Harvard Beats Yale 29-29(USA) (DOC) Directed by Kevin Rafferty

Harvard Beats Yaletells the story of the 1968 Ivy League football season during which underdog Harvard and powerhouse Yale both came into their game against one another undefeated for the first time since 1909. Director Kevin Rafferty interviews most of the key players from both teams, and, forty years later, the result is an interesting collection of recollections, impressions, and perspectives on the game itself, and their overall college experience. The players vary in background, and we hear from men whose parents were uneducated blue collar workers, as well those who came from long lines of privilege. We hear from one ex-player who was in combat in Vietnam before returning to a Harvard campus rife with ant-war activity. Some of the interesting connections to the players in the game include a Yale player who was dating Meryl Streep at the time; actor Tommy Lee Jones, Harvard offensive lineman, who was roomed with Al Gore; and another Eli who lived with George W. Bush (who, incidentally, was picked up by police during the season for helping to rip up a goal post on the field). The Yale team was also the source for some of Gary Trudeau’s characters in the comic strip Doonesbury. The two most talented players on the field were Yale quarterback Brian Dowling (B.D. from Doonesbury) and running back Calvin Hill (father of NBA player Grant, who would have a career in the NFL). The drama of the game itself is pleasingly recounted, with lots of extended clips from the television broadcast. Harvard miraculously came back from a sixteen point deficit with a minute left in the game, no easy or usual feat. It’s interesting to hear the various players perspective on the game and the times - anti-war protests, Vietnam, etc., and thankfully Rafferty exhibits a light touch, never endeavoring to assign too much cultural significance to the event. He merely lets the film from the game and the players involved tell the story without any additional commentary.

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