Today's Tidbit... The Battle Of The Bulldogs: Yale vs. Georgia

Yale's reputation as a football power and the shared gate receipts from the massive Yale Bowl allowed the Boys in Blue to host most of their football games before WWII. Playing at home gave Yale many advantages while robbing its players of the consistent experience of venturing into enemy territory, hoping to emerge victorious.

Pre-WWII, Yale generally played one away game per year, playing at Princeton one year and Harvard the next. As a result, most gentlemen had to come calling. Their home games were such a regular feature that the New Haven Railroad, which dominated southern New England transportation, published a timetable with pricing to and from all points in their network for football Saturdays.

1939 New Haven Railroad Football Lineup (Personal collection)

Yale filled its dance card in the 1920s and 1930s with New England and Mid-Atlantic visitors. Exceptions included North Carolina and Carnegie Tech visiting twice in the 1920s, Chicago once in 1932, and Washington & Lee saddled up to New Haven in 1933. The Yalies also played at Michigan in 1939.