Monon Bell
Encyclopedia
The Monon Bell is the trophy awarded to the victor of the annual college football
matchup between the DePauw University
Tigers (in Greencastle, Indiana
) and the Wabash College
Little Giants
(in Crawfordsville, Indiana
) in the United States
. The Bell is a 300-pound locomotive
bell from the Monon Railroad
. As of the end of the 2011 season, the two teams have played against each other 118 times. Wabash leads the all-time series, 56-53-9, while the series is tied since the Bell was introduced as the victor's trophy in 1932, 37-37-6.
The teams failed to play each other only 5 years in the entire history. From 1897-1899, the schools failed to schedule each other for an unknown reason. In 1910, the teams didn't play due to the death of Wabash's star halfback, Ralph Lee Wilson, who died from a concussion in a game earlier in the season. The schools have played each other every year since 1911.
The Monon Bell Classic is an American college football
rivalry
game played by Wabash College and DePauw University. Named for the Monon Bell, the trophy awarded to the winner , it is the sixth most-played Division III rivalry and equals the 12th-most played in college football. To date, there have been 118 total games played between the two teams, resulting in a lead for Wabash at 56-53-9.
Before the Bell was introduced as the rivalry's prize in 1932, Wabash led the series 20-17-3.
The game has received national media coverage including articles in Sports Illustrated
in 1973 and 1993, a feature on Charles Kuralt
's 1979 "Sunday Morning" show, articles in USA Today
in 1987 and the Wall Street Journal in 1999 and a feature on Fox Sports Net
's show The Slant in 1999.
The game is regularly televised and past battles have been seen on ABC
, ESPN2
, and HDNet
. Annually, alumni parties are held in about 50 cities across America where loyal fans from both schools gather to watch the game. In May 2007, a three-year agreement was announced with HDNet
to televise the game through 2009. A three-year extension announced in 2010 will keep the game on HDNet through 2012.
Professionally replicated DVDs have been produced of 13 complete contests -- the 2000 through 2010 games, as well as the 1977 and 1994 Monon Bell Classics.
Listed below are the all-time Monon Bell Classic results, with Wabash victories shaded in scarlet ¦¦ and DePauw victories are shaded in old gold ¦¦.
Prior to the 1965 meeting between the two teams, Wabash student Jim Shanks '67 scheduled a meeting with DePauw University President William H. Kerstetter, claiming to be representative from the US Information Service in Mexico City. During the meeting with Kerstetter, Shanks was able to convince the president to offer two full scholarships for Mexican students. To "seal the deal" Shanks asked to take photos of various points of interest on campus to show the "prospective" Mexican students more about DePauw University.
One item Shanks asked to photograph was the Monon Bell, in the Tigers' possession after a 22-21 victory in 1964. The dean of the college was the only person on campus who knew the location of the Bell, but was reluctant to tell Shanks of its location. "I don't know whether I should show this to you or not," he said with laugh. "The last time I showed it to someone, they stole it."
Taking Shanks to the second floor of a quonset hut near the football field, Shanks took careful notes that were provided to a group of Wabash students who entered the building and took the Bell back to Crawfordsville. The Bell was eventually "found" by the Wabash administration and returned to DePauw the day before the 1965 game.
Saturday afternoon the Little Giant football team made certain it was a short visit. Wabash defeated DePauw 16-6. After every Wabash touchdown, the Wabash fans cheered "Ole!" At the conclusion of the game Wabash fans stormed the field, many wearing sombreros and ponchos, throwing taco shells onto the field and wielding posters congratulating President Kerstetter for the loss of the Bell and the two scholarship offers.
The Bell was last stolen in 1998 by Wabash students on Halloween.
Notably, the rivalry is still very strong: in 1998, after DePauw had secured the Bell, a fracas broke out on the field of Wabash's Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium. During the fiasco, DePauw students pulled down one of the Little Giants' goal posts. The Little Giant student body retaliated by charging the field. The melee was broken up by the local police, which used pepper spray
to restrain the visiting crowd. As a result, following Monon Bell Classics have been played with added security and segregated fan sections.
. They were caught red-handed with the bell. They assumed that they would only get a slap on the wrist for the attempted heist. However, the students from DePauw got 1000 hours of community service.
.
) (DePauw 1969). A video, originally created in 1985, was recut in 2007 after tape was found containing a stereo version of the song. A 1985 demo of the song was also found in 2009. (See external links below for an MP3 and MOV of the song.)
Long before the cannonball traveled through her towns
The state of Indiana owned the jewel of the crown
The train, they called the Monon, the stories they still tell
The Cavemen and the Tigers playing for her bell
It rode like a masthead on engine ninety-nine
Crawfordsville to Greencastle, then further down the line
The Cavemen came from Wabash, the Tigers from DePauw
Since eighteen-ninety they have played the last game ev’ry fall
Many years they played for pride, oh the stories they could tell
Then in thirty-two the Monon train gave up her precious bell
They said, “Here take this symbol of smoke and fire and grit
And give it to the winner, a symbol not to quit.”
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Suddenly the boys of autumn had fire in their eyes
Blood and spit, but never quit, fighting for the prize
The medal to the victor, the symbol to the school
Wabash and DePauw became a yearly duel
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Now history has recorded the players and their games
And to this day they still play for the Bell in Monon’s name
Those who’ve gone before return each November day
Swapping stories and legends for those who did not play
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
©DePauw University, 1985
DePauw victories are colored ██ gold. Wabash victories are colored ██ garnet. Ties are white.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
matchup between the DePauw University
DePauw University
DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...
Tigers (in Greencastle, Indiana
Greencastle, Indiana
Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It was founded in 1821 by Scots-Irish American Ephraim Dukes on a land grant. He named the settlement for his hometown of Greencastle, Pennsylvania...
) and the Wabash College
Wabash College
Wabash College is a small, private, liberal arts college for men, located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Morehouse College, Wabash is one of only three remaining traditional all-men's liberal arts colleges in the United States.-History:Wabash College was founded...
Little Giants
Wabash Little Giants
The Wabash Little Giants are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Wabash College, a small private school for men in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The university belongs to the National Collegiate Athletic Association and participates in Division III sports. The Little Giants compete as...
(in Crawfordsville, Indiana
Crawfordsville, Indiana
Crawfordsville is a city in Union Township, Montgomery County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 15,915. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County...
) in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Bell is a 300-pound locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
bell from the Monon Railroad
Monon Railroad
The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway from 1897–1956, operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana...
. As of the end of the 2011 season, the two teams have played against each other 118 times. Wabash leads the all-time series, 56-53-9, while the series is tied since the Bell was introduced as the victor's trophy in 1932, 37-37-6.
Series history
The rivalry between Wabash, an all-male school, and DePauw, a co-ed school, began in 1890 and is the oldest college football rivalry west of the Alleghenies where more than 100 games have been played. The Monon Bell was introduced as a traveling trophy in 1932 at the suggestion of a DePauw alumnus, Orien Fifer (Class of 1925), in a letter to the editor of The Indianapolis News. Since the schools are only 27 miles apart, the adversaries in the game are often brothers, cousins, high school classmates or good friends, adding to the rivalry’s intensity. Before the introduction of overtime to college football, nine ties were logged in the series. By rule, in the event of a tie, the Bell was awarded to the previous owner. In the 1960 matchup, DePauw held the Bell and scored a last-minute touchdown to cut Wabash's lead to 13-12. DePauw coach Tommy Mont turned to the stands and spread out his hands. The DePauw fans shouted "Go!" DePauw scored on the conversion and won 14-13. This rule last held significance for the 99th Monon Bell Classic in 1992 in which from the 8 yard line Wabash opted for a field goal to tie the game at 17-17 and retained ownership of the Bell. This tie set up the 100th game as an evenly split 45-45-9 series.The teams failed to play each other only 5 years in the entire history. From 1897-1899, the schools failed to schedule each other for an unknown reason. In 1910, the teams didn't play due to the death of Wabash's star halfback, Ralph Lee Wilson, who died from a concussion in a game earlier in the season. The schools have played each other every year since 1911.
Monon Bell Classic
| Category | Wabash | DePauw | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Crawfordsville | Greencastle | |
| Team Name | Little Giants | Tigers | |
| Students | 950 | 2,350 | |
| School Colors | Scarlet Scarlet (color) Scarlet is a bright red color with a hue that is somewhat toward the orange. It is redder than vermilion. It is a pure chroma on the color wheel one-fourth of the way between red and orange. Scarlet is sometimes used as the color of flame... |
Black Black Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light... & Old Gold Old Gold Old gold is a dark yellow, which varies from light olive or olive brown to deep or strong yellow. The widely-accepted color "Old gold" is on the darker rather than the lighter side of this range.... |
|
| Mascot | Wally Wabash | Tyler T. Tiger | |
| Conference | NCAC North Coast Athletic Conference The North Coast Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division III athletic conference composed of schools located in the Midwestern United States. When founded in 1984, the NCAC was a pioneer in gender equality, offering competition in a then-unprecedented ten women's sports... |
NCAC North Coast Athletic Conference The North Coast Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division III athletic conference composed of schools located in the Midwestern United States. When founded in 1984, the NCAC was a pioneer in gender equality, offering competition in a then-unprecedented ten women's sports... |
|
| Home Field | Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium | Blackstock Stadium | |
| Student Body | All-Male | Coed |
The Monon Bell Classic is an American college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
rivalry
College rivalry
Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry can extend to both academics and athletics, the latter being typically...
game played by Wabash College and DePauw University. Named for the Monon Bell, the trophy awarded to the winner , it is the sixth most-played Division III rivalry and equals the 12th-most played in college football. To date, there have been 118 total games played between the two teams, resulting in a lead for Wabash at 56-53-9.
Before the Bell was introduced as the rivalry's prize in 1932, Wabash led the series 20-17-3.
The game has received national media coverage including articles in Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
in 1973 and 1993, a feature on Charles Kuralt
Charles Kuralt
Charles Kuralt was an American journalist. He was most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his "On the Road" segments on The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, and later as the first anchor of CBS News Sunday Morning, a position he held for fifteen years.Kuralt's "On the Road"...
's 1979 "Sunday Morning" show, articles in USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
in 1987 and the Wall Street Journal in 1999 and a feature on Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
's show The Slant in 1999.
The game is regularly televised and past battles have been seen on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
, and HDNet
HDNet
HDNet is a men's interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television...
. Annually, alumni parties are held in about 50 cities across America where loyal fans from both schools gather to watch the game. In May 2007, a three-year agreement was announced with HDNet
HDNet
HDNet is a men's interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television...
to televise the game through 2009. A three-year extension announced in 2010 will keep the game on HDNet through 2012.
Professionally replicated DVDs have been produced of 13 complete contests -- the 2000 through 2010 games, as well as the 1977 and 1994 Monon Bell Classics.
Listed below are the all-time Monon Bell Classic results, with Wabash victories shaded in scarlet ¦¦ and DePauw victories are shaded in old gold ¦¦.
Bell heists
The Bell has been stolen at least 9 times (1941, 1959, 1965, 1966, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1988, 1998). The most famous theft is known as "Operation Frijoles," which was ranked by Sports Illustrated as one of the five greatest all-time rivalry pranks (December 12, 2005, p. 36). "Operation Frijoles" is still the favorite story shared by Wabash fans regarding the "reappropriation" of the 300-pound trophy claimed each November by either Wabash College or DePauw University in the annual football meeting.Operation Frijoles
One item Shanks asked to photograph was the Monon Bell, in the Tigers' possession after a 22-21 victory in 1964. The dean of the college was the only person on campus who knew the location of the Bell, but was reluctant to tell Shanks of its location. "I don't know whether I should show this to you or not," he said with laugh. "The last time I showed it to someone, they stole it."
Taking Shanks to the second floor of a quonset hut near the football field, Shanks took careful notes that were provided to a group of Wabash students who entered the building and took the Bell back to Crawfordsville. The Bell was eventually "found" by the Wabash administration and returned to DePauw the day before the 1965 game.
Saturday afternoon the Little Giant football team made certain it was a short visit. Wabash defeated DePauw 16-6. After every Wabash touchdown, the Wabash fans cheered "Ole!" At the conclusion of the game Wabash fans stormed the field, many wearing sombreros and ponchos, throwing taco shells onto the field and wielding posters congratulating President Kerstetter for the loss of the Bell and the two scholarship offers.
Other heists
Another famous heist saw DePauw students stealing the bell from themselves. Concerned about the safety of the Bell from Wabash kidnappers, a group of DePauw students stole the bell from its resting place and buried it in the north end zone of DePauw's Blackstock Stadium. Very few students knew of its location, and many mistakenly believed it had been kidnapped by Wabash students. A problem arose on the Monon Bell Classic game day when cold temperature caused the ground to freeze. The DePauw students were barely able to reclaim the Bell in time for the game.The Bell was last stolen in 1998 by Wabash students on Halloween.
Notably, the rivalry is still very strong: in 1998, after DePauw had secured the Bell, a fracas broke out on the field of Wabash's Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium. During the fiasco, DePauw students pulled down one of the Little Giants' goal posts. The Little Giant student body retaliated by charging the field. The melee was broken up by the local police, which used pepper spray
Pepper spray
Pepper spray, also known as OC spray , OC gas, and capsicum spray, is a lachrymatory agent that is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears...
to restrain the visiting crowd. As a result, following Monon Bell Classics have been played with added security and segregated fan sections.
Failed heists
One other failed heist occurred by DePauw students. They had succeeded in stealing the bell and had the bell loaded into their car when their car wouldn't startIgnition system
An ignition system is a system for igniting a fuel-air mixture. Ignition systems are well known in the field of internal combustion engines such as those used in petrol engines used to power the majority of motor vehicles, but they are also used in many other applications such as in oil-fired and...
. They were caught red-handed with the bell. They assumed that they would only get a slap on the wrist for the attempted heist. However, the students from DePauw got 1000 hours of community service.
Monon Memories
In 2002, utilizing video and film from DePauw University's archives, the first "Monon Memories" -- short (40 second to 2:30) video summaries of past battles for the Bell—were produced. The initial goal was to create 15-20 short vignettes which could be used during timeouts of the game's national telecast each year. On October 2, 2008, DePauw's Executive Director of Media Relations, Ken Owen—who launched the "Memories" project and created each clip—finished the 1890 segment. As a result there is a video for each of the 117 football battles between DePauw and Wabash. The videos—which feature vintage photos and, when available, film or videotape—are available for viewing at DePauw's Web site (link below) and many are included in each year's special edition DVD of the Monon Bell Classic. "Monon Memories" were featured in the November 7, 2008 edition of The Chronicle of Higher EducationThe Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty, staff members and administrators....
.
The Ballad of the Monon Bell
The Ballad of the Monon Bell was introduced the week of the 1985 game at DePauw. The music is by Nancy Ford Charles (DePauw 1957), and the lyrics are by Darel Lindquist (DePauw 1968). The concept of the ballad originated with Patrick Aikman (DePauw 1957). The ballad has been recorded by Jim Ibbotson (of the Nitty Gritty Dirt BandNitty Gritty Dirt Band
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country-folk-rock band that has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California in 1966. The group's membership has had at least a dozen changes over the years, including a period from 1976 to 1981 when the band performed and recorded...
) (DePauw 1969). A video, originally created in 1985, was recut in 2007 after tape was found containing a stereo version of the song. A 1985 demo of the song was also found in 2009. (See external links below for an MP3 and MOV of the song.)
Long before the cannonball traveled through her towns
The state of Indiana owned the jewel of the crown
The train, they called the Monon, the stories they still tell
The Cavemen and the Tigers playing for her bell
It rode like a masthead on engine ninety-nine
Crawfordsville to Greencastle, then further down the line
The Cavemen came from Wabash, the Tigers from DePauw
Since eighteen-ninety they have played the last game ev’ry fall
Many years they played for pride, oh the stories they could tell
Then in thirty-two the Monon train gave up her precious bell
They said, “Here take this symbol of smoke and fire and grit
And give it to the winner, a symbol not to quit.”
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Suddenly the boys of autumn had fire in their eyes
Blood and spit, but never quit, fighting for the prize
The medal to the victor, the symbol to the school
Wabash and DePauw became a yearly duel
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Now history has recorded the players and their games
And to this day they still play for the Bell in Monon’s name
Those who’ve gone before return each November day
Swapping stories and legends for those who did not play
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
Ring the Bell for Wabash, ring for old DePauw
Ring the bell for victory in the last game ev’ry fall
©DePauw University, 1985
Game results
Wabash leads the all-time series win-loss record 56–53–9.DePauw victories are colored ██ gold. Wabash victories are colored ██ garnet. Ties are white.
| Date | Winner | Score | Site |
|---|---|---|---|
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