Today's Tidbit... Art and Wyllys Terry's 115-Yard TD Run

Halfback Kahlil Keys ran 94 yards for a touchdown in Yale's 53-12 victory over Columbia in 2013, extending by one yard the school's modern record for the longest run from scrimmage. Denny McGill set the previous record versus Dartmouth in 1956.

Of course, both runs set the "modern" record, a term whose meaning depends on who you ask. Back in the day, every football record depended on who you asked because the game did not have a consistent record-keeping system or definitions to use in that system. For example, should a run's length be measured from the line of scrimmage or the spot on the field where the runner began their run? The answer depended on who you asked since consistent definitions and record-keeping systems did not arrive until an independent college football statistics tracking process developed in the late 1930s.

Since Yale has played football since the beginning, it should not be surprising that an early Eli player had a run from scrimmage of either 115 or 107 yards, depending on who you ask. The run came in Yale's third of three games against Wesleyan in 1884. W. Y. or Wyllys Terry would have been an All-American in 1884, except All-American teams did not come along for another five years, and Yale would have been considered the national champs for 1884 but would wait a few decades to receive that honor retroactively.