Top 5 moments in Columbia sports history

1) July 4, 1878
The Columbia crew team becomes the first international squad to win a race at the Henley Royal Regatta. The Lions defeat University College, Oxford and Hertford College, Oxford, marking the first loss of an English crew in English waters. This is the first year that the Visitors’ Challenge Cup—the race the Light Blue won­—is open to foreigners.

2) April 18, 1923
In a game against Williams College, Lou Gehrig strikes out a record 17 batters. In the only season he played for Columbia, Gehrig hit .403 with seven home runs—some of which landed near the Journalism building and Alma Mater, as the baseball field was South Field (now called South Lawn) at the time. After the 1923 season, Gehrig signed with the Yankees.

3) Jan. 1, 1934
The Columbia football team defeats Stanford 7-0 to win the Rose Bowl—the only bowl game at the time. The Lions beat the Indians thanks to a tricky play by Light Blue quarterback Cliff Montgomery that led to a Columbia touchdown in the second quarter. Though the Rose Bowl Player of the Game award didn’t exist until 1953, Montgomery received the honor retroactively

4) Dec. 10, 1983
The men’s soccer team suffers a 1-0 double-overtime loss to Indiana in the NCAA Championship game. Normally, a loss wouldn’t make a top-five list, but to date, this is the furthest an Ivy team has gone in the NCAA tournament. The Lions went 18-0 that season before falling to the Hoosiers and were ranked first in the nation at the end of the regular season.

5) March 20, 1998
Cristina Teuscher, CC ’00, becomes the first female Ivy Leaguer to win an NCAA championship in swimming when she takes the 500-yard freestyle in 4:35.45. Teuscher won a gold medal in the women’s 4x200 freestyle relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal in the 200m individual medley at the 2000 Olympics.