A century of 'Sic 'Em': Baylor drips with Homecoming traditions
By Terri Jo Ryan Special to the Tribune-Herald
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The 100th anniversary of the first Baylor Homecoming is getting the star treatment from two campus institutions, as both the Mayborn Museum and the Texas Collection at Baylor University salute what some believe to be the nation’s oldest such collegiate celebration.
In a display that opened Sept. 16, just in time for Parents Weekend, and continuing through February 2010, the Mayborn Museum is showcasing some of the artifacts associated with rallying the alumni.
The relics — some from the museum’s own holdings but many borrowed from the Baylor Chamber of Commerce, which has sponsored Homecoming Weekend since 1934 — include some of the bricks from the original habitat of the Baylor Bear mascots, spirit ribbons, “slime” caps (which freshmen wore through Homecoming Week), felt banners, growl towels and Dr Pepper commemoratives.
A student historian researched all the homecoming games to produce a “running yard line” that stretches the length of the exhibit wall, creating a timeline to mark every year in Baylor football history. The sign of the bear claw indicates a victorious year.
On campus, in the Carroll Library, the Texas Collection staff have arranged several display cases of some of its holdings. Exhibits include enlarged photos of the first game, and focus on the parades, bonfire and the homecoming queens.
The original homecoming queen was Elaine Cross Roberts, chosen in 1934. A queen has been named every year since then except in 1943 and 1944, when homecoming activities were suspended because of World War II.
The 1952 queen, Pat Barfield Johnson ’53, was the most famous homecoming queen, because she was chosen from a hundred nominees by U.S. soldiers in Korea as “The Homecoming Queen We’d Most Like to Come Home To.”
Usually held on Thanksgiving weekend, those early homecomings were held sporadically until the event became enshrined as an annual happening in 1934.
tjryan@wacotrib.com
757-5746
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