The 1894
Webfoots lost
the first ever
Civil War
to the Oregon
Agriculture
College, 16-0.
The Emerald takes
a look back at
three of the most
memorable
Civil War games
a Tradition to
Oregon Stale College
(OSU) students ride into
Eugene to celebrate the
Beavers' 14-0
victory in 1937.
The first Civil
War game
was played in
1905 at
Kincaid
Field, which
is now the
site Gilbert
Hall.
By Ryan Frank
Sports Reporter
Photos courtesy of
University Archives
Special Collections
& ODE Archives
eaver football players
physically pummeling
Oregon fans, a riot be
tween students from
Oregon and Oregon
State and a game featuring 11
turnovers are all a part of the 102
year history of the Civil War.
While all football fans in the state
know that the Civil War is the most
hotly contested battle for state brag
ging rights, many don’t know why
or how this rivalry became so heat
ed.
But, it was moments like Oregon
fans charging the field at Parker Sta
dium after a 30-3 trouncing of the
Beavers in 1972, Oregon State fans
parading through the streets of Eu
gene in 1937 after their 14-0 win
and the 1983 “Toilet Bowl” that
, ended in a 0-0 tie that made this
match-up what many consider
one of the greatest sporting events
in the Northwest.
lhe good, the bad and the
ugly” has been used to describe
the Ducks, the Huskies and
the Beavers, in that order.
But some people say that
the phrase more appro
priately describes the
history of the Civil War.
The Good
1972
■ From 1964 to 1971
W the Beavers owned the
' Ducks, winning all eight
contests in that span.
But things were drastical
ly different in 1972.
Future NFL Hall-of-Famer Dan
Fouts was playing his final game as
a Duck and would not go out as a
three-time loser in Civil War games.
He called the season-ending game
the most important of his career.
Oregon running back |
Don Reynolds ran 60 S
yards on the Ducks’ first Ij
play from scrimmage,
and Oregon never
looked back. Fouts
passed for 133 yards, and
tne Heavers Helped Uregon s cause
with eight fumbles in the first half.
Oregon’s Bohby Green added to
the Beavers’ embarrassment by say
ing the victory was “easy, real easy.”
When the Beavers finally finished
bouncing the ball off the grass at
Parker Stadium, the result was the
Ducks’ most lopsided Civil War win
in 17 years, 30-3.
But it was what went on after the
game that added to the lore of the ri
valry.
After the game, “hundreds of
deliriously drunk Duck fans,” as
Bob Baum wrote in the Nov. 20,
1972 issue of the Emerald, charged
the field, pulled down one of the
Oregon State goalposts and deposit
ed it on the Beavers’ sideline.
The Oregon State players took of
fense to this and proceeded to phys
Oregon quarterback Dan Fouts
lights a victory cigarafter the
Ducks'30-3 Civil War win in 1972.
ically beat the celebrating
fans.
The Bad
1937
As bad as the 1972 post-game
fight was, the repercussions from
the Beavers’ 14-0 win in 1937 were
even greater.
The Beavers beat Oregon for the
second straight season and on the
Monday following the game, about
2,000 Oregon State fans decided it
was time to take their celebration to
Eugene — and more importantly to
the Oregon campus.
The Ducks’ neighbors to the north
brought cornstalks with them to Eu
gene and called out “Duck Soup” to
Oregon students. The Duck fans
shot back with tomatoes, mud and
water bags. Some Oregon students
even showered the invading fans
with a fire hose and told them to go
“back to the farm.”
But the fun didn’t stop there.
Oregon students grabbed many of
the Beaver fans and tossed them
into the icy waters of the Mill Race
or captured them to fix the orange
paint they had used to deface the
Ducks’ giant “O” on Skinner Butte.
The Ugly
1983
Football fans across the country
know about the Rose Bowl, the Or
ange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl. But
only Oregon and Oregon State fans
know about the notorious “Toilet
Bowl.”
The 1983 Civil War has gone
down as one of the worst perfor
mances by either team in their re
spective histories.
Turn to TRADITION, Page 3B
DENNIS BOLT/Emerald