"Whenever I drive home to Pennsylvania, I always pass a maximum security prison," Winkler said, who played his first prison game last week at Walpole. "I've always wondered what it would be like to go inside. Now I finally got the chance."

All of the players admit that the experience is intimidating, especially having to go through six or seven locked doors and several checkpoints to be frisked, not to mention nearly 70 "fans" on the sidelines.

The predominant fear, though, is that once they're in they'll never come out.

"At Concord State, they stamp your hand so they can identify you, and so you can get out after the game," Caulfield said. "The whole time I was playing I was hoping my sweat wouldn't wipe it off."

But in spite of the intimidation factor--which most of the players admit affects the aggressiveness of their game--the players said that the prison games are the tamest games the team plays.

"The prisoners are really excited to play," Patton said. "And they know that if they screw up, they won't get to play again. The prison games are definitely one of the best experiences of Classics."

Only one mystery remains about Harvard Classics--the name. Although there are rumors that members of the Classics Department started the team, none of today's players will admit its origin.

"It's a secret," Arrowsmith said. "Only Classics players are allowed to know."