University of Maine - Prism Yearbook (Orono, ME)

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The following Saturday Maine and Xew Hampshire State played a scoreless tie — our first great disappointment. Between the halves the Masks and the Owls were pledged. The lucky ones lined up on the athletic field to receive the con- gratulations of Prexie and the plaudits of the student body. Then came the bag scrap which of course was won by the Freshmen. The fight which followed at the power house and on the stens of W ' ingate Hall wr.s more fiercely contested than for several years. The Sophs held fast here, how- e er, and not the faintest stroke of the hell nor the tiniest toot of the whistle did we hear proclaiming the victory of the new-born class of 1920. The caps and posters were decidedly late but the Sophs claim they were well w orth waiting for and when they finally did appear their reception was accompanied by the usual ceremonies. Even the Freshies were prone to admire the nobby bean-shields ' to the extent of $1.00 cash, payable on demand — and really. . 1, the demand was tremendous. Now I ' m to give you my version of the football season. It had its joys and sorrows. We had a wealth of new material but few vets. The men worked hard and improved steadily as the season advanced but they simply could not win games. Snap and aggressiveness seemed to be lacking in the pinches. But the student body — you would have been proud to have been here. Xo losing team e er received more unselfish and enthusiastic support. It made no ditiference whether they won or not, the next game or rally was better attended, and a greater amount of real pep was present than in the preceding one. One rainy day we went down to Lewiston and saw poor old Maine go down to defeat before a Bates eleven, by the score of 6-0. Then something happened, just what or how I know not. The campus was a hot bed all week and when .Saturday morning came the greatest Maine special ever, went down to Waterville. We paraded before that game, Al, and what is more important, we paraded after the game. I ' ve heard cheering and cheering but never anything like the steady pounding bedlam of noise that came from the Maine section, never diminishing in volume or intensity as long as the game lasted. And oh, how that eleven did fight I They played all around the Colby team — they played better than they were capable. Maine carried the ball two-thirds of the time, and five times the Maine backs went smashing thru to Colby ' s 15-yard line, only to get over anxious and lose the ball on a fumble. It was heartbreaking, for they fought so hard. The entire backfield was carried to the side-lines : French, Furey, Stewart, and Gorham, one by one. Bill was the last to leave after carrying the ball almost to that last white line in a terrific series of line plunges that could not be stopped. With victory in sight Captain Gorham crumpled, and with him went our last chance to win the battle that meant so much. — A few minutes later we were out on the street sweeping along to the strains of the Stein Song. The score of the game was 0-0, and were we down- hearted because we had not won? No, we were elated. Once again a Maine team had upheld and re-affirmed the tradition that a Maine team fights to the last ditch, no matter how great the odds. Just that, Al, sent us back to Orono jubilant in the knowledge that whatever the sporting editors might sav, the 1916 football team would forever hold a warm place in the hearts of Maine men and women. 12

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splendid appearance of the 1917 Prism. The hoard uplicld the standard of pre- ceding classes and set a new mark that will be difficult to equal in the future. The baseball team under the leadership of Rabbit Lawry hr.d been doing wonders and aus])ices began to look favorable for another leg of the cleanup cup. It was soon time to hold our night before rally for the str.te track meet. What a rally that was. Al ! All the boys, Bell, jim (lannett. Joe, Puiington, and Haskell, made stirring appeals for a good delegation to attend the meet ;.nd stirred up a great deal of pep for the next day. And such a meet ! There were clean-ups for Maine in the dashes, new records for Maine in the broad jump, high jump, and shot-put. When night had closed in over Whittier Field, Alaine had run away with another championship. The score was : Mai)ie Oi ; Bowdoin 39 ; and Bates and Colby 13 each. We cele- brated in Portland and when I say celebrated, I mean just that. You know how a ; Iaine man celebrates a championship. There is one thing tiiat we who cheered the blue and white on to victory that day will never quite forget — the superb running and clean-cut sportsmanship of Captain Roger Bell. He ran both the mile and the half-mile, and was the sensa- tion in both events. The next red letter day on the campus was rising day. The rope pull was something of a farce. The picked few of the infant class seemed to have suddenly lost all their strength, when the representatives of an honorable class stood before them. Perhaps it was past their bed-time, and the surroundings were strange by bonfire light. Anyway, the water was wet and the mud sticky. It was in a new place, too — a temporary mud-hole in front of Balentine — where the co-eds could see. But the next day. Oh. my, Al ! What a miracle had come to pass! Every blooming Freshman smoked a pipe, wore a derby, kid gloves and innumerable sweaters, while a blushing co-ed, the kind you used to rush, drooped from the left arm. I may say right here, that a campus without a Freshman is not all that it should be. Commencement time found the campus a lonesome place for all except the Seniors, old grads and invited guests. Personally, I found it unbearable so I packed, with a mingled emotion that was neither joy nor sorrow, and w-ent home. My last impression of Maine thru the car window, was that of a shifting pano- ■ rama of green lawns, vine-clad buildings and scores of happy Seniors. Some were clad in flannels and playing tennis, but by far the greater number were capped and gowned and carried canes, and strolled in twos and threes along the shady walks. Vhen registration came around the Joth of September, the same familiar scenes were enacted. Hundreds of Freshmen of ever) ' type, from the raw-boned, lanky youth — away from Pumpkin Centre for the first time — to the dapper lad from back in the Berkshire Hills, who claims the Hub as his residence. The likely ones were rushed for a few days and then everybody began to calm down to a watchful waiting [lolic)- — It has its merits, A), take it from me. The night shirt parade was a bloomins: success from the minute the first Freshman left his downy cot until the last fleeting figure in Zebra ])aj;.mas w-ent down before the violently gushing fire hose. This year the yield of blue garters and pink night shirts was far above the average. 11

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OHlA Prism In llic weeks that followed, it seemed rather good to feel that all llic worry and excitement and strenuous effort of a football season could he forgotten f(jr a time while we turned our attention to our scholastic obli£;ations — I say it feels rather good at first, but by Thanksgi ing time we were sick and tired of such a dutiful, quiet existence — it made us think of home and we all got homesick. The relay squad then liegan to develop and shape up into a promising team, and we began lo have visions of nailing that long-desired B. A. A. Relay Cham- pionsliip. The week that followed was a time that tried men ' s souls ! ' The faculty had decided to hold a series of third degree ordeals, known as finals. To say that we burned the midnight oil is putting it mildly, but perhaps it is enough to say that the casualties were no heavier than usual. A few more lines and I will have fulfilled my promise to you, Al. I would be brief, but no coniprehensi e review of the year ' s activities could close without the glorious story of that final and successful attempt to win the B. A. A. Relay Championship. About twenty of us went down to back up the team and incidentally to cele- brate the passing of the mid-year finals. How well we did both is now a matter of history, but the real feature of the celebration was the splendid winning race run by Captain French ' s relay team. Our time, three — eight and three-fifths, was only- two seconds behind Harvard ' s record time of the evening. — After three years of hard luck failure such a brilliant victory- was very sweet. Now I have overspoken. ' as the negro, who engaged Jack Johnson in an argument at Havana, said. It is already Feb. 3rd, Al, ahd on the whole it has been a very successful year. It is all over now, but the cherished memories of our successes and failures will linger in the minds of all of us for many y-ears to come. As the year ends, so must my story end, for to discuss our plans of the future would make a lengthy chapter in itself. This much, however, I cannot keep back, our hopes are high and our courage knows no bounds, for we fully expect to annex two more state championships before commencement comes ' round again. Yours for Maine, Bosco. ' 13