The evolution of the shape of the football can be seen in the displays of past game balls, since the early ones predate even the invention of the forward pass.

Although they did not meet on the football field until 1884, an anecdote from David Bishop Skillman's history of Lafayette College reveals that bad blood existed between the two places even before Lehigh University was founded.

When Asa Packer first moved to Mauch Chunk in present-day Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania as an uneducated carpenter, he followed his family's footsteps in joining a local Presbyterian church.

While eager at first in the proposition, Packer's enthusiasm turned sour when Pardee mentioned that the school would be under the control of the Presbyterian Church.

[8] Packer later enlisted the help of the Episcopal Bishop of Philadelphia, William Bacon Stevens, in founding Lehigh University.

Lafayette records indicate that the first athletic meeting between the two schools was a series of baseball games played in Easton and Bethlehem in October 1869.

After football rules were standardized in 1883, Lafayette's manager Theodore L. Welles approached Lehigh and offered to play them.

They thought the rickety stands built for the 1887 event in Bethlehem were a disgrace and set them on fire at the end of the game to celebrate Lehigh's first win.

A newspaper report stated: "... by far the largest crowd that ever witnessed a football game in Wilkes-Barre, and the cheering of the students seemed to startle the natives.

The next meeting outside the Lehigh Valley did not take place until 2014, when the schools played at Yankee Stadium to commemorate the 150th game in the series.

Thus, to fill out their schedules, the nearby schools played two football games again in 1943 and 1944, with Lehigh students forming ad hoc teams just to keep The Rivalry tradition alive.

Prior to 1991, when new rules and game start times were imposed, it was traditional for the fans to tear down the temporary wooden goalposts that the schools erected for the event.

The fans who rushed the field were frustrated by the new changes and showed this by tearing up and throwing pieces of sod at the security guards and police who were surrounding the posts.

[22] Much like in 2006, the Leopards jumped out to a large lead, fought off a Lehigh rally, and pulled away down the stretch, winning 50-28 and claiming the Patriot League crown outright, this time on their rival's home turf.

A decision was later made to move the Patriot League fall 2020 season to spring 2021, thereby allowing the Rivalry to remain uninterrupted in the school calendar year.

Following a 30–30 regulation score and a scoreless first possession of overtime, Lehigh wide receiver Brian Klingerman caught a pass with one hand from quarterback Bob Aylsworth in the back of the end zone.

The catch not only won the game for Lehigh, which trailed 30–14 midway in the fourth quarter, but led them to clinch the Patriot League championship.

[30][32] In the 2005 game played at Lehigh, Lafayette backup quarterback Pat Davis threw a 37-yard TD pass to running back Jonathan Hurt on 4th-and-10 with 38 seconds left to give the Leopards a 23–19 win.

The victory gave Lafayette the second of three straight Patriot League championships and NCAA Division I-AA (FCS) Playoff appearances.

[36] Northampton County district attorney Stephen Baratta, a Lafayette alumnus, stated that the act constituted "criminal code violations" and that "this is not behavior that we can really sanction.