Go Wes!

In our effort to cover more football-related Wesleyan news, I bring you this report from Saturday night's Athletics Hall of Fame dinner at Beckham Hall. In addition to honoring a number of alumni athletes and former lacrosse and soccer coach Terry Jackson, the dinner also honored Wesleyan's 1969 undefeated football team.

At least one member of the team, then-sophomore running back David Revenaugh '72, continues to live in the Middletown area, and he was joined by more than 25 of his teammates who returned to campus for Homecoming Weekend. I caught a shot of David listening as John Biddiscombe read out the storied accomplishments of the team.

Here's an excerpt from the excellent article in the evening's program, describing that year's battle with Amherst:

As good as Wesleyan's 4-0 record was, the fifth game changed the tenor of the season and the opinions of many. Wesleyan hadn't beaten Amherst at Pratt Field in 14 years. They were powerful and widely favored. Once the game started, however, Amherst's Homecoming crowd was subjected to a one-sided contest, a 28-13 Cardinal triumph, that prompted headlines such as, "Wesleyan upsets," "Wesleyan slams," and "Wesleyan stuns." The Wesleyan defense intercepted Amherst five times and recovered three fumbles. Panciera threw three touchdown passes and Revenaugh ran for 130 yards and caught two touchdown passes. In a season of unexpected events, the biggest game of the year was never in doubt, and Wesleyan was a very serious 5-0.

In the end, the 1969 team was undefeated, untied, Little Three champs, and winners of the Lambert Cup. Coach of the Year went to Don Russell and four players were elected to the All-New England team.

Congratulations to David and the rest of the 1969 team!