Guest posted by Melissa Mariotti

From the Photographic Negatives Collection in the University Archives: Students carrying ISU’s Victory Bell across campus in 1969

Up until the fall of 1969, the IWU football team played an annual game against the team from ISU. In addition to this tradition, each school had their own victory bell that would be rung before their big games. These bells helped to fuel the rivalry between the two neighboring schools and during the 1960s, IWU students stole ISU’s victory bell on two separate occasions.

IWU Argus September 22, 1967

A group of undisclosed students, referred to as the “Dirty Dozen,” stole ISU’s bell and then chained it to Stevenson Hall on September 19, 1967 at 3:30 am. The group had strategically studied the night life of ISU, trying to find the perfect moment for them to take the bell. They waited until 3:30 in the morning when no one would be on campus and when a train would conveniently be passing through, blocking out all of the noise of the bell heist. Once on Wesleyan’s campus, the “Dirty Dozen” chained it to Stevenson Hall, one of the many classroom buildings. An ISU student noticed the stolen bell, and reported it to ISU security, who then contacted IWU’s security. “Since nothing was damaged [Mr. King, the Head of IWU Security] considered it to be ‘good clean fun.’” Extra security guards were placed in front of the bell until the ISU security arrived.

IWU Argus September 26th, 1969

This was not the last time that ISU’s victory bell had been stolen, or “borrowed,” by Wesleyan students; two years later, in the Fall of 1969, the bell was stolen once more, this time by a another group of undisclosed students known as the “Naughty Nine.” At 3 am on Thursday, September 19^th, the group stole ISU’s victory bell and brought it to Wesleyan’s campus to be rung during their pep rally the following Friday. Unlike the previous bell heist, these students did not chain it to a classroom building; the bell was moved from location to location on campus in order to keep it hidden until the pep rally and was decorated with a green and white ‘W.’ IWU security was able to locate the bell that Friday morning. Both ISU and IWU security were concerned that the ISU students would retaliate, and ISU security contacted IWU, stating that if they returned the bell by 2 pm that Friday, no legal action would be taken. It was agreed, but when they returned to the hiding place, it had vanished once again. The “Naughty Nine” were contacted, asking to return the bell, but they refused, saying that they wanted to bring it to their pep rally. It was later found in the Sigma Chi fraternity house, where students asked permission for it to be brought to the pep rally. It was carried across the quad to the stage at McPherson where students were able to ring it. Soon after that, it was properly returned to ISU’s campus.

*Below is a gallery of images selected from the photographic negatives in the University Archives of students carrying ISU’s Victory Bell across campus to the stage at McPherson in 1969: