team for his entire life. Even though his interests had developed beyond sports in 1968, he still went with his father to every game the team played that summer. Before the NCAA became more corporatized, Harvard and Yale both were considered in the top tier of programs, both schools having enjoyed Heisman winners in the past. In the days before players chose schools to further their professional ambitions, students at NCAA were true student athletes and cared as much about their ability to graduate on time as they did about making it to the next level. No where was this more true than the Ivy League where Harvard and Yale as well as Princeton and Dartmouth fielded winning teams and also listed premed, pre-law, business, and engineering majors among their ranks of athletes. Players knew that their experience on the football field would prepare them well for their next station in life, whatever that would be.
Colt contrasts the mood of the liberal Harvard and the more traditional Yale as he builds up to their rivalry game. Harvard was a bastion of anti war sentiment. Students in the SDS movement met regularly to decide how to mobilize the university to act against the war. Students on the football team were viewed as leaders of the university and even if they were against the war knew well enough to not participate in demonstrations during the season. Al Gore makes a cameo appearance as he was suite mates with star player John Tyson, who decided to quit football in order to focus on the Black Panther movement at lily white Harvard. Meanwhile, Yale was considered a last bastion of WASP culture although at the time by not holding demonstrations actually granted students more rights than Harvard, such as the admittance of the first class of female students in 1969. To contrast Gore’s appearance at Harvard, Colt notes that George Bush was a senior at Yale in 1968, his family having attended the school for over a century. The cultures at Harvard and Yale would inevitably come to a head on the football field.
Yale boasted more star power. Their quarterback- running back tandem of Brian Dowling and Calvin Hill would both go on to careers in the NFL. It was obvious to all who watched them that they were the best players on the field. Harvard’s only returning letterman was future Hollywood star Tommy Lee Jones. Ask players on both teams and they admitted that Yale should win nine times out of ten games played. And then the unthinkable happened: going into their rivalry game, both Harvard and Yale were undefeated. Alumni from both schools featured a who’s who of notable Americans that clamored for tickets. It did not matter if one was pro or anti war or Republican or Democrat, all north-easterners were talking about in the fall of 1968, was the big Harvard vs Yale game, or, depending on who you asked, the Yale vs Harvard game. With each passing week and both teams winning, the build up to the game was unprecedented. Players in their final year knew that this might be their last hurrah before potentially heading off to war whereas younger players wanted to prove to their coaches that they could start the following year. With both teams undefeated, the big game would be televised as the national game of the week.
Colt’s build up to the game and his descriptions of the actual game add to the tension in what already must have been a charged environment. Being born a decade after the events of 1968, I find myself being drawn repeatedly to books about the era in order to get a variety of opinions of how events actually unfolded during the Vietnam years. Providing background about both universities’ as well as individual players’ opinions about the war added to the tension surrounding the time period and leading up to the game itself. Some players enlisted, others asked team doctors to help them get medical deferments whereas others attended graduate school or became teachers. Regardless of one’s view politically, the atmosphere leading up to the 1968 Harvard vs Yale was more charged than in most years, adding to the tensions in an already watershed year in United States’ history.
4 stars
George Howe Colt was a teenaged fan of Harvard in 1968, having followed the team for his entire life. Even though his interests had developed beyond sports in 1968, he still went with his father to every game the team played that summer. Before the NCAA became more corporatized, Harvard and Yale both were considered in the top tier of programs, both schools having enjoyed Heisman winners in the past. In the days before players chose schools to further their professional ambitions, students at NCAA were true student athletes and cared as much about their ability to graduate on time as they did about making it to the next level. No where was this more true than the Ivy League where Harvard and Yale as well as Princeton and Dartmouth fielded winning teams and also listed premed, pre-law, business, and engineering majors among their ranks of athletes. Players knew that their experience on the football field would prepare them well for their next station in life, whatever that would be.
Colt contrasts the mood of the liberal Harvard and the more traditional Yale as he builds up to their rivalry game. Harvard was a bastion of anti war sentiment. Students in the SDS movement met regularly to decide how to mobilize the university to act against the war. Students on the football team were viewed as leaders of the university and even if they were against the war knew well enough to not participate in demonstrations during the season. Al Gore makes a cameo appearance as he was suite mates with star player John Tyson, who decided to quit football in order to focus on the Black Panther movement at lily white Harvard. Meanwhile, Yale was considered a last bastion of WASP culture although at the time by not holding demonstrations actually granted students more rights than Harvard, such as the admittance of the first class of female students in 1969. To contrast Gore’s appearance at Harvard, Colt notes that George Bush was a senior at Yale in 1968, his family having attended the school for over a century. The cultures at Harvard and Yale would inevitably come to a head on the football field.
Yale boasted more star power. Their quarterback- running back tandem of Brian Dowling and Calvin Hill would both go on to careers in the NFL. It was obvious to all who watched them that they were the best players on the field. Harvard’s only returning letterman was future Hollywood star Tommy Lee Jones. Ask players on both teams and they admitted that Yale should win nine times out of ten games played. And then the unthinkable happened: going into their rivalry game, both Harvard and Yale were undefeated. Alumni from both schools featured a who’s who of notable Americans that clamored for tickets. It did not matter if one was pro or anti war or Republican or Democrat, all north-easterners were talking about in the fall of 1968, was the big Harvard vs Yale game, or, depending on who you asked, the Yale vs Harvard game. With each passing week and both teams winning, the build up to the game was unprecedented. Players in their final year knew that this might be their last hurrah before potentially heading off to war whereas younger players wanted to prove to their coaches that they could start the following year. With both teams undefeated, the big game would be televised as the national game of the week.
Colt’s build up to the game and his descriptions of the actual game add to the tension in what already must have been a charged environment. Being born a decade after the events of 1968, I find myself being drawn repeatedly to books about the era in order to get a variety of opinions of how events actually unfolded during the Vietnam years. Providing background about both universities’ as well as individual players’ opinions about the war added to the tension surrounding the time period and leading up to the game itself. Some players enlisted, others asked team doctors to help them get medical deferments whereas others attended graduate school or became teachers. Regardless of one’s view politically, the atmosphere leading up to the 1968 Harvard vs Yale was more charged than in most years, adding to the tensions in an already watershed year in United States’ history.
4 stars
June 25, 2019
Thoughts soon.
October 24, 2018
A detailed account of how the Vietnam War impacted players, coaches and administrations within the Ivy League.
There were many changes within these schools, their students, faculty and sports programs during those turbulent days. An out of control drug culture, sexual promiscuity, the list goes on. Quite surprising to learn of the war’s significant impact on this preppy culture.
The rivalries between the schools, the players’ and coaches’ personal stories and the description of the football competition itself were enlightening and at times inspirational. The schools had to adjust to the times as well as the players. The most interesting of note was the football team remained a politics-free zone despite the impact of the war.
There were many changes within these schools, their students, faculty and sports programs during those turbulent days. An out of control drug culture, sexual promiscuity, the list goes on. Quite surprising to learn of the war’s significant impact on this preppy culture.
The rivalries between the schools, the players’ and coaches’ personal stories and the description of the football competition itself were enlightening and at times inspirational. The schools had to adjust to the times as well as the players. The most interesting of note was the football team remained a politics-free zone despite the impact of the war.
November 4, 2018
An account of a watershed year from an elite male perspective. It would have been better if it had been more evenly balanced between the two schools. Colt went to Harvard and it shows; the parts set at Yale were lacking the same sense of history, context and telling detail. Similarly, the ratio of football to zeitgeist might be a little much for the non-fan.
July 15, 2020
I will admit it. I enjoy a good sports story. It has its heroes. There are successes and failures, and time is always a major player in how the story comes out. I will say that Ivy League football would not have been my first choice, but it wasn't hard for me to grasp the importance and tradition of the annual Harvard-Yale contest. Colt does a great job of introducing you to the stars and the major contributors in a way that makes the story better, rather than getting in its way. Likewise, he does not take you through the season in a plodding, game by game approach, but rather touches down in detail or lightly where it makes sense. Regardless, the build-up to the final game of the season is well-done.
What made this story so intriguing though was the time period, the late 60's and everything it brought--the clash of culture changes, the Vietnam War, the passions of college students--all brought together on college campuses. But then there are the traditions of the Harvard and Yale college campuses and how they react and respond to the rapid changes. Perhaps most interesting, however, was the involvement of some of the players in the campus movements and protests, how it affected the outlook on their college and post-college careers and in some cases how it affected their football careers. Although I was too late to the game, I have always intrigued by everything embodied by the 60's. This book was a very enjoyable in-depth, albeit limited-scope experience of that time.
What made this story so intriguing though was the time period, the late 60's and everything it brought--the clash of culture changes, the Vietnam War, the passions of college students--all brought together on college campuses. But then there are the traditions of the Harvard and Yale college campuses and how they react and respond to the rapid changes. Perhaps most interesting, however, was the involvement of some of the players in the campus movements and protests, how it affected the outlook on their college and post-college careers and in some cases how it affected their football careers. Although I was too late to the game, I have always intrigued by everything embodied by the 60's. This book was a very enjoyable in-depth, albeit limited-scope experience of that time.
March 12, 2019
This is a book not just for football fans, although the story of the game itself is riveting. This is excellent history, in that it's a fresh take on not only sport but society as well. I enjoy history like this, because I know how the story ends, but the book is so well-researched and written that I keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. The Harvard-Yale game on November 23, 1968, is one of the most famous in college football history, prompting an equally famous headline in a paper from the next day: "Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29." As mentioned, the story of the game is delightful and the author does a fine job of discussing many of the players in the game and their various backgrounds. This adds meaning to the story. In addition, by putting things into historical context, the author lets us see how this game and the stories of the players reflected the turbulent year of 1968.
January 7, 2019
This book was excellent, it was more than just "The Game". It was also about the turbulent times (1968-69) and how the players recated to what was going on in the war & the politics of the day. I really enjoyed this book.
November 25, 2021
This is aimed at a certain kind of niche audience, the kind willing to read 300+ pages about football and campus life in the Ivy League in 1968, but if you're in that group this is worth reading. It's a passion project and reads like one, probably 50% too long and filled with overwrought language, but the stories -- especially the title game, but also the world of 1968 -- are truly compelling. I'm always amazed at how much of what seems new to me in the world today echoes the past so closely.
Among the things I learned:
- The Vietnam War is often believed to be the start of Ivy League grade inflation -- professors didn't want to be responsible for students failing out and losing their draft deferment
- A lot of Ivy-type students went into teaching to get deferments after graduation (the econometrician in me wonders if this led to any increase in education quality?)
- Even in the 1960s Harvard students didn't really care much about football (it seems to have been still sort of a thing at Yale though)
- Harvard's star safety quit the team before the season to focus on black activism (though the team reported it was a lingering injury)
- Several Yale players were sick before the game with the "Hong Kong" flu, a pandemic I never expected to read about in a book published before 2020
And I so wish I had been a student journalist back when subjects were this candid: “If everything works out, we’ll have a football team,” Harvard's coach said before the season. “A good football team?” a reporter clarified; he replied, “A football team.”
Among the things I learned:
- The Vietnam War is often believed to be the start of Ivy League grade inflation -- professors didn't want to be responsible for students failing out and losing their draft deferment
- A lot of Ivy-type students went into teaching to get deferments after graduation (the econometrician in me wonders if this led to any increase in education quality?)
- Even in the 1960s Harvard students didn't really care much about football (it seems to have been still sort of a thing at Yale though)
- Harvard's star safety quit the team before the season to focus on black activism (though the team reported it was a lingering injury)
- Several Yale players were sick before the game with the "Hong Kong" flu, a pandemic I never expected to read about in a book published before 2020
And I so wish I had been a student journalist back when subjects were this candid: “If everything works out, we’ll have a football team,” Harvard's coach said before the season. “A good football team?” a reporter clarified; he replied, “A football team.”
August 3, 2018
This was a fantastic read! I attended Yale in the mid-1980s, and reading about a successful Yale football team was quite a surprise.
This book revolves around the Harvard/Yale Football game of 1968. The game itself was epic--finishing with a last-minute, come-from-behind rally by Harvard to end in a 29-29 point tie (according to Colt, Yalies still consider it a loss, while Harvard alum think of it as a win), but Colt doesn't just focus on the game, but also on the society within which it occurred. He discusses the events that were taking place within American society at the time-the anti-Vietnam War movement, the Civil Rights movement, the assassinations of MLK and Robert Kennedy, and he uses this as a backdrop for the experience of the players on these two football teams.
The experience of the players from both schools sheds light on the tumult of the times, and the difficulty of bringing change to each of these venerable (hide-bound?) institutions. Colt does an excellent job of addressing the issues of the time by examining the personal experiences of individual players, and his description of the game play is fantastic. I am not a big football fan, but I had no trouble following the progress of the game and was riveted, even though I already knew the results.
I think that this book will be enjoyed by people who wouldn't normally read a book about sports, and I recommend it highly.
I read an advanced reading copy from Scribner via NetGalley. Thanks!
This book revolves around the Harvard/Yale Football game of 1968. The game itself was epic--finishing with a last-minute, come-from-behind rally by Harvard to end in a 29-29 point tie (according to Colt, Yalies still consider it a loss, while Harvard alum think of it as a win), but Colt doesn't just focus on the game, but also on the society within which it occurred. He discusses the events that were taking place within American society at the time-the anti-Vietnam War movement, the Civil Rights movement, the assassinations of MLK and Robert Kennedy, and he uses this as a backdrop for the experience of the players on these two football teams.
The experience of the players from both schools sheds light on the tumult of the times, and the difficulty of bringing change to each of these venerable (hide-bound?) institutions. Colt does an excellent job of addressing the issues of the time by examining the personal experiences of individual players, and his description of the game play is fantastic. I am not a big football fan, but I had no trouble following the progress of the game and was riveted, even though I already knew the results.
I think that this book will be enjoyed by people who wouldn't normally read a book about sports, and I recommend it highly.
I read an advanced reading copy from Scribner via NetGalley. Thanks!
November 26, 2018
Good history of not just the game, but how the times of the mid- to late-1960s impacted the schools and the student-athletes.
July 26, 2018
“The Game, Harvard, Yale, and America in 1968” by George Howe Colt, published by Scribner.
Category – Sports/Football/History Publication Date – October 09, 2018.
First off, this book will rank high with Harvard and Yale Alumni and Students, secondly, it will be enjoyed by any sports fan, and thirdly, it will be enjoyed by those who enjoy history.
The story is told with the Harvard/Yale football game of 1968 as a background, however it is far more than a football game as the book looks into the background of the two colleges, its football programs, and the turbulent history of 1968.
The historical part of the book shows the political unrest in both government and society, especially on the college campuses, there was also the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. The Vietnam War was esculating, dragging on, and the number of young men dying growing every day, causing great unrest in the youth of that time.
It is important to know how each campus handled the student unrest and the political feeling of both the alumni and administration, and how this affected the football game and those who played in it. Many of the players had different views but had to come together as a team. For the outcome of the game you will have to read the book and it is a humdinger.
Category – Sports/Football/History Publication Date – October 09, 2018.
First off, this book will rank high with Harvard and Yale Alumni and Students, secondly, it will be enjoyed by any sports fan, and thirdly, it will be enjoyed by those who enjoy history.
The story is told with the Harvard/Yale football game of 1968 as a background, however it is far more than a football game as the book looks into the background of the two colleges, its football programs, and the turbulent history of 1968.
The historical part of the book shows the political unrest in both government and society, especially on the college campuses, there was also the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. The Vietnam War was esculating, dragging on, and the number of young men dying growing every day, causing great unrest in the youth of that time.
It is important to know how each campus handled the student unrest and the political feeling of both the alumni and administration, and how this affected the football game and those who played in it. Many of the players had different views but had to come together as a team. For the outcome of the game you will have to read the book and it is a humdinger.
October 7, 2020
I was a Freshman at a college in Boston when "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29". It was big news in Boston then and has taken on legendary status since. Both teams were undefeated, 8-0, and it was the last game of the season. Yale was acknowledged to have the better team led by everybody's All-American, Brian Dowling, who became the model for BD, Garry Trudeau's lead character in his Pulitzer Prize winning comic strip, "Doonesbury". Teamed with future Dallas Cowboy great, Calvin Hill, they formed the nucleus of one of the great offenses in college football history. Harvard's team was very good but its players were more representative of the times and included participants of the antiwar movement that had taken hold of many colleges in Boston. For the most part the game proceeded the way it was supposed to with Yale's offense rolling up a lead of 29-13 with under 3 minutes left in the game. The fact that Yale's great offense missed some opportunities to score even more came back to haunt them as Harvard's little used quarterback, Frank Champi, engineered an improbable comeback that enabled the Crimson to tie the score as time ran out. As a sports book "The Game" is flawless. Set against the tumultuous times of the Vietnam war and social unrest, as a sociological study of the time it depicts it is first rate. It offers vignettes of the players from both teams who were the result of the Ivy League's decade long changeover from a student body comprised of sons of alumni to one that was more diverse. Hence, the son of a partner from Wall Street's Hornblower Weeks played alongside a black defensive back. In turn, the black player was Al Gore's roommate (who was dating a cute student from BU named Tipper) who quit the team to work to promote black rights. The acceptance of women students was still about four years away. Other characters in the book included future Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones who was a mainstay on Harvard's offensive line and the fullback for Yale whose girlfriend, Meryl Streep, drove up from Vassar most weekends to visit. "The Game"is a memorable book about a memorable game that was played against the backdrop of a war and social unrest that many would rather forget.
October 26, 2018
THE GAME, by George Howe Colt, is the build up, the playing, and the aftermath of the 1968 college football match between Harvard and Yale. With it's storied rivalry, proud alumni, and tumultuous societal times, this game was impactful on so many levels. It was about David versus Goliath, war versus peace, a group of young individuals unifying into a whole, and just a great time in history to play a truly great game. The game still resonates with many of the players an spectators today, 50 years after the game, which is a testament to what a special moment the game really was.
Colt spends more than the first half of the book setting the scene. He describes many of the players and coaches on both sides and portrays the time on Harvard and Yale's campuses along with the countries sentiments as well. While a goo bit of that was quite compelling to read about, the defining of the political times I felt kind of went down a rabbit hole of war and anti-war activism more than necessary for this kind of book. Colt also walks the reader through the season Yale and Harvard have in 1968 leading up to the their game against each other. As with any college football team, there are waves of good and bad occurrences throughout the season and Colt does a good job riding those waves in the book. I did find myself yearning to get to the game already at times, but once the games begins in the book, it gets good and only gets better and better right up until the end.
Extremely enlightening to read about Harvard versus Yale in 1968 and the world around it, THE GAME will be enjoyed certainly by any college football fan, but I think it's historical significance carries a larger weight the can connect to people of any age.
Thank you to Scribner, George Howe Colt, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Colt spends more than the first half of the book setting the scene. He describes many of the players and coaches on both sides and portrays the time on Harvard and Yale's campuses along with the countries sentiments as well. While a goo bit of that was quite compelling to read about, the defining of the political times I felt kind of went down a rabbit hole of war and anti-war activism more than necessary for this kind of book. Colt also walks the reader through the season Yale and Harvard have in 1968 leading up to the their game against each other. As with any college football team, there are waves of good and bad occurrences throughout the season and Colt does a good job riding those waves in the book. I did find myself yearning to get to the game already at times, but once the games begins in the book, it gets good and only gets better and better right up until the end.
Extremely enlightening to read about Harvard versus Yale in 1968 and the world around it, THE GAME will be enjoyed certainly by any college football fan, but I think it's historical significance carries a larger weight the can connect to people of any age.
Thank you to Scribner, George Howe Colt, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
April 12, 2024
This is not a book about simply a football game. THE GAME took place between Harvard and Yale in 1968. Today the Harvard - Yale game produces a big yawn from most college football fans
But, 1968 was different. Harvard and Yale football still mattered - it was the national game of the week in 1968. More importantly is that 1968 was one of the most turbulent years in the US in the last half of the 20th century....
The Vietnam War had escalated beyond anyone's imagination. A sitting US president declined to run for reelection. ML King Jr was assassinated. College students shaved their beards and cut their hair for the peace candidate- Eugene McCarthy. Robert Kennedy declared for the Democrat nomination but was assassinated in June. College campuses erupted across the nation against the war. The Democratic convention resulted in riots, the nomination of Hubert Humphrey and the trial of the Chicago 7. And Richard Nixon rose like the Phoenix from the political ash heap. But College football was played in this background of upheaval.
Colt paints a great picture of the two campuses amid the turmoil..with accounts of the players and coaches focusing on school and football...and other things College students focus on. Colt introduces us to the stars but also the little known players and how they were impacted by the times. We also are drawn into one of the Harvard players roommates - AL Gore and a Harvard thespian who started on the line - Tommy Lee Jones. Not to mention a Vassar cheerleader by the name of Meryl Streep who dated a Yale footballer.
Colts book is interesting from start to finish and his portrayal of THE GAME is exciting even though the outcome is obviously known.
But, 1968 was different. Harvard and Yale football still mattered - it was the national game of the week in 1968. More importantly is that 1968 was one of the most turbulent years in the US in the last half of the 20th century....
The Vietnam War had escalated beyond anyone's imagination. A sitting US president declined to run for reelection. ML King Jr was assassinated. College students shaved their beards and cut their hair for the peace candidate- Eugene McCarthy. Robert Kennedy declared for the Democrat nomination but was assassinated in June. College campuses erupted across the nation against the war. The Democratic convention resulted in riots, the nomination of Hubert Humphrey and the trial of the Chicago 7. And Richard Nixon rose like the Phoenix from the political ash heap. But College football was played in this background of upheaval.
Colt paints a great picture of the two campuses amid the turmoil..with accounts of the players and coaches focusing on school and football...and other things College students focus on. Colt introduces us to the stars but also the little known players and how they were impacted by the times. We also are drawn into one of the Harvard players roommates - AL Gore and a Harvard thespian who started on the line - Tommy Lee Jones. Not to mention a Vassar cheerleader by the name of Meryl Streep who dated a Yale footballer.
Colts book is interesting from start to finish and his portrayal of THE GAME is exciting even though the outcome is obviously known.
November 25, 2019
A very enjoyable history read. Tells the story of the 1968 Ivy League football season through the eyes of many of the players and coaches of Harvard and Yale - collectively a group of colorful and engaging personalities whose stories add personal depth to the history of a turbulent year in America. The suburban star athletes (Brian Dowling), the sons of immigrants (Lalich, Champi, Gatto), African Americans and Jews starting to make their way to the Ivy League (Tyson, Hill, Goldsmith), New England blue bloods (Hornblower), and unlikely activists (Maclean, Berne) all play their roles. And the incidental characters (Al Gore, Gary Trudeau, Meryl Streep) are reminders of the ways that these two schools figure in mainstream American culture. Anti war activism, demands for black inclusion and nationalism, aversion to out of touch authority figures, and an increasing presence of women in college life all form an exciting backdrop for the story of a memorable season culminating in a mythical rivalry game. Football played a rare role of bridging generational conflicts and ending the season with a tie felt like a cosmic signal of mediation. Throughout the book it’s clear that Harvard was more at the center of the turbulent politics of the era than was conservative, staid Yale. The epilogue is a helpful reminder that while the season was a microcosm for America in 1968 and the Game became another piece of Harvard mythology, life for its participants was often difficult and living up to the significance of these memories posed a challenge.
May 13, 2020
The Game is the result of a long and storied rivalry between the collegiate football teams of Harvard and Yale. Specifically, a game played on a cold day in November 1968, which transcended rivalry and became classic. Certain to long live in the annals of history, the game is ranked as one of the greatest college football games of all-time. As such, the book is worth a read simply for the recounting of the improbable confluence of events that transpired that day.
Colt also chronicles each teams’ undefeated season (Harvard vs Yale is the final game of the year) and provides personal histories of players and coaches. The story, while centered around Yale, Harvard and football, is actually about so much more. The book is also a reflection on the turbulence experienced by so many living through the Vietnam War and the counterculture movement rippling through America in the 60s. A decade where ideals were shifting from conformity and authority to self-expression and activism. Colt details an excellent account of the struggles and movements that motivated so many to take action at universities across the nation. In a time of serious divisiveness, the seasons of Harvard and Yale and their unusual final game provided a respite and sense of unification (even if only temporary) for the universities’ students, alumni, administrations, and fans.
Bottomline – A great, highly enjoyable read about a once in a lifetime game, that also lends an excellent perspective on coming of age during a tumultuous time.
Colt also chronicles each teams’ undefeated season (Harvard vs Yale is the final game of the year) and provides personal histories of players and coaches. The story, while centered around Yale, Harvard and football, is actually about so much more. The book is also a reflection on the turbulence experienced by so many living through the Vietnam War and the counterculture movement rippling through America in the 60s. A decade where ideals were shifting from conformity and authority to self-expression and activism. Colt details an excellent account of the struggles and movements that motivated so many to take action at universities across the nation. In a time of serious divisiveness, the seasons of Harvard and Yale and their unusual final game provided a respite and sense of unification (even if only temporary) for the universities’ students, alumni, administrations, and fans.
Bottomline – A great, highly enjoyable read about a once in a lifetime game, that also lends an excellent perspective on coming of age during a tumultuous time.
March 2, 2019
I would never have got this myself (I doubt you can even buy it in the UK), but it’s a very well compiled portrait of student life in the Ivy League in 1968 and how it interacted with the wider political turmoil in the US at the time. The triviality of Ivy League football (even in the context of a dramatic season-ending game) is contrasted really well with the significance of what was happening in America, and how the students were simultaneously protagonists in a massive sporting story, while being swept away by the tide of Vietnam War politics (and in some cases by fighting in the war itself).
I was also struck by how many continued being defined by their football season for long after they’d left university - no-one seemed to want it to be the case, but it’s an interesting example of how people often end up having the defining experience of their lives at a time which they don’t expect. I may have enjoyed the book more if I knew anything about American football (I don’t...) but it’s a fun read even for people who skim through the limited descriptions of the actual games.
I was also struck by how many continued being defined by their football season for long after they’d left university - no-one seemed to want it to be the case, but it’s an interesting example of how people often end up having the defining experience of their lives at a time which they don’t expect. I may have enjoyed the book more if I knew anything about American football (I don’t...) but it’s a fun read even for people who skim through the limited descriptions of the actual games.
May 24, 2019
Colt's book examines the Harvard-Yale football game in the fall of 1968, in which the two previously undefeated teams battled to a 29-29 tie. More than the game itself, though, Colt is trying to examine the world of 1968. As he says in the epilogue, "At an intensely polarized time, in which the country seemed irrevocably divided - hawk vs. dove, black vs. white, young vs. old, student vs. administrator, hippie vs. hard hat - the tie between archrivals seemed a kind of truce." While the story is generally entertaining, I have two problems with the book. The first is that I didn't find Colt's connections between the game and the outside world to be particularly compelling. That is, I imagine a similarly useful story could be told about the young men in the Harvard-Yale game of 1958, 1978 or 2008. More persistent, however, is the navel-gazing of the book. Colt, himself a Harvard grad, seems oblivious to the hyperbole he attaches to this game, and to the narrowness of his (and his subjects') experiences.
February 18, 2020
Much More Than A Game
Rather than simply recounting, play by play, the 1968 Yale and Harvard football seasons, the author uses the Game as a platform to discuss the major changes that hit American society and the Ivy League in the late 1960s. Football lovers may complain that the actual games don’t get enough coverage, but I found the detours into the change in admissions policies, arrival of co-education, florescence of the SDS movement, early hints of the women’s movement, and impact of the Vietnam war to be the highlights of the book. I matriculated at Yale in 1972 and the description of campus life seems very accurate to me, although much had changed even between 1968 and 1972.
The social and political currents discussed in the book are well-illustrated by specific details of the lives and background of the players. A detailed epilogue describing the later lives of the players sets the entire story in a broader context. Very well researched and entertainingly recounted!
Rather than simply recounting, play by play, the 1968 Yale and Harvard football seasons, the author uses the Game as a platform to discuss the major changes that hit American society and the Ivy League in the late 1960s. Football lovers may complain that the actual games don’t get enough coverage, but I found the detours into the change in admissions policies, arrival of co-education, florescence of the SDS movement, early hints of the women’s movement, and impact of the Vietnam war to be the highlights of the book. I matriculated at Yale in 1972 and the description of campus life seems very accurate to me, although much had changed even between 1968 and 1972.
The social and political currents discussed in the book are well-illustrated by specific details of the lives and background of the players. A detailed epilogue describing the later lives of the players sets the entire story in a broader context. Very well researched and entertainingly recounted!
March 11, 2020
George Howe Colt’s The Game took me back in time to those incredibly tumultuous years in our country, the Vietnam War years and the events that took place at the time. The book has prompted me to reflect on where I was, what I was doing, and how I was responding to the events of the time. Moreover, since the book’s epilogue described the lives of the players, I.e., those who actually played in THE GAME in 1968, it prompted me to do the same with my own life, to reflect on what I’ve done and to think about what I might want to accomplish in my remaining years. Such reflection, I believe, is something we all might consider. The Game is so much more than a marvelous description of one of the most memorable football games since the sport was invented, the Harvard v Yale game of 1968. It is a journey back to a time that should not be forgotten—ever.
June 5, 2020
Phenomenal book written about the notorious Harvard - Yale game.
I appreciate this book for many reasons:
1. When the author shares details of the game, the excitement of the game can be felt like simply reading.
2. The author provides historical background of Harvard and Yale, including political side of Vietnam War. The historical background helped understand how Harvard vs Yale became known as the Game. It also introduced the family background of major players playing in the game.
3. I loved how author included information on how Harvard and yale progressed as a whole over time. For instance, Harvard/Yale was known as a "prestigious", rich people school but gradually opened admissions to minorities and students from public schools.
For sports/history - nonfiction lover, this book is for you.
I appreciate this book for many reasons:
1. When the author shares details of the game, the excitement of the game can be felt like simply reading.
2. The author provides historical background of Harvard and Yale, including political side of Vietnam War. The historical background helped understand how Harvard vs Yale became known as the Game. It also introduced the family background of major players playing in the game.
3. I loved how author included information on how Harvard and yale progressed as a whole over time. For instance, Harvard/Yale was known as a "prestigious", rich people school but gradually opened admissions to minorities and students from public schools.
For sports/history - nonfiction lover, this book is for you.
August 23, 2020
I really enjoyed this! It wasn’t exactly a page turner (except for the final few chapters of course) but the way the story unfolded and how each player’s story was explored was really great.
One of my favorite parts was how the author so subtly and casually “name dropped” now-famous people into the story. Especially the very last paragraph on Calvin Hill - I think I said “you have got to be kidding me” out loud while sitting alone!
It was also interesting reading it during a time of such civil and racial unrest in America, decades later. The parallels were definitely there, and made me think about how our country is reacting to a lot of the same pressure points and calls to action. I often found myself asking: if people were fighting for the same thing as were fighting for today, why didn’t it work back then and will it work now?
One of my favorite parts was how the author so subtly and casually “name dropped” now-famous people into the story. Especially the very last paragraph on Calvin Hill - I think I said “you have got to be kidding me” out loud while sitting alone!
It was also interesting reading it during a time of such civil and racial unrest in America, decades later. The parallels were definitely there, and made me think about how our country is reacting to a lot of the same pressure points and calls to action. I often found myself asking: if people were fighting for the same thing as were fighting for today, why didn’t it work back then and will it work now?
November 13, 2024
If you like college football and politics, this should be right up your alley. Just keep in mind it is a 1968 game between to Ivy League schools. Yes, in 1968, Harvard and Yale were considered top tier football schools.
In the book, we get a glimpse of the life of most of the players on both teams. We have a couple of veterans back from tours of Vietnam. We have guys who go on to be big time NFL stars - Calvin Hill. We have glimpses of future presidential candidates Al Gore and George Bush. We learn about the SDS on both campuses. We see students ignoring curfews and how the then-absence of women at the schools was handled. We have draft card burners and ROTC members. We have a college president in tune with his students and one who wasn't.
My first year at college was 1969, so I can relate to the campus experience, both in terms of football and politics!
In the book, we get a glimpse of the life of most of the players on both teams. We have a couple of veterans back from tours of Vietnam. We have guys who go on to be big time NFL stars - Calvin Hill. We have glimpses of future presidential candidates Al Gore and George Bush. We learn about the SDS on both campuses. We see students ignoring curfews and how the then-absence of women at the schools was handled. We have draft card burners and ROTC members. We have a college president in tune with his students and one who wasn't.
My first year at college was 1969, so I can relate to the campus experience, both in terms of football and politics!
December 28, 2018
A superb book that uses football and the cultural background of 1968 to tell a story about people coming of age. Looking at the Harvard and Yale football teams of that season, and culminating in their famous season-ending game, the author delves info the major issues of the day, writing about football players who were involved in civil rights movements, SDS, and had just returned from fighting in Vietnam. He brings many players to life through biographical narratives. The football portions are strong too, though they’ll appeal less to people who aren’t big fans of the sport. In general, I like books that focus on the intersection of sports and politics and culture, and this one hits all the right notes in that area.
March 10, 2019
I listened to this book over a period of several weeks and enjoyed it immensely. Not only is it a great sports story- the Harvard Yale 1968 football game, but it describes the environment on college campuses at the time of SDS and Vietnam War protests. The author even covered the nude posture pictures required by the seven sisters colleges and the ladies who experienced this at Vassar and elsewhere were amused to have been reminded of this. The background of each of the players, coaches,and administration of these schools is described in great detail. The long lead up to “the game” is worth it. Having been in grad school at the time, the recounting of the game and the exploits of the players was quite familiar to me yet it held my interest throughout.
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December 22, 2021
Author George Howe Colt recounts the tumultuous events of 1968 through "The Game," the annual Yale-Harvard football game and its participants.
He's a skillful story-teller and it works. Both the Harvard and Yale teams include memorable characters caught in a fraught moment of our history with Vietnam, race relations, political upheaval, assassinations, and the nascent battle of the sexes intruding on their cloistered, traditionally conservative campuses.
Colt succeeds in weaving these disparate strands into moving accounts of the players' emotional lives. Think "Whatever Happened to the Class of 68" meets "Rocky" written with a literary flair! And he handles the climax of the actual Game (no spoilers here!) very well even though readers know the outcome in advance.
This Baby Boomer reader (a year younger than the author) found this a very satisfying book. Readers of other generations might not be so entranced but I'd recommend it to any sports fans and those seeking a somewhat nostalgic but clear-eyed perspective of an era perhaps even more uncertain and challenging than the American present.
Highly recommended!
He's a skillful story-teller and it works. Both the Harvard and Yale teams include memorable characters caught in a fraught moment of our history with Vietnam, race relations, political upheaval, assassinations, and the nascent battle of the sexes intruding on their cloistered, traditionally conservative campuses.
Colt succeeds in weaving these disparate strands into moving accounts of the players' emotional lives. Think "Whatever Happened to the Class of 68" meets "Rocky" written with a literary flair! And he handles the climax of the actual Game (no spoilers here!) very well even though readers know the outcome in advance.
This Baby Boomer reader (a year younger than the author) found this a very satisfying book. Readers of other generations might not be so entranced but I'd recommend it to any sports fans and those seeking a somewhat nostalgic but clear-eyed perspective of an era perhaps even more uncertain and challenging than the American present.
Highly recommended!
January 26, 2023
Harvard and Yale identify their annual football contest as "The Game," but the phrase particularly relates to the 1968 meeting, in which Yale dominated until the Crimson improbably scored 16 points in the last 42 seconds [sic] to tie the score. A famous headline captured the outcome as "Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29." The Game still ranks as one of the most thrilling in US collegiate history.
Colt provides backgrounds of all key players and relates football to societal processes such as the civil rights and anti-war movements. You can just read the chapters on The Game, but don't. The story Colt relates is far broader than a sports event. He evokes a time before football became all about the money and when the future direction of the country was in play.
Colt provides backgrounds of all key players and relates football to societal processes such as the civil rights and anti-war movements. You can just read the chapters on The Game, but don't. The story Colt relates is far broader than a sports event. He evokes a time before football became all about the money and when the future direction of the country was in play.
February 2, 2019
The story of the game was pretty dramatic and included Yale legend Brian Dowling, future NFL RB Calvin Hill, Harvard lineman Tommy Lee Jones, and a number of others, including Gary Trudeau and Meryl Streep. The story of the game and the season leading up to it is well told by Colt.
Colt also takes advantage of the opportunity to show how both Harvard and Yale were being reshaped as institutions during the late 1960's.
An enjoyable read with some interesting insights - this book is about more than just the game, and Colt does a nice job introducing us to a number of interesting personalities.
Colt also takes advantage of the opportunity to show how both Harvard and Yale were being reshaped as institutions during the late 1960's.
An enjoyable read with some interesting insights - this book is about more than just the game, and Colt does a nice job introducing us to a number of interesting personalities.
June 17, 2019
My rating is actually 3.5 - almost a 4. An extremely detailed account of the Harvard-Yale football, and more, rivalry culminating in the classic 1968 game. Colt does a good job depicting life at the two schools during those turbulent Vietnam War/campus unrest times. Anyone who attended college during the late 60s will relate to the pervasive tension and uneasiness that existed. So, it’s not just a football book. The depth of detail was too much for me at times and made me impatient to reach the end of the book.
On a side note, if you get a chance to see Mr. Colt speak, he is a very engaging and humorous presenter. (Another advantage of working at an independent book store.)
On a side note, if you get a chance to see Mr. Colt speak, he is a very engaging and humorous presenter. (Another advantage of working at an independent book store.)
April 24, 2020
Commended to me by my brother-in-law, and with good reason. We both were on college campuses in 1968 and carry those days with us in all sorts of ways. The Game is only secondarily a sports book, although it's a good one of those. It's really an account of how a group of special young men came together and were changed by two transcendent events -- one remarkable football game, and the national trauma of Vietnam and the uprisings against it. Meticulously reported and written with great understanding of the characters and their times, then and now.
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