Reed’s run set up Harvard at the Bulldog 15, and Champi connected with Freeman to finish the drive. 29-19, Yale.

With under a minute to play, the Crimson had to opt for the two-point conversion attempt. The play, as Gatto remembered, was designed for Champi to find either halfback Pete Varney ’71 or Gatto. Champi lofted a pass to Varney that was swiftly batted down by a Yale defensive back, seemingly crushing a Harvard comeback.

And then another gift in the form of a yellow flag. A controversial interference call forced the Yale defense to replay the conversion.

“If I were coaching on the Yale sideline, I wouldn’t have liked it, and they definitely didn’t like it,” Gatto said. “Our guy was big, and the defensive back trying to come around him did grab him a little bit. So without that, everything else wouldn’t have happened.”

On take two, Crim punched it in. 29-21, Yale.

42 SECONDS

With just 42 seconds remaining in the game and down by eight, Harvard had to go for the onside kick. And in a situation that calls on fundamentals, the Bulldogs special teams proved far from special.

“We didn’t have a hands team,” Goldsmith said. “That’s like going to a golf course and leaving your putter and your wedge at home. I mean, come on—it’s a tool, everybody has to have one. You may not need one, but you have to come prepared.”

The kick bounced off of the chest of a Yale offensive guard, and Harvard’s Bill Kelly ’71 fell on top of it. Crimson ball at midfield, 42 seconds on the clock.

Champi ran a sweep on the next play, and then the floodgates opened for Eli mistakes. A facemask penalty on that play moved the Crimson to the Yale 20.

At Gatto’s urging, the offensive coordinator called a draw for Crim, catching the Bulldogs defense off guard with a 14-yard run. With 15 seconds left, Harvard was already at the Yale six.

“By now, everybody’s come out of the stands,” Gatto remembered. “People are lining the field all around the end zone. Refs pause everything to try to pull people back.”

But the comeback stalled when Champi dropped back to pass on the next play and was sacked. The Crimson burned its last timeout. One play, eight yards, and just three seconds remained in The Game.

Champi ran the same play as the two-point conversion, looking towards Varney, then to Gatto.

“Champi gets the ball, runs around like a chicken with his head cut off,” Cramer said. “The clock meanwhile has expired—the play probably took 10 seconds, this last play.”