Illinois Verse/Illinois Field
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Illinois Field
On Illinois Field the first great building stood
And all the college life was centred there
Until in years old Uni Hall was built
And to the south flowed fast the tide of life.
A college dormitory it became
Till soon swift progress swept it from its path
And all the field was cleared for college sports.
The battle-ground of Uni base-ball strifes,
Jake Stahl and Lundy gave to it great fame—
Here the game of foot-ball got its start;
And Stagg himself played in that first great fight
Against the struggling, striving Illini team.
Purdue, the ancient enemy, was downed
And many were the victories,—defeats.
Red Grange began here on his famous runs
And Huff and Zuppke turned out fine athletes.
Each spring the Interscholastic contests came
With circus at night for boisterous, wild fun.
The May-pole dance a touch of beauty gave
When the field became a fairy-land
Inhabited by elves and lovely nymphs
Lightly dancing on the fresh green turf.
Again the current turned both south and west,
Out to the great new stadium it swept,
And carried sports and Interscholastic,
But left behind baseball, the first great game,
And for practice work the old field still was kept.
The glamor of its glorious past for old grads
Must ever cling,—the scene of all their sports—
The old battleground,—historic Illinois Field.
And all the college life was centred there
Until in years old Uni Hall was built
And to the south flowed fast the tide of life.
A college dormitory it became
Till soon swift progress swept it from its path
And all the field was cleared for college sports.
The battle-ground of Uni base-ball strifes,
Jake Stahl and Lundy gave to it great fame—
Here the game of foot-ball got its start;
And Stagg himself played in that first great fight
Against the struggling, striving Illini team.
Purdue, the ancient enemy, was downed
And many were the victories,—defeats.
Red Grange began here on his famous runs
And Huff and Zuppke turned out fine athletes.
Each spring the Interscholastic contests came
With circus at night for boisterous, wild fun.
The May-pole dance a touch of beauty gave
When the field became a fairy-land
Inhabited by elves and lovely nymphs
Lightly dancing on the fresh green turf.
Again the current turned both south and west,
Out to the great new stadium it swept,
And carried sports and Interscholastic,
But left behind baseball, the first great game,
And for practice work the old field still was kept.
The glamor of its glorious past for old grads
Must ever cling,—the scene of all their sports—
The old battleground,—historic Illinois Field.