Photo courtesy of Navy Lightweight Crew.
Named for legendary Harvard crew coach Henry Herbert (Bert) Haines, who coached Harvard lightweight crew from 1936 – 1952, the Henry Herbert Haines Cup is competed for annually by the Navy and Harvard MVL8s.
The inaugural Haines Cup race was won by Harvard on 26 April 1958 in Cambridge and has been competed for every year since with the exception of 1993, 1999, 2000, 2020, and 2021.
Prior to the Haines Cup match race series, Navy won the first meeting between the two crews on 7 May 1955 in Cambridge in a match race that also included MIT and Dartmouth. The finishing order was 1-Navy, 2-MIT, 3-Harvard, and 4-Dartmouth. Navy and Harvard did not meet in match races in 1956 and 1957.
Due to a COVID-19 pandemic Navy and Harvard did not race in 2020 and 2021.
Harvard leads the MVL8 match race series 52-11.
And, Harvard leads the Haines Cup series 52 – 10.
Please send any additions and/or corrections to the NavyLights Staff Historian.
Match Race and Haines Cup Winning Crews
| Year | Winner | Series N – H |
Cup N – H |
| 1955 | Navy | 1 – 0 | No Cup |
| 1956 | NO RACE | 1 – 0 | No Cup |
| 1957 | NO RACE | 1 – 0 | No Cup |
| 1958 | Harvard | 1 – 1 | 0 – 1 |
| 1959 | Harvard | 1 – 2 | 0 – 2 |
| 1960 | Harvard | 1 – 3 | 0 – 3 |
| 1961 | Navy | 2 – 3 | 1 – 3 |
| 1962 | Harvard | 2 – 4 | 1 – 4 |
| 1963 | Harvard | 2 – 5 | 1 – 5 |
| 1964 | Harvard | 2 – 6 | 1 – 6 |
| 1965 | Harvard | 2 – 7 | 1 – 7 |
| 1966 | Harvard | 2 – 8 | 1 – 8 |
| 1967 | Harvard | 2 – 9 | 1 – 9 |
| 1968 | Harvard | 2 – 10 | 1 – 10 |
| 1969 | Harvard | 2 – 11 | 1 – 11 |
| 1970 | Harvard | 2 – 12 | 1 – 12 |
| 1971 | Harvard | 2 – 13 | 1 – 13 |
| 1972 | Harvard | 2 – 14 | 1 – 14 |
| 1973 | Harvard | 2 – 15 | 1 – 15 |
| 1974 | Harvard | 2 – 16 | 1 – 16 |
| 1975 | Navy | 3 – 16 | 2 – 16 |
| 1976 | Harvard | 3 – 17 | 2 – 17 |
| 1977 | Harvard | 3 – 18 | 2 – 18 |
| 1978 | Harvard | 3 – 19 | 2 – 19 |
| 1979 | Harvard | 3 – 20 | 2 – 20 |
| 1980 | Harvard | 3 – 21 | 2 – 21 |
| 1981 | Navy | 4 – 21 | 3 – 21 |
| 1982 | Harvard | 4 – 22 | 3 – 22 |
| 1983 | Harvard | 4 – 23 | 3 – 23 |
| 1984 | Harvard | 4 – 24 | 3 – 24 |
| 1985 | Harvard | 4 – 25 | 3 – 25 |
| 1986 | Harvard | 4 – 26 | 3 – 26 |
| 1987 | Harvard | 4 – 27 | 3 – 27 |
| 1988 | Harvard | 4 – 28 | 3 – 28 |
| 1989 | Harvard | 4 – 29 | 3 – 29 |
| 1990 | Harvard | 4 – 30 | 3 – 30 |
| 1991 | Harvard | 4 – 31 | 3 – 31 |
| 1992 | Harvard | 4 – 32 | 3 – 32 |
| 1993 | NO RACE | 4 – 32 | 3 – 32 |
| 1994 | Harvard | 4 – 33 | 3 – 33 |
| 1995 | Harvard | 4 – 34 | 3 – 34 |
| 1996 | Harvard | 4 – 35 | 3 – 35 |
| 1997 | Harvard | 4 – 36 | 3 – 36 |
| 1998 | Harvard | 4 – 37 | 3 – 37 |
| 1999 | NO RACE | 4 – 37 | 3 – 37 |
| 2000 | NO RACE | 4 – 37 | 3 – 37 |
| 2001 | Harvard | 4 – 38 | 3 – 38 |
| 2002 | Navy | 5 – 38 | 4 – 38 |
| 2003 | Navy | 6 – 38 | 5 – 38 |
| 2004 | Navy | 7 – 38 | 6 – 38 |
| 2005 | Harvard | 7 – 39 | 6 – 39 |
| 2006 | Navy | 8 – 39 | 7 – 39 |
| 2007 | Harvard | 8 – 40 | 7 – 40 |
| 2008 | Navy | 9 – 40 | 8 – 40 |
| 2009 | Harvard | 9 – 41 | 8 – 41 |
| 2010 | Harvard | 9 – 42 | 8 – 42 |
| 2011 | Harvard | 9 – 43 | 8 – 43 |
| 2012 | Harvard | 9 – 44 | 8 – 44 |
| 2013 | Harvard | 9 – 45 | 8 – 45 |
| 2014 | Harvard | 9 – 46 | 8 – 46 |
| 2015 | Harvard | 9 – 47 | 8 – 47 |
| 2016 | Navy | 10 – 47 | 9 – 47 |
| 2017 | Harvard | 10 – 48 | 9 – 48 |
| 2018 | Harvard | 10 – 49 | 9 – 49 |
| 2019 | Harvard | 10 – 50 | 9 – 50 |
| 2020 | NO RACE | 10 – 50 | 9 – 50 |
| 2021 | NO RACE | 10 – 50 | 9 – 50 |
| 2022 | Navy | 11 – 50 | 10 – 50 |
| 2023 | Harvard | 11 – 51 | 10 – 51 | 2024 | Harvard | 11 – 52 | 10 – 52 |