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Another Week, Another Touchdown—or Two (or Three)
November/December 2007
by Robert Barton '57

As Yale’s football team swept into October undefeated, Mike McLeod, a junior running back from New Britain, Connecticut, was waging a massive assault on the record book.

In a 38-17 victory over Holy Cross on September 29, McLeod (say it muh-CLOUD) broke several modern Yale marks: rushing yardage in a game (set by Robert Carr '05 in 2002), touchdowns in a career (John Pagliaro '78, 1975-77), consecutive games scoring touchdowns (Calvin Hill '69, 1967-68), and points in a career (kicker Mike Murawczyk '01, 1997-2000). McLeod’s five touchdowns against Holy Cross matched a modern one-game record set by Joe Crowley '33 in 1931.

McLeod, a political science major who hopes to work on Wall Street post-graduation, was named most valuable player when Yale won an Ivy League co-championship in 2006. He topped several records that year too: touchdowns in a season (set by Pagliaro in 1976), carries in a season (Rich Diana '82, '87MD, in 1981), and the school mark for consecutive 100-yard rushing games (Dick Jauron '73 in 1970).

The publicity given his records seems not to have fazed McLeod or the team. “There’s no jealousy,” says tight end Langston Johnson '08, part of McLeod’s blocking convoy. Nor should there be. In the second half of Yale’s 50-10 rout of Dartmouth, McLeod carried to the Big Green’s 1-yard line, then conferred briefly with quarterback Matt Polhemus '08. When the huddle broke, McLeod switched places with senior fullback Joe Fuccillo, normally a blocker, who slammed across for his first career touchdown.

“Mike’s a team player and a great human being,” says Larry Ciotti, Yale’s backfield coach.

McLeod acknowledges the help of teammates, including Polhemus, whose mobility can turn busted plays into gains. “Matt keeps the defense on its toes,” McLeod says. They “don’t know what he’s going to do, so they have to keep some people back to defend against him.”

Even so, much of McLeod’s success is his own doing.

“He works extremely hard in the weight room,” says head coach Jack Siedlecki. “He’s built himself up from 185 pounds to 205 and lifts more, compared with his weight, than anyone on our team. He has great leg strength,” which is “one reason he’s a great short-yardage back.”

Says former head coach Carm Cozza, now a Yale broadcast analyst: “Excellent eyesight, excellent strength, excellent hands. What I really like is that the longer he’s in the game, the stronger he gets.”

Is McLeod perfect? No. Against Columbia last year, with a clear path ahead, he somersaulted into the end zone, landing on his feet. That neat bit of gymnastics cost Yale a 15-yard penalty for showboating.

Says Siedlecki: “I went over to him, put an arm around him and said, ‘Great touchdown. And don’t ever do that again.’”

From here on, McLeod won’t need theatrics to be the center of attention. He’s on pace to surpass Robert Carr’s Yale career record for rushing (3,393 yards, 2001–04) and may even approach the ancient touchdown total of Thomas “Bum” McClung, Class of 1892, who is credited with 63 in his Yale career (1888–91).

Matching that would assure McLeod—born in New Britain, 32 miles from the Bowl—a place among Yale football legends. And why not? New Britain was the birthplace of Yale’s original football legend, Walter Camp, Class of 1880, the man who wrote Yale’s original record book and football's rule book.  

Sports Shorts

The men’s lacrosse season doesn’t start officially until next February, but there was plenty of off-season news. On October 6, the Elis squared off against the Iroquois Nationals, a world-class team of Native American all-stars from the Iroquois Confederacy; Yale prevailed 12–6. On October 14, the men hosted the first annual Christian Prince Memorial Tournament, honoring Prince ’93, a standout laxman who was murdered in New Haven in 1991. Yale, Air Force, Lafayette, LeMoyne, and UMass participated in round-robin games; junior midfielder Davis Lindsey was awarded the honor of wearing Prince’s retired number, 27, for the tournament.

Many Yale sporting events are now as near as your computer. All home games for volleyball, as well as men’s and women’s basketball and ice hockey, will be streamed live via a free subscription service. For more information, go to the Yale athletics website— yalebulldogs.cstv.com— and click on the Yale All Access link.

Seven-time all-American track and cross-country star Kate O'Neill ’03 continues to be one of this country’s top distance runners. O'Neill, a 2004 US Olympian who still trains with Team USA, ran her first marathon on October 7 in Chicago. She finished third in the women’s division and first among U.S. women.

The athletics department will present five former Yale athletes with the George H. W. Bush ’48 Lifetime of Leadership Awards at the Blue Leadership Ball festivities on November 16, the night before the 124th Yale-Harvard game. Recipients will include Richard P. Cooley '44, a squash player; Charles B. Johnson '54, football; Anne F. Keating '77, field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse; W. James McNerney Jr. '71, baseball; and Kurt L. Schmoke '71, lacrosse and football.

The fall sports campaign has seen some noteworthy performances. Field hockey enjoyed a six-game winning streak, a 2-1 victory over Harvard in double overtime, and the selection of forward Ashley McCauley '10, goalkeeper Charlotte Goins '10, and forward Cat Lindroth '08—successively—as Ivy League Player of the Week. Golfer Ellie Brophy '08 won the Rutgers Invitational tournament, besting players from 18 schools for her first career victory. And on the waters off Annapolis, the sailing team was tops among the 20 squads that competed in the Naval Academy’s Fall Invite.

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