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| HOME > Heritage > The Victory Bell | ||||||||||
Since 1942, the Victory Bell has been the symbol of supremecy beween the two cross-town rivals. But for two seasons prior, the bell rang loud and clear near the UCLA sideline after each Bruin score. The 295-pound bell, which originally rang atop a Southern Pacific locomotive, was given to the UCLA student body in 1939 as a gift from the school's alumni association. Then a heist was performed. During the opening game of UCLA's 1941 season, six members of a USC fraternity infiltrated the Bruin rooting section, assisted in loading the bell aboard a truck headed back to Westwood, confiscated the key to the truck, and escaped with the bell. For over a year, it was out of reach of Bruin hands. At one point, it was hidden under a haystack. One day a picture of the bell was printed in a USC periodical. UCLA students retaliated by painting the Tommy Trojan statue at USC. Trojan students then burned USC initials on UCLA lawns. A truce was called after the USC administration threatened to cancel the upcoming intercity match-up. Bill Farrer, UCLA student body president, met with his Trojan counterpart, Bob McKay. An agreement was forged. USC would return the bell if UCLA would agree to designate it as a trophy for the winner of the Big Game. Thereafter, the annual winner of the game would keep the bell for the following year. Flavored with a taste of poetic justice, the Bruins proceeded to beat the Trojans for the very first time in the series and become the initial gatekeeper of the prize. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
