While some sports fans will be watching games on TV this weekend, those who also value history are invited to a unique behind-the-scenes tour at the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond at 2 p.m. Friday, November 20 and 10:30 a.m. Saturday, November 21. As Sandy Hausman reports, librarians are planning to show programs and posters, photos and other objects related to more than a century of college sports in Virginia.
For many people, college football is as much about spectacle and tradition as it is about sports – and here in Virginia, the tradition may go back more than a hundred years. Such is the case for a rivalry between two schools west of the Blue Ridge.
“Virginia Tech was actually a military school for a number of years," says John McClure, chief reference librarian at the Virginia Historical Society. "Tech and VMI became natural rivals.”
Tailgating was not yet a thing, but beginning in 1894, fans began warming up well before the big game.
“There were a lot of shenanigans behind the scenes," McClure says. "There were low-flying airplanes that would drop leaflets on the other team’s campus with derogatory comments. They would try to steal the other team’s mascots.”
And since games were held in Staunton or Roanoke, McClure says the competition involved travel.
“The cadets would board trains from their respective schools – polish their brass, shine their shoes and they would trail behind their respective bands playing their fight songs.”
The rivalry, once known as the Military Classic of the South, featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1959, ended as Virginia Tech moved away from military training and began playing larger schools.
Tales of sports at UVA, JMU, Norfolk State and other Virginia schools will also be part of a special tour hosted by the Historical Society in Richmond this weekend.