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• 1 2025-06-23T12:44:40+00:00 Freshman-Sophomore Contests 19 Bicentennial celebration - details about contests between Freshmen and Sophomores plain 2025-07-11T14:19:26+00:00 In the first half of the twentieth century, it was common for academic class year rivalries to form. At Adelbert, Mather, and Case, the freshman and sophomore classes’ rivalry manifested in various contests as a way to compete for bragging rights and class superiority.
  
  At Adelbert, it was the “Flag Rush.” The flag in question was raised up a greased pole, which was guarded by the sophomores. The freshmen’s goal was to retrieve the flag and deliver it to the dorm steps before a certain amount of time elapsed. The 1922 event was reported in The Reserve Weekly, the student newspaper. The time for this contest was shortened from 1 hour to 45 minutes. The flagpole could be no taller than 35 feet high and it had to be between 9-18 inches in diameter. Tar and “all metallic instruments” were forbidden, but they were permitted to use rotten egg “grenades” and splash red paint on one another. Approximately 80 sophomores successfully defended against 150 freshmen. Unknown to most of the participants that day, a movie camera captured the action, and the film was screened soon after on campus. In 1936, another video was taken, which has been digitized.
  
  
  
  
  At Case, the contest changed over time. The original event, the “Flag Rush,” was similar to Adelbert’s. The “Pushball Contest” took its place in 1911. The ball was wooden, covered with a thin padding under a canvas cover, and stood shoulder high. The freshmen pushed from one side and the sophomores pushed from the other, as a sort of reverse tug-of-war. Most accounts describe modest yardage gained by either class. In 1922 the “Bag Rush” replaced the Pushball Contest. Several sand-filled bags were place in the center of the field, each with a team of sophomores and freshmen attempting to move the bag across the opponent’s goal line. The winner was the team with the most yardage. The reward for the winners was the privilege of flying their class banner on the college pole for the rest of the week.
  
  
  At Mather, it was the less combative “Flag Hunt.” The sophomores hid a 6x6 inch flag with the freshmen’s class year on it. The rules also stated that “the flag must be out of sight, but in an accessible place. The place should be a little out of the ordinary in some way.” The sophomores were very creative, hiding it in a basketball, a garden hose, and inside the lining of a knitting bag in various years. By 1952, the rules were amended to have the flag slightly stick out of its hiding place. If the freshmen failed to find the flag, they were subject to pre-approved punishments and demands. If the freshmen were successful, they were excused from the sophomores’ plans. There was often an additional wager between the classes that the loser had to buy dinner for the winners.
  
  Sources
  For more information about Freshmen-Sophomore contests, see the list of published histories on our CWRU Archives Sources page. In addition to the published histories, information comes from records in the Case Western Reserve University Archives.
• 1 2020-01-30T16:08:26+00:00 1910-1919 13 This section for 200 Events in 200 Years provides highlights of the university's history from 1910-1919. plain 2025-06-26T15:28:16+00:00 1910 1910
  The first Hudson Relay was held at Western Reserve University. The brainstorm of Monroe Curtis, Adelbert College Class of 1911, it was part of Undergraduate Day and consisted of a relay race among the 4 classes. The Relay was run from the original Western Reserve campus in Hudson to the newer campus in Cleveland.
  
  
  1911
  Flag rush pitted the sophomores against the freshmen. The sophs' job was to defend the flagpole with the flag against the freshmen who sought to conquer the flagpole and claim the flag as their own.
  
  
  1912
  Electric lights were installed in all classrooms in the Case Main Building.
  
  
  1913
  The traditional Case School of Applied Science pushball contest was held on the football field. A clash between the sophomores and freshmen, the object during the 2-30 minutes halves, was to push the ball as close to the goal line as possible. "No serious injuries resulted from the contest and it furnished both participants and spectators with plenty of excitement."
  
  
  1914
  The Martha Washington Party was held at the College for Women. An annual event, it was a masquerade where students dressed in costume. The minuet, danced by the juniors, was the special event of the evening.
  
  
  1915
  The Case Club, a former church, was dedicated as the first student center of the Case School of Applied Science. It provided a gymnasium and swimming pool with a low ceiling (as seen here), as well as a place to relax and host social events.
  
  
  1916
  First classes were held by Western Reserve University's School of Applied Social Sciences. Pictured is James E. Cutler, first dean of the School.
  
  
  1917
  Lakeside Base Hospital Number Four, comprised of 256 men and women, including faculty from the School of Medicine, sailed for Europe one month after the United States entered World War I.
  
  
  1918
  In response to the United States' entry into World War I, the Student Army Training Corps at Case School of Applied Science began induction of students. Pictured here are students drilling on the lawn between Case Main and Euclid Avenue (in the background).
  
  
  1919
  The annual Yale-Harvard basketball game was held by the College for Women. The "all-stars" from each class or dorm basketball team were selected for the two teams by the Athletic Association. The game marked the end of the College's basketball season.