Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1979)
Story by Jody Murray Photos by Martha Stanton, Jimmi Harris, and Bob Baker Cover photo by Bob Baker jf ^J sually, the words "Civil War are suf ficient to send an Oregon or Oregon State football player s heart a-pumpin and eyes a-biazm This year, however, there's another word that will spark some extra adrenalin for the 82nd edition of this Northwest free-for-all The word is "frustration The Beaver camp in Corvallis is particularly afflicted by frustration this season OSU s per sonal hell began with the opening season kickoff and hasn't ended, except for a brief respite three games ago when the Beavers upset Stanford The remainder of the time, the Beavers have lost miserably, stumbling to a 2-8 record Their coach Craig Fertig. will be on the Oregon State sidelines for the last time this weekend against the Ducks after being fired at mid-season Meanwhile, the Ducks are coming into the rivalry straight out of the meat grinder of a 35-0 loss to UCLA last Saturday The defeat not only destroyed Oregon s slim chances for a bowl invitation, but put a serious dent in their growing reputation as an up-and-coming team So, needless to say. the desire to win will be doubly high on both sides this Saturday Oregon State will be striving to grasp an oasis o» satisfac tion m a bleak desert of a season while Oregon will be trying to save face after the humiliating loss to UCLA and finish with its first winning season since 1970 But what happens on the field is only part of the story The Civil War game has. over the years, been the catalyst for student emotions and ac tivities as well as those of the players and coaches Pranks have ranged from parades to dynamiting the big "O ' on Skinner s Butte Most of these occurrences, however, are a thing of the past, as the unrest and political awareness of the Vietnam era stole away the fervor from sports in general and the Civil War in particular "It's never just another game as far as the players are concerned says Len Casanova who coached the Ducks from 1951 -66 and now serves the University as athletic director emeritus But in the late 60s and early 70s, students became apathetic and lost their interest in athletics " Lately, indications of increasing school spirit have appeared The efforts to resurrect the homecoming game this year is a case in point ut will the fever and activities surround ing the Civil War ever return'? Admittedly, it would be difficult to recapture the ritualistic rapture that surrounded the game before the late 60s slump Take preparation for the 1935 game as an example On the agenda the week of the contest was a rally, two dances, the "noise pa ade and the burning of a wooden O' on the butte People with tickets for the rooter s section were required to wear white shirts and rooter's hats or they wouldn t be admitted to their seats Among the most important of the pre-game events was the bonfire Freshmen were assigned to erect and guard the woodpile and try to prevent OSU saboteurs from setting off the torch ahead of schedule Another mainstay was the noise parade Each living organization would create a float equipped with horns, sirens.and other means of audio destruction and try their hardest to bring down every building in Eugene Awards would be given, of course, for the most ear-assaulting displays And then there were the incidents that no one could find on a schedule of events In 1937, some industrious individuals Irom Corvallis snuck onto Hayward Field, distracted the attention of the freshman guards, and then burnt OSU" into the mid-field turf Oregon covered up the letters with cut grass, bui couldn t stop the Beaver football team, which won 14-0 Frustrated Oregon students retaliated by kidnap ping a few OSU students and using their bodies to paint the 50-feet-long O on the butte regon alum Warren Mack, who now teaches high school journalism in Cupertino, Cal., recalls a game at OSU in the late '50s in which an inebriated Oregon fan got more than he bar gained for According to Mack, the Beavers junior varsity team was deployed throughout Parker Stadium during the varsity game as a kind of vigilante squad With only minutes left in the game, the intoxicated Oregon fan stepped into the endzone and began dancing and shouting a string of obscenities at the OSU fans The OSU jayvees jumped the hapless lush who emerged from the melee wearing only a belt and a sock and still cursing, while bleeding from every pore. Mack reealls Sometimes the student aggression was direct ed at the teams themselves The week before the 1955 Civil War. the Ducks were dealt a sound 44-7 thrashing by Stanford The Oregon student body hung ooach Casanova in effigy on game day Later that afternoon, as Cas recalls, he was crowned by the students after his team crushed the Beavers, 28-0 Casanova has seen some strange things hap pen on the field during the 15 Civil Wars that he has coached In 1962, the Ducks came into the OSU game with a 6-2-1 record and an invitation to the Bluebonnet Bowl However, the players had no know lege of the bowl invite since Casanova feared that it might steal away some of their intensity "I figured that I'd wait until halftime to tell them.' says Cas When he did, the Ducks were leading at the half, 17-7 In the second half, the Beavers closed to 17-14 Luckily, time was run ning out and OSU had to punt We blocked their punt, but we were called for a penalty They kicked again Mel Renfro was standing on the three and decided not to field it, but it bounced and hit him on the leg An OSU player pounced on the live ball, the Beavers won the contest 20-17, and the 1962 Bluebonnet Bowl went the way of the 1979 Garden State Bowl / n 1955, the community began to crack down on student pranks Six University students were charged with destruction of state-owned property after they burned a 12-feet-long UO into the grass at Parker Stadium Each student was fined $50 By the mid-'60s. the merriment was on its way out, but not before the Daily Emerald made a pact with the Oregon State Barometer In 1965, the publications made a bet - the paper of the losing school would publish its next issue with the masthead of the winning school s paper The Civil War score that year: Oregon State 19, Oregon 17 That Monday, the Daily (Emerald) Barometer was a gracious loser, but noted that the issue was "undoubtedly the finest piece of journalism ever to appear under the Barometer nameplate " if they had known what was to come, perhaps the Emerald staff wouldn't have made the bet in the first place Oregon State was in the midst of an eight-game Civil War winning streak (1964-71), the longest for either team in the rivalry's history By 1971, the Ducks were in the pit of disillu sionment This, combined with the spectre of Vietnam, marked the downfall of Oregon Civil War spirit As the sports editor of the Emerald noted before the 71 game, "Since those days when frats, beanies and homecoming weren't ir relevant, Oregon has lost every year (Continued on Page 8B) I • Soft Frozen in 18 fantastic flavors • Thick mouthwatering sandwiches of crab - shrimp - sal mon - tuna - turkey • Yogurt shakes • Yogurt cakes - pies • Salads • shakes • soups - bagels • Try our “Natural High" or our famous Health Sandwich Call ahead — orders to go Catering Available 992 Willamette Eugene 683-2727 Next to Newberry’s Fall Special Coupon REGULAR CONES OR DISH FOR THE PRICE OF The Eugene Hotel presents HOT HOUSE the 22nd DIRTY LEGS 33rd & 24th 222 HAST BROADWAY 544 1461 —emu Food Service NEW Starting Monday, Nov. 26, we’ll have pancakes in the Skylight! 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