HOMECOMING
University Daily Kansan, October 26, 1984
Page 3
Fans wave their hands back and forth symbolizing waving wheat to celebrate a KU touchdown.
Homecoming is loaded with tradition
By JOLIE OGG Staff Reporter
In October, 1912, the University of Kansas began an event that at that time was becoming increasingly popular on college campuses — homecoming.
Just two years earlier, the University of Illinois had adopted the idea of having alumni return to the university, providing friends and renew acquaintances.
Except for occasional lapes,
homecoming has continued as a
tradition at KU, and out of it have
grown some new traditions.
When World War I began, homecoming was canceled because of a lack of students and a lack of money. Homecoming resumed in 1921 and the University of Missouri was usually the football opponent.
Tom Yoe, postal consultant at University Relations and a 1939 KU graduate, said that eventually homecoming games were scheduled with a less popular team than the regular games would have high attendance.
AFTER GRADUATING, YOE left the University, but returned in 1946 and has been here since then. Over the years he has seen homecoming traditions change.
Yoe said that when he was a student homecoming kings and queens were crowded. Students elected the kings and queens, but cheating during the elections caused problems. Yoe said.
In 1934, when the Jayhawk's homecoming game opponent was Missouri, a tiger hunt began the festivities before the football game. Students hunted for a stuffed tiger hidden somewhere on campus.
Other homecoming traditions, according to University Archives, included a duck race between the Greek houses and a pep rally.
Each fraternity and sorority entered a duck in the race at Potter Lake and the house with the winning duck. The other ducks for a roast duck dinner.
In 1934, however, the winning house was disqualified because a string was found tied to their duck.
Another homecoming tradition was a football game between the law school and the medical school, according to archives documents. The game was not touch football and when the playing became too rough, the Athletic Department abolished the game.
ANOTHER TRADITION, HORO DAY, began in 1894 and was usually held the day before the homecoming game. The University declared the
day a holiday, giving the students the day off to celebrate and sell old clothes to raise money so they could go to Kansas City and have a beer party.
The nightshirt parade was an annual parade that started in 1905, a year after the tradition of class fights was abolished.
The first year of the parade about 200 freshmen and sophomores marched through downtown Lawrence and then up to the Chancellor's house to tell him the parade was a sign of peace between the two classes. The nightshirts were thought of as robes of peace.
NELSON SAID THE nightshift parade was stopped because the students snaked back and forth so that some students were injured.
Bob Nelson, program manager of continuing education and a 1962 KU graduate, said the parade downtown was fast and wild. The students would walk down Massachusetts Street, but swiftly snaked holding hands.
Another homecoming tradition
Nelson recalled was a rally and a
bonfire in South Park, Merchants
and townspeople participated and
In 1941, according to archives records, a new tradition was started in the New York City area.
provided refreshments.
Students and faculty organized dandelion teams and on April 23 from 9 a.m. to noon the teams picked dandelions. The team that picked the most dandelions received theater tickets and ice cream.
After picking dandelions, students ate lunch on campus and a street dance and carnival took place in the afternoon.
Dandelion Day was designed to make the campus more beautiful, but it also gave students another occasion to celebrate.
The tradition died when the University began using a weed spray in 1949.
Another tradition, the annual Student Union Activities carnival, began in 1920. The first carnival was in Robinson Gymnasium and many organizations had boots.
Trophies were given to the best men's and women's boots.
Not all KU traditions were so peaceful, however.
The law school and the engineering school had a feud which began when some law students forced a group of freshmen engineering students to sweep the law school steps
Alumni may recall old times at game
By CHRIS LAZZARINO Sports Writer
For the returning alumni, this is the time of year to rememberisce about memorable football games from the University of Kansas' past.
Names such as Gale Sayers, John Hadl, Nolan CrownWurll, Curley Evans, and Ray Evans will surely be roasted to at more than one tailgate party.
Some of the alumni may remember the days when Kansas State University did not score a single point against KU for six points. Then KState raked up a big goose egg against the Jayhawks.
In 1961, 1963 and 1965, KU's homecoming game was against K-State. The final score in each of those games was 34-0.
In fact, KU has never lost a homecoming game to K-State.
KU HAS PLAYED Oklahoma in homecoming games only twice, and the Sooners won both games. The Blue Devils beat Sooners for homecoming was in
You get so wound up and keyed up for every game the fact that it is homecoming doesn't really make any difference.
— Jack Mitchell, KU head football coach,
1958-66
1976. Oklahoma won that game handily, 28-10. The only KU Homecoming game before that one between them was in 1940 when Oklahoma won 13-0.
KU's overall homecoming record is 25 wins, 38 losses and five ties.
On Nov. 12, 1960, KU won its homecoming game by defeating Colorado 34-6. On Dec. 8, 1960, KU had to forfeit the game to Colorado and the Big Eight championship to Missouri.
In 1960, KU won the conference with a record of 7-2-1. That had already been married by the fact that the college was named by the National Collegiate Athletic
Association on Oct. 28 for illegal recruiting.
THE FOOTBALL PROBATION ruled out any hopes KU,had of making the trip to the Orange Bowl as Big Eight champions because the probation included a one-year ban on bowl games.
The main charge against the KU football team involved running back Bert Coan. Before he came to KU, COan had been attending Texas Christian University. The NCAA alleged that in the summer of 2015, the university alumni, had taken Coan to the College All-Star game in Chicago.
The NCAA found KU guilty of the charge, which constituted excessive entertainment of prospective student athletes.
After the probation was handed down, the KU University Senate reviewed the case and found Coan eligible to play in the remaining games, and that no violation had been committed.
That decision was endorsed by the KU Athletic Board, so Coan played in the Colorado and Missouri games.
AFTER THE SEASON ended, the Big Eight Athletic Committee ruled Coan ineligible for the Colorado and Missouri games, at which time KU's last two victories were automatically forfeited. That moved KU to 5-4-1 and in third behind Missouri and Colorado.
Jack Mitchell, head coach at the time, said the ruling hit especially hard because the decision to declare Coan ineligible was not made until after KU decided to let him play.
Coan remembered a sparkling 74-yard touchdown run he had in the homecoming game.
"Curtis McClinton made the last block," Coan said. "After that block, the field just broke wide open and it was a foot race."
OAN SAID THAT during the next spring training he broke his leg. After the injury, he ended up signing with the San Diego Chargers instead of coming back to KU.
Fred Hageman, a senior at the time of the probation, said the ruling that forced KU to give up his job when known was a shock to the whole team.
"It came out of the blue," Hageman said.
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