<p>Oh now I see what you mean. You claim that there were never any international rankings of universities prior to ARWU and THES? Really?</p>
<p>I know for a fact that prior to WW2, Oxford was considered numero uno. After the war, Harvard took the lead internationally and Cambridge took over #1 in the UK.</p>
<p>It may not have been as formal as ARWU or THES, and not done every year, but universities have been ranked worldwide by academic reputation u before these two rankings that you googled even existed.</p>