The two schools' first athletic competition was a crew race in 1852– the United States' first intercollegiate athletic competition. Harvard first played Yale's baseball program on July 25, 1868. The Crimson won, 25–17, and went on to win the teams' first eight meetings. Yale won five of the next seven, including a 5–0 win in 1877 in which pitcher Charles Carter threw what later became known as a perfect game.
