In 1981, the New York Yankees lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston Red Sox slugger Dwight Evans tied for the AL home run crown with 22. Joe Montana won the first of his four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers. Ronald Reagan was in the early years of his presidency and the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan.
It was also the last time Tufts football won a game in Williamstown.
Twenty years later, the Yankees are still contenders for the World Series, Evans would have lost to Bonds by 50 in the home run race, and Montana is out of football. None of us can even remember '81.
As for the NESCAC rivalry, it's safe to say that Williams has dominated. It's been 20 years since the Jumbos won at Williams, and 15 years since they topped the Purple Cows in Medford. Since 1986, the Tufts is 12-0-2 against Williams.
While Williams might be comforted by this string, there is reason to expect this season will be different: three of the Purple Cows' last four victories have come by narrow margins, and the opponent this Saturday is their toughest of the season. Tufts heads to Williams tomorrow for the tenth time since the 9-6 victory two decades ago, but this time with a perfect season to defend.
It's true that when Tufts seniors think of 4-0 Tufts versus 4-0 Williams, the image of a 42-7 Homecoming loss the Jumbos sustained in 1998 comes to mind. But what students tend to forget is that Tufts recovered from that loss to go 7-1 that season.
"We played seven great football games that year," coach Bill Samko said. "We picked a bad time not to play well."
Samko is the first to point out that that his 1998 squad was a much different team than this year's version. Few current seniors played substantial minutes in the 1998 game, but more players on the team recall the events of the 1999 matchup with Williams.
"I remember every play of that game," junior wide receiver Bryan Pitko said, though he didn't play in the game.
It was a painful loss, as Tufts, down two touchdowns late in the game, rallied on Williams' rainy, muddy field. Then junior Brian Holmes intercepted a pass and returned it for a score with 3:41 to play, and after a defensive stand, Tufts drove the ball down to the Williams' five yard line. But with a first and goal and down by seven, the drive stalled, and Tufts was denied again.
That loss wasn't as heartbreaking as the 1997 game, in which Williams' running back Mike McAdams scored a rushing touchdown on the final play of the game to give the Purple Cows a 26-24 victory.
Last year, Tufts was ahead 10-7 in the third quarter before yielding two late touchdowns in the 21-10 loss. In fact, the last time Williams didn't beat Tufts was in 1992, when the teams ended in a 10-10 tie.
The two squads were evenly matched again in 1988, when Tufts drew Williams to a 14-14 tie at home. The good news is that the last time Tufts beat Williams, it trounced the Purple Cows - a 33-3 home victory in 1986.
In fact, the 30-point margin of victory is the largest for Tufts in the history of the rivalry, of which Williams has the decisive 41-21-7 edge.
But, as Samko will tell you, history is only so important. "You can learn from the past," the coach said. "But you can't dwell on it."
That is the attitude the Jumbos will take into this weekend's much-anticipated game with Williams. The attitude coincides nicely with the team's motto - respect all, and fear none.
Samko is insisting that his team view this game no more important than any other. "This is our most important game of the season, because it's the game we play this week," the coach said. "Last week's game was the most important of the season last week."
As much as Samko would like to downplay the importance of Tufts-Williams football, he acknowledges that there is something special in the match-up.
"I hope they don't get more geared up this week, because they should get geared up every week," he said. "But the kids feel it, and it's exciting."
Coach and players alike are confident that defeating big, bad Williams isn't an unattainable dream.
"We just have to play football like we can," Pitko said. "We need to stay comfortable, and just play like we have all season."
One advantage Tufts has this year that it hadn't in the past two is a solid rushing attack. In the mud and slop at Williams in 1999, Tufts could only muster 99 yards rushing - an average of three per attempt - which put added pressure on the passing game.
This year, the Jumbos boast the NESCAC's top running back, junior Keven Kelley, who has averaged 156.8 yards a game and 5.6 per carry.
Another advantage Tufts will have is fan support. Unlike 1999, when few, if any, students made the trek Williamstown, this year, the athletics department has spent paid for a charter bus for fans.
And don't think Tufts couldn't use the fan support to make it feel more at home. Since 1986, the only victories and ties that Tufts has mustered over Williams have come in front of the home crowd. Saturday's game starts at 2 p.m. and the fan bus leaves Cousens Gym at 10 a.m.
