Nostalgia & History > Super Bowl Sunday - RR "Grease-gate"

Deflate-gate certainly shows us how far football has fallen from its pure & true days, doesn't it? Below is a railroad-themed piece out of Bruce Nash's "Football Hall of Shame" that illustrates how the game really should be played, as far as I'm concerned. (Operation Lifesaver folks, please divert your eyes.)
-E.O.

Auburn Greasers

Nov. 7, 1896
The rivalry between Georgia Tech and Auburn has sizzled ever since
the Auburn students literally railroaded the Tech football team.
The scheming students lathered the railroad tracks with slimy pig
grease and then stood watching as the arriving Georgia Tech train
skidded right through town. The train wasn't able to stop until it was
almost five miles down the line. Because the tracks were too slick for
the engine to gain traction to back up, the disgruntled Tech players
had to disembark. Then en they had to lug their own equipment all the
way back to the Auburn field.

There, the Yellow Jackets were so wiped out by the unscheduled
trek that they were whomped by Auburn 45-0

The prank unfolded during the first Wreck Tech Pajama Parade in
1896. Ever since, the parade has been a hallowed pregame tradition at
Auburn. Each year, students clad in pajamas have marched to the
home stadium chanting, "Wreck Tech, wreck Tech, wreck the hell out
of Georgia Tech!"

The first parade was supposed to end at the football field. Instead, it
ended early in the morning at the train station where the Auburn fans
decided to ignite a rivalry that has flamed for nearly a century.

Although he never owned up t it, Auburn coach John Heisman
allegedly instigated the prank to distract the opposition and give his
Tigers the edge in the game.

Ironically the chief prankster was the very same coach who eventually
had a trophy named after him - a trophy symbolizing the best
in college football.

"The Auburn football team's upperclassmen ordered the freshmen
to start laying in a supply of pig grease several days before the game,"
said David Housel, Auburn sports information director. Since it was
the first home game, the team wanted to do something to really make
the event memorable.

Adding to the anticipation was the fact that Auburn and Georgia
Tech were both engineering schools at the time and a fierce professional
jealousy existed long before the two schools met on the gridiron.

Early on the morning of the big game, the freshmen, still clad in
their pajama retrieved the stash of pig grease they had collected from
farms and slaughter houses in the area and greased several hundred
feet of rails with the smelly goo.

Then students lined both sides of the track as the Tech Special
chugged into town from the east and they waved and cheer d as the
train slid out of town to the west.

The fans were still at the station hours later when the weary Tech
football team came trudging back along the greased tracks. That
afternoon, Tech faced another greasing on the football field.

The prank irritated the Yellow Jackets so much that they refused to
return to Auburn until they were guaranteed that no more pranks
awaited them. Auburn agreed, but when Georgia Tech arrived for a
game two years later, a contingent of greaseless, pajama- clad Auburn
students greeted them at the station just to remind the Yellow Jackets
of their 45-0 drubbing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/15 12:24 by hogheaded.

Does Auburn still have that pajama march with the Tech chant today? It has been decades since Tech played Auburn, however who could expect less of a school that has what, three mascots/names?

Jay

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