It is very doubtful whether the inside story of Harvard’s victory over Yale in 1908 has ever been told.  Those who remember this game know that the way for victory was paved by Ver Wiebe and Vic Kennard.  Harry Kersburg, a Harvard coach, writes of that incident: 

“The summer of 1907 and 1908, Kennard worked for several hours each day perfecting his kicking.  This fact was known to only one of the coaches.  In 1906 and 1907, Kennard played as a substitute but was most unfortunate in being smashed up in nearly every game in which he played.  On account of this record, he was given little or no attention at the beginning of the 1908 season, even though the one coach who had great confidence in Kennard’s ability as a kicker rooted hard for him at every coaches’ meeting.  About the middle of the season, Dave Campbell came on from the West and with the one lone coach became interested in Kennard.  On the day of the Springfield Training School game, most of the Harvard coaches went down to New Haven, leaving the team in charge of Campbell and Kennard’s other rooter.  The psychological moment had arrived.  Just as soon as the Harvard team had rolled up a tidy little score, Kennard was sent into the game and instructions were given to the quarterback that he was to signal for a drop kick every time the Harvard team was within forty yards of the opponent’s goal—­no matter what the angle might be.  The game ended with Kennard having kicked four goals from the field out of six tries.  Nearly all of them were kicked from an average distance of thirty yards and at very difficult angles.  At the next coaches’ meeting serious consideration was given to what Kennard had done and from that time on he came into his own.

“Now for Rex Ver Wiebe.  For two years he had plugged away at a line position on the second team.  In his senior year he was advanced to the Varsity squad.  With all his hard work it seemed impossible for him to develop into anything but a mediocre lineman.  The line coaches, with much regret, had about given up all hope.  One afternoon, two weeks before the Yale game, one of the line coaches was standing on the side lines talking with Pooch Donovan about Ver Wiebe.  Pooch said little, but kept a close watch on Ver Wiebe for the next two or three days.  At the end of that time he came out with the statement that if Ver Wiebe could be taught how to start, he would rapidly develop into one of the best halfbacks on the squad.  Pooch’s advice was followed and in the Yale game, Ver Wiebe’s rushes outside tackle were one of the features of the game and were directly responsible for the ball being brought down the field to such a position that it was possible to substitute Kennard, who kicked a goal from the field and won the first victory for Harvard against Yale in many years.

“It is a strange coincidence that the first of Harvard’s string of victories against Yale was won by two men who a few weeks before the game were in the so-called football discard.”