The Most Famous Illinois Speech
You’ve Never Heard
In the spring of 1921, two iconic Illini packed their bags and embarked on an epic series of trips across the country seeking support for a new stadium. Athletics Director George Huff (LAS 1892) and famed coach Robert Zuppke (known affectionately as “Zup”) visited dozens of cities to extol the benefits of a massive new stadium to throngs of eager alumni. Not only would the stadium stand as a monument to the Illinois men and women who served in World War I, it would also be home to many sports beyond football, including track and field, tennis, baseball, soccer, and more.
Stadium. Notice the horse-drawn cart in the background.
An indisputable highlight of this tour was the speech Zuppke gave to each gathering, “The Camel, the Boneyard, and the Rock-ribbed Coast.” Audiences were awed and enthusiastically wrote into the Alumni Quarterly and Fortnightly Notes (AQFN), excited about the stadium and commenting on Zup’s speech.
Some said it was as “vitally a part of Illinois as ‘Oskee-Wow-Wow.’” Others predicted it would be as famous. Repeatedly, alumni wrote in to say how moving, energizing, and motivating Zuppke’s speech was. So beloved was this speech that recordings were made of it on vinyl and made available through the Alumni Association.
One hundred years later, we have no idea what he said.
Plenty of references to the speech exist in our archives, but what we haven’t been able to find is a recording or transcription of the actual text. What was supposed to be as famous as “Oskee-Wow-Wow” has seemingly disappeared. The only remnant we could find was part of the speech quoted within an article in the AQFN:
“The white gleaming vision of the stadium, vivid, brilliant, on the muddy banks of the boneyard, somewhere in the great state of Illinois between the rock-ribbed coast of Maine and the gold of the Sacramento, flowing into the Wabash, which empties into the Mississippi, which in turn flows into the Gulf of Mexico, and then to the salty Caribbean sea, will stand forever as the silent sentinel over the great prairies of the middle west.”
From that excerpt, it seems to have been a grand elocution, given by a man known for his broad vocabulary and dramatic delivery. More importantly, it was the speech that garnered the support to make the stadium a reality.
It is hard to overstate how massive an undertaking it was to raise money for the stadium, especially since the goal was to fully fund the construction through donations. The expected cost was $2.5 million, equivalent to more than $40 million in today’s dollars.
It was an enormous ask, and thousands of men and women worked behind the scenes to solicit and process donations, create promotional materials, plan events, and so on. This well-oiled machine worked tirelessly to share the stadium’s story with the student body as well as alumni.
Huff and Zuppke, however, were the most public faces of the campaign. These powerful, charismatic men motivated audiences at dozens of stops across the country. Huff spoke first and, in his slow and measured voice, provided a clear vision for the stadium. Huff was followed by Zuppke, whose words “zig-zagged across the room like lightning.” He spoke to the crowd with the same zeal he used with his champion team, inspiring the audience to reach for their checkbooks.
The Detroit alumni club reported that 125 members came to hear the stadium plea. “Delivered with all the fiery, clenched-teeth earnestness and ardent arm-swinging of a true apostle of athletics for all,” the club said, “Zup’s curiously titled speech, ‘The Camel, the Boneyard, and the Rock-ribbed Coast,’ made the rafters rumble.”
In Minneapolis, Huff and Zuppke were joined by their wives. When the scheduled musician didn’t show up, the foursome took it upon themselves to sing “Fight, Illini!” the prize-winning song submission composed by student Rose Oltusky (LAS 1922).
“None of us had ever heard the new stadium song,” wrote one of the event organizers. “‘G’ volunteered to sing it for us, assisted by Mrs. Huff, Mrs. Zuppke, and Zup. The quartet rendered the piece in fine shape until they hit the high notes toward the end and ‘G’s voice broke—the crowd went wild.”
Boston was the only city, it seems, that didn’t ignite as raucous a response. As recounted in an interview, Zup said (with a knowing smile), “It was the only city in which my speech was quiet and easy. It was in keeping with the dignity and literary culture of Boston and New England.”
Their trips followed the famous mass meeting in the gym annex where Huff and Zuppke, joined by university President David Kinley and campaign co-director Elmer Ekblaw (LAS 1910), delivered the message of the stadium to more than 4,000 students who crowded the rafters and cheered. As the sound of rain hit the roof, the band played and the Glee Club premiered “Fight, Illinois!” Remarkably, students pledged more than $700,000 that day toward construction.
In the months to come, there was continued pressure on students to contribute. Names of those who donated were listed publicly, and rosters were checked to see who had not yet given. Donors wore a “stadium builder” button. A student without the button, according to the Daily Illini, was “brought to the stadium office that they may subscribe.”
Zuppke’s words may have been lost, but the spirit with which he delivered them remains as strong as ever.
Building Memorial Stadium was a shared goal around which our students and alumni rallied, stoking the fires of loyalty that still burn today. Before the stadium campaign began, only a handful of alumni clubs existed, but after the campaign launched, more than one hundred clubs were formed. Every state (forty-eight at the time) had a campaign chair and executive council responsible for fundraising. It was a time of growing connection and pride-building among alumni of the then-fifty-year-old institution.
The vision for Memorial Stadium was ambitious and looked to our future as much as it honored our past, a vision which has endured for over a century. Today the stadium brings people together with the same excitement as it did when it was merely a dream and a muddy field.
Mr. and Mrs. Stadium
Seniors Reuben Carlson (ACES 1921) and Ann Coolley (GIES 1921) oversaw student fundraising, leading 2,500 students in the effort. In writing about them in the alumni newsletter, Sampson Raphaelson (LAS 1917) said, “These two, more than any other agency in the whole amazingly efficient movement, were responsible for the success of the undergraduate stadium campaign.” When the stadium was dedicated in 1924 (ahead of the historic Michigan game), Ann was asked to raise the flag. Reuben and Ann married shortly after graduation, and each year when their season tickets came in the mail, the envelope read “Mr. and Mrs. Stadium.”
