Bear Traditions
Cal students have never been quiet. Since the first class -- the "12
Apostles" of 1873 -- Cal men and women have been creating their own
identity, creating their own activities and lore, some of which has
survived over the years (such as the Stanford rivalry), others of which
haven't (such as the textbook burial traditions). Some of our traditions,
such as Card Stunts, have even been adopted by other universities and
sports fans around the world. Here you can glean through a sampling of
our traditions.
Angel of Death
During the 19th century, "cinch" notices (of academic deficiency) were
publicly posted in the bulletin board in North Hall. The man who posted
them was known to the students as the "Angel of Death."
Andy Smith Eulogy
Andy L. Smith was the coach of the Cal football team during the triumphant
years of the 1920s. For years after his death in 1926, Professor Garff
Wilson has read a eulogy in a darkened Greek Theatre annually.
Big "C"
On March 18, 1905, the class of '07 and '08, then Freshmen and Sophomores,
joined together to build a "C" in the hills by Berkeley. This was the end
of the "Rush"; the Freshmen and Sophomores worked together for the
first time, rather than fighting against each other. It was traditionally
the sophomore's responsibility to take care of and guard (particularly
when Stanford students may try to wreck it before a big game) the "C," and
every Charter Day there was a ceremony in which the deed was transferred
from one sophomore class to the next; the deed disappeared in the move to
Doe Library.
Burial of Bourdon and Minto
Like other traditions at Cal, the Burial was modeled after Yale's Burial
of Euclid tradition. From 1878 - 1903, every Freshman class would, at the
end of the school year, bury their main textbooks, Bourdon's Elements
of Algebra and Minto's Manual of English Prose Composition.
Over time the ceremony became more and more elaborate, complete with
costumes and long processions (which the sophomores would, of course,
always try to break up). The ceremony died out as the undergraduate
population increased, and "rowdy elements" from surrounding communities
were able to take part and turning the student fun into riots.
Card Stunts
In the Cal-Stanford game of 1908, spectators on both sides wore rooter
caps which were one color on one side and another color on another side.
During half-time the students of both sides would reverse their caps,
creating a message in block letters. Beginning in the Big Game of 1914,
students used colored cards to spell out messages in the rooting sections.
These became more and more elaborate, eventually with an invisible pen
writing "Cal" in the Cal script.
Class Clothing
From the 1870s until 1911, Cal upperclassmen wore "plugs," or top hats:
black for seniors, grey for juniors. Very much like the hip baseball cap
of today, the more used, worn, and battered a plug was, the cooler it was;
so the students would kick around their hats. The Class of 1913 was the
first to wear the "senior sombrero." This was popular until the late 1920s
and, it is rumored, is the inspiration for the U.S. Forest Ranger hat.
Founder's Rock
On the corner of Hearst Avenue and Gayley Road lies the Founder's Rock,
the spot, according to college lore, where the 12 trustees of the College
of California stood on April 16, 1860, to dedicate the property they had
just purchased. This is, supposedly, the same spot where Frederick
Billings stood in 1866 when he remembered Bishop Berkeley's verse --
"Westerward the course of empire takes it way" -- and thus inspired the
name of the new city. A plaque was put on this spot on Charter Day in
1896.
Freshman-Sophomore Brawl
After the banning of the "Charter Hill Rushes" (real, down-and-dirty
freshman-sophomore fighting) in 1907, this tradition -- of tag-of-war
contests, push-ball contests, and so on -- took its place.
Golden Bear
When a 12-man track team returned from a series of meets on the East
Coast in 1895, having been triumphant beyond expectations, their logo --
the grizzly bear embroidered in gold on their banner -- immediately
became Cal's mascot.
Hanging of Danny Deever
At the end of the Fall semester of 1930, a bunch of students asked that
The Hanging of Danny Deever be played on the Campanile bells on the final
day of classes, as they had heard on the Campanile, by chance, the end of
the previous semester, Spring 1930. The tradition just stuck from there.
Labor Day
Long before Labor Day was a national holiday, Cal had its own Labor Day:
leap year. First held on February 29, 1896, the students, faculty, and
staff of Cal spent the day -- at the suggestion of Regent Jacob Reinstein
'73, who wanted to dramatize for the legislature Cal's lack of money --
working together helping repair the area around North and South Halls. The
most visible product today of these labor days was the trail to the "Big
C" from 1916; and after 1932, the day of work declined, eventually
becoming a parade.
Ludwig's Fountain
A Short-Hair Pointer named Ludwig became Cal's unofficial mascot in 1960.
Right after the new Student Union building was completed, he would
spend his days hanging around the Dining Commons but then quickly found
the fountain. He became famous for spending his days playing with
students around the fountain and leaving for home promptly at 5:30pm. He
was so popular, in fact, that the Regents named the fountain after him in
1961! But all this lasted only until the fall of 1965, when his owners
moved to Alameda.
North Hall Steps
This was the favorite resting spot of the idle men on campus. Students
would spent their afternoons, often when they were supposed to be on
class, sitting with their friends on the steps on the south side of North
Hall. Classes would gather here; men would watch women go by here; and so
on. When North Hall was condemned to be torn down in 1917, 700 alumni
gathered by the steps "to say farewell." President Benjamin Ide Wheeler
summarized the steps of North Hall perfectly: "The shrine to those who
would loaf and invite their souls."
"Oski"
At first, Cal students wanted to use a bear cub as their mascot: a
real-life bear to cheer on their students during the football games. As
the cubs grew, this idea was quickly and wisely abandoned. In 1941,
however, a student inspired by William Rockwell '48 came to the game
dressed in a padded size 54 yellow sweater, blue pants, oversized shoes,
large white gloves, and a papier maché head caricature of a bear.
And thus we have the Oski we know and love today.
Partheneia
Every year, beginning in 1911, Cal held a competition for an original play
by an undergraduate woman about the transition from girlhood to adulthood.
The wining play was performed, sometimes with 400-500 Cal women taking
part, at first under the oaks by the eucalyptus grove and then in the
Faculty Glade. The tradition died out in 1931.
Axe Rally
This was the one time per year when the Stanford Axe was taken from its
vault and shown to the student body, with alumni retelling the story of
its capture. After 31 years, the tradition died out in 1930 when
Stanford recaptured the Axe. But the tradition of a Rally the night before
the Big Game continues; now, only when Cal is in possession of the Axe
does the Rally become an Axe Rally.
Pajamarino
A night-time, mid-October pajama parade first held in October, 1901, as a
"costume stunt." Although there were at first skits and stunts during the
parade, it eventually transformed into a fashion show of sorts.
Rushing
Also known as the Charter Hill Rushes, because that's where they took
place, Rushing was the contest between the freshmen and the sophomores to
wrestle each other into submission. The first rush happened with the first
class in the early 1870s, and continued until 1904--sometimes meticulously
planned, sometimes spontaneous fighting. The "Big C" was built between the
freshmen and the sophomores in 1905 as a symbol of the end of the Rush, to
be a sign of school, rather than class, unity.
Sather Gate
University regulations long prohibited any sort of political campaigning
on campus. By the 1930s, as a result, the portion of Telegraph Avenue
right outside the main entrance to campus, Sather Gate -- this land was,
at this time, still public property -- became the spot where all the
political demonstrating and activism took place. This was, in fact, the
central issues in the free speech movement of 1964.
Senior Men's Bench
Dedicated on April 14, 1908, the Senior Men's Bench, on the sunny corner
between the south steps and the basement entrance to North Hall, Cal
students would loaf here and "pipe the flight" (watch the girls go by)
during the days. The bench lost its significance in 1917, when Wheeler Hall
was built, causing fewer people to walk by the bench. The bench was moved
a few times during the next few years until 1937, when it was finally
placed by Moses Hall (then Eshleman Hall), where it sat for the next
half-century until it was removed just very recently, without anyone
noticing.
Sophomore Lawn
The Sophomore lawn is a strip of grass between Doe Library and California
Hall, where sophomores would gather from 1910 on. As freshmen passed the
lawn -- not knowing it was under the sophomore's jurisdiction -- the
sophomores would haze them for walking on their property. But after 1941,
when fewer students needed to go to California Hall (Sproul Hall was the
new administrative center) and hazing was banned, the lawn lost its
significance.
Stanford Axe
The Stanford Axe was originally an ornament, albeit one with a 15-inch
steel blade on a four-foot handle, displayed in the Stanford
rooting section in the Stanford-Cal baseball game on April 15, 1899. After
the game, Cal students wrestled the Axe from the Stanford students and
evaded the Stanford students (helped by the San Francisco police) and were
able to bring the Axe across the bay back to campus. It remained there
until 1931, displayed annually during the Axe Rally the night before the
Big Game. In that year, 21 Stanford students invaded campus and -- with
one posing as a photographer wanting a picture of the Axe -- they tossed a
tear bomb to the Cal students, letting them reclaim it. Three years later,
Cal and Stanford alumni agreed together to let the Axe become a trophy
awarded annually to the winner of the Cal-Stanford Big Game.
Wheeler Oak
Between 1917, when Wheeler Hall was opened, and 1934, when the Oak died
and was removed, the Wheeler Oak, standing right outside the front of
Wheeler Hall, was one of the favorite loafing spots for Cal students.
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