The Battle for the Golden Egg

The Old Oaken Bucket, the Jeweled Shillelagh, the Keg of Nails and the Little Brown Jug. If this sounds like the inventory for a very strange estate sale or perhaps a quirky museum exhibit (and it could be either), these are actually all trophies awarded to the winners of some of college football’s greatest rivalries.  Here in Mississippi, of course, the greatest treasure is the Golden Egg, and the annual contest for that most sought-after trophy – the “Egg Bowl” – is renewed each November. While nearly all Mississippians know about the “Battle for the Golden Egg,” how the game became known as the “Egg Bowl” may not be as well known.

The “Golden Egg,” which is in reality a football, came about as a means to lessen the tension between supporters of the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University. While the trophy is actually a football, it is shaped like an egg, as footballs in the 1920s were more oblong than today. The “Golden Egg” trophy came along in 1927, one year after a dramatic (and violent) game between Ole Miss and Mississippi A&M College. The Mississippi boys from Oxford won the game, but it was what happened after the game that caused cooler heads to come up with the idea for a trophy.

In 1926, the two rivals met in Starkville after posting identical 5-4 records. Ole Miss had dropped three of their last four games (including a 33-15 loss to Drake in October), while Mississippi A&M (as they were then known) had dropped two of their last three, but posted a dramatic 7-6 win over LSU on October 23. More important for Ole Miss, though, was the fact that the Red and Blue had not defeated their arch rivals in thirteen years. In fact, from 1911-1925, Mississippi A&M had outscored their in-state rivals by a combined score of 327-33! So determined were Coach Homer Hazel's University boys that each had vowed not to shaved until they had beaten the Aggies. As a result, the Ole Miss team sported heavy beards for the contest. Played on Thanksgiving Day, it was the first time in nine years the game would be played in Starkville. Tickets for the game were $2.50, although students could get in for $1.00. Special trains brought spectators from Jackson, Greenville and Oxford, and another brought students from the Mississippi State College for Women in Columbus. Coach Hazel’s (above) team departed Oxford on Tuesday and spent the next two nights in Aberdeen. When they arrived in Starkville on Thursday for the game, the field was a “sea of mud” after a day of rain on Wednesday. The conditions didn't dampen any spirits, though; by game time, more than 11,000 fans crowded the stands and end zones. The standing-room-only crowd was the largest thus far to witness the annual grudge match.

The Mississippi A&M coach in 1926 was Bernie Bierman. The ’26 campaign was one of only two for him in Starkville. In 1927, he would return to Tulane and then move on to his alma mater, Minnesota, where he compiled a record of 153-65-12. Before the game, Bierman (lower left) noted the condition of the field and admitted that the mud would “cramp their style” of play. Indeed, the Aggies completed only four passes and threw three interceptions. In reality, neither team did much in the way of scoring that day. In the first quarter, the Aggies and Red and Blue managed just one first down each. In the second period, though, Ole Miss got on the board when fullback Lacey Biles, a senior from Sumner who was called a “prince among men and a jolly good fellow,” smashed into the end zone from the three yard line. Kicking the extra point was Webb Burke, a 6’1” center with a jammed toe who had never attempted an extra point in his career. To his amazement (and Coach Hazel’s relief), the kick was good and Ole Miss led 7-0. Responding, Coach Bierman threw in five substitutes and after a 69-yard drive managed to score on a halfback run by R.R. Biggers. During the point after attempt, however, the Ole Miss line rushed hard and the kick by W.B. Ricks was no good. Mississippi A&M trailed 7-6. And that was it, as neither team could score another point. As a result, Ole Miss came away with the victory they had so long hoped for. Now, at last, the players could shave again (which they did later that same day).

Excited after finally beating their arch rivals, the Ole Miss fans spilled onto the field and a number of

them rushed for the goal posts. In response, several of the A&M supporters grabbed some wooden chairs and began attacking the “bearded Bersekers” from Oxford. "Irate Aggie supporters,” according to one account, “took after the ambitious Ole Miss group with cane bottom chairs, and fights broke out.” After the fight, which caused several injuries, The Reflector called the Ole Miss fans who had attempted to take down the goal posts "a band of hoodlums.” Both sides were guilty, though, and “The Battle of Starkville” was an embarrassment to both schools, which was witnessed by Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Dennis Murphree. The consensus was that something had to be done to calm down the rivalry. Thus, the “Golden Egg” was born.

Before the next game between the Red and Blue and the Aggies, both student bodies looked for a way to award the victors in a decidedly less hostile way. The first proposal, which was rejected by both school administrations as too costly and too cumbersome, was that the losing team would ship their goalposts to the victors. As an alternative, an Ole Miss honorary society, Sigma Iota, proposed a trophy and within a week both schools had agreed on what we now know as the “Golden Egg.” The cost of the trophy ($250) was to be split between the two schools and both student bodies agreed that the trophy, consisting of a “gold football of regulation size and mounted on a metal base,” would be presented to the winner after the annual game. In the event of a tie, each team would host the trophy for half of the year. Even at the time, the trophy was called “The Golden Egg.” In addition, both student bodies agreed (in writing) that immediately following the game, the “student bodies will rise and sing their alma mater songs, the student body winning team singing first, the second following after the first has finished.” Curiously, that tradition seems to have been forgotten.

The first awarding of the “Golden Egg” trophy was on Thanksgiving Day in 1927 and was presented to the host team, Ole Miss, who won the game 20-12. Again, the 14,000 spectators represented the largest crowd to date to attend the game. The trophy was presented in a ceremony following the game and (presumably) both sides sang their respective Alma Mater songs. Taken with the new spirit of cooperation between the two schools, the editor of The Mississippian proposed consolidating Ole Miss and Mississippi A&M. With enhanced facilities, the editor opined that the football team the combined schools would produce would create a “combination unbeatable by any aggregation in the country.” Apparently, Gov. Theodore G. Bilbo (right) agreed, and proposed just such a consolidation in his inaugural speech in January. Faced with intense opposition and protests from both sides, however, the idea was quietly dropped from Bilbo’s agenda. Today, of course, the “Battle for the Golden Egg” has nationwide interest and has created perhaps more passion among the Bulldog and Rebel faithful than ever before. Since 1927, though, the “Golden Egg” has peacefully changed hands at the conclusion of the “Egg Bowl,” a name coined in 1979 by a Clarion Ledger sports writer. Hopefully, the award of the $250 golden football will keep the peace for many years to come.

Photo and Image Sources:

Golden Egg: http://www.clarionledger.com

Hazel: From the 1927 Ole Miss annual 

Game photo: From the 1927 Reveille yearbook 

Bierman: http://en.wikipedia.org

Article: From the Times-Picayune, November 26, 1926

Cartoon: From the 1927 Ole Miss annual 

Bilbo: http://en.wikipedia.org

Egg Bowl trophy: http://www.olemisssports.com

Thanksgiving at Beauvoir

In 1921, Elnathan Tartt, the superintendent of the Beauvoir Old Soldier’s Home in Biloxi, wanted to make Thanksgiving Day a very special occasion for the Confederate veterans and their wives under his care at Beauvoir. In keeping with his generous nature, Tartt invited the entire population of the Gulf Coast to join the old veterans in celebrating the season. Admission was free, but Tartt asked that everyone bring with them “a pleasant smile and handshake for the veterans.” In response, several thousand showed up and, by all accounts, it was a grand and festive affair. The Thanksgiving feast was but one of the events Tartt (right) provided for the “inmates” at Beauvoir. During most holidays, the superintendent arranged for sumptuous meals for the veterans and spared no expense to ensure that the old Confederates had the opportunity to attend veterans’ reunions. He also tried to provide the best medical care available. To do so, Tartt frequently petitioned the Mississippi Legislature for funds to build additional hospital facilities and solicited donations from citizens to provide for the veterans’ needs, including a copious supply of chewing tobacco. James Elnathan Tartt’s devotion to the veterans of the “late unpleasantness” was obvious to everyone and when Mississippi Governor Mike Conner considered replacing him in 1931, the veterans rallied to his cause and Tartt was able to retain his post. Born in 1867, Elnathan Tartt was himself the son of a Confederate soldier who served in the 36th Alabama Infantry.

Several days before Thanksgiving, the Gulfport Daily Herald published a story about the plans for the Thanksgiving feast. The article included a menu, which listed two hundred pounds of baked turkey, one hundred pounds of chicken and dumplings, four thousand raw oysters, five gallons of cranberry sauce, two thousand pounds of candy, four boxes of oranges, five boxes of apples, six hundred bananas, a 105-ft. jelly roll cake, twenty five gallons of sweet milk, an equal amount of coffee and “an assortment of fresh vegetables.” The program for the day featured a brass band from the Gulf Coast Military Academy, and rousing speeches by the presidents of both the military academy and Gulf Park College. Also on the program was a wedding for two of the patients at the Old Soldiers’ Home. The groom was a Confederate veteran named Frank Gardner, who served in Co. E, 7th Mississippi Cavalry during the Civil War. Gardner, who was 76 years old at the time, was slated to marry a widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Cooper, who was a 71 year old bride. Most interesting of all, perhaps, was a footrace between Patrick McLaughlin, a 100-year old veteran of the 10th Louisiana Infantry, and a widow named “Mrs. Nunnery.” McLaughlin, an Irish immigrant (lower left), enlisted in the Confederate Army at age 30 and served in the Army of Northern Virginia. According to his service record, he was captured at Woodstock, Virginia, in 1864 and sent to the Point Lookout prison. When Lee surrendered, only 17 men and officers remained in his company. McLaughlin’s racing opponent at the Thanksgiving feast was a "Mrs. Nunnery." A widow, Mrs. Nunnery was sixteen years younger than McLaughlin. A veritable spring chicken, she was no doubt heavily favored to win the race over “Uncle” Pat McLaughlin.

On Thursday, November 24, approximately 2,500 guests arrived at Beauvoir from across the Gulf Coast by automobile and street car. The Thanksgiving dinner, which was provided to the 250 residents of Beauvoir, plus their attendants, began at noon. As promised, the food was bounteous, and included a large supply of turnip greens picked from Beauvoir’s gardens (Superintendent Tartt regularly promoted the health benefits of turnip greens and frequently shared the garden’s produce with the Coast’s residents, “rich or poor, black or white”). The newspaper reported that the 105-foot jelly roll cake “made the feed a complete one.” The public guests arrived at 1:30 p.m. and the festivities began promptly at 2:00 with musical selections by the brass band and several speeches, led by the Hon. Charles Latham Rushing, a local judge and a member of the Biloxi Kiwanis Club, Knights of Columbus, Lodge of Elks and Woodmen of the World. He was also the attorney for the Mississippi Oyster Commission, which might explain the 4,000 oysters. During his address, Rushing expounded on the merits of President Jefferson Davis. Just two years later, at the age of 42, Judge Rushing died after two weeks of illness following “an attack of acute digestion,” leaving behind a wife and several children.

The next speaker on the program was Dr. Richard Garfield Cox. Cox was the founder and first president of Gulf Park College, a female college which was the predecessor of the USM Gulf Park Campus. Interestingly, Cox, even in 1921, was an accomplished pilot. He continued to fly and teach other pilots until his death in 1967. On this day, Dr. Cox (left), who was described as “a fluent speaker,” focused on educational and spiritual matters. Joining him from the Gulf Park College were approximately one hundred young ladies, who gathered on the front porch of the Beauvoir mansion to “sing songs, play musical instruments, and give recitations.” The president of the Gulf Coast Military Academy also spoke to the assembled crowd, but the biggest event of the day was scheduled for 3:00, when the wedding was to take place at the main house. After the nuptials, approximately 1,000 people lined up to shake hands with the groom. The long-awaited footrace, meanwhile, took place along a 400-foot path between the steps of the mansion and the front gate. Throughout the festivities, the old soldiers, their wives and the Confederate widows seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly.

As promised, Elnathan Tartt had indeed provided a memorable day for not only the residents of Beauvoir but for many of the Gulf Coast’s citizens. Tartt continued to serve as the superintendent and caretaker at Beauvoir for a number of years, but died before the final veterans left the Old Soldier’s Home. He is buried in Lauderdale, Mississippi. The last Confederate veterans left the home in 1951. Six years later, the last two widows were moved to a nursing home. “Uncle” Pat McLaughlin, who competed in the footrace, died in 1925 at the age of 104. The newlyweds died soon thereafter. The groom, Frank Gardner of Lafayette County, died in 1926, while his bride (and his fifth wife) passed away in 1928. All three are buried in the Beauvoir Confederate Cemetery in Biloxi, along with more than 800 other Confederate veterans and Confederate widows.

And the winner of the race? As expected, the spry Mrs. Nunnery, just 84 years old, claimed the crown...





Photo and Image Sources:
(1) Beauvoir: http://home.earthlink.net/~reetjournal
(2) Tartt: http://trees.ancestry.com
(3) Beauvoir veterans: http://civilwartalk.com
(4) Veterans: http://patandmeloakes.com
(5) Cox: https://archive.org/details/seagull41925gulf
(6) McLaughlin: From Remembering Mississippi's Confederates by Jeff Giambrone (original at MDAH)
(7) Grave: http://www.findagrave.com