Fight Song and Alma Mater
Fight Song Origin
"U of Toledo" was written in 1932 by Dave Connelly, Toledo athletic director and baseball coach through much of the 1930s and 1940s. Connelly also coached football, track and boxing. He joined the Toledo staff as a professor in 1926, where he remained until his death in 1955. Connelly loved to sing, but had never studied music.
Apparently, previous fight songs were no longer in use, so he wrote the words for "U of Toledo" and sang the melody to a family friend, Bernie Jones. Jones played it on the piano and put it to music. The tune remained largely unchanged until 1975, when Toledo associate professor of music David Jex arranged the current version.
"U of Toledo"
Chorus U of Toledo, we'll fight for you
(Fight! Fight! Fight!)
U of Toledo, we love the Gold and Blue
(Let's go Blue!)
Men of the Varsity, the enemy must yield,
We'll fight just like our ancestors
and march right down the field!
T-O-L-E-D-O, Toledo!
The Alma Mater Origin
"Fair Toledo" was selected from eight entries which were submitted in the Toledo Alma Mater Song Contest, sponsored jointly by the Student Senate and the Alumni Association in 1959. The competition was held to replace "Golden and Blue," set to "Amici," a tune used by various universities.
While driving to work, Gilbert Mohr heard Jim Uebelhart announce the contest on the radio in January of that year. An amateur songwriter, Mohr began humming different tunes, and later with his wife, Jean Strout, wrote the lyrics. Their alma mater entry won the contest and the couple received a $100 government bond. "Fair Toledo" debuted at halftime of the Marshall-Toledo basketball game on March 2, 1959.
"Fair Toledo"
In tower shadows voices now raising, To alma mater Golden and Blue,
Fair Toledo praise to thee,
Portal of learning ever be,
Hallowed halls we shall revere,
Vow to keep thy memory dear.
Nickname Origin
When the University of Toledo played then-powerful Carnegie Tech in football in 1923, Pittsburgh sports writers were surprised to learn that Toledo did not have a nickname. Though an underdog, Toledo fought formidably, recovering a series of embarrassing fumbles by favored Tech. Pittsburgh writers pressed James Neal, a Toledo student working in the press box, to come up with a nickname. Despite Toledo's 32-12 loss, the student labeled the team "Skyrockets," obviously impressed by his alma mater's flashy performance against a superior team. The sportswriters shortened the name to "Rockets," which has been used since.
Many suggestions for Toledo's nickname have been considered through the years, including a Spanish theme of Toreadors or Bulls, in honor of Toledo's sister relationship with the city's namesake in Spain. Others included Commodores, Turtles, Bancroft Highwaymen and Jeeps. The nameless team was referred to as the Blue and Gold, Munies (for municipal university) and Dwyer's Boys (after head football coach James Dwyer) in sports stories prior to 1923.
School Colors
Midnight Blue and Gold were selected as the school's official colors by the Varsity 'T' club, at its organizational meeting on December 1, 1919. Ten of the 14 football lettermen met to form the club and chose Ed Stader as the first president.
The Rocket
In 1961, the University of Toledo procured a genuine Nike-Ajax missile from the U.S. Army missile program. Simply known as "The Rocket," it was placed behind the crossbar of the north end goalpost, where the Larimer Athletic Complex resides today. During the renovation in 1989-90, the Rocket was moved to its present day position on the northeast corner of the Glass Bowl, just outside of the wall. The one-ton Rocket carries two sets of fins and a propellant boost capable of guiding the missile to supersonic velocity. In 2004, the rocket was refurbished and painted midnight blue and gold. Legend has it that the rocket's trajectory is pointed toward Bowling Green State University, 25 miles south. If the Rocket were to be lit, it is said, it would blast off and land directly on the 50-yard line of the Falcons' Doyt Perry football stadium.
Spirit Rock
In 1968, Nicholson Concrete and Supply Co. donated an eight-ton rock to the University of Toledo as a symbol of the spirit of its student body. The Spirit Rock was originally located on the grass between the William S. Carlson Library and the Student Union. The large rock marked the final resting place of the old Bancroft High image of Toledo. The original Spirit Rock was moved by the university in order to make room for the Student Union expansion, and now resides by the pond at the Scott Park Campus. The current Spirit Rock on main campus was donated to the university in 1997 and placed in the Flatlands. Over the years, the rock has been a site for many Rocket pep rallies. The Spirit Rock has been tarred and feathered, burnt, and painted hundreds of times, but it is tradition to paint it only during twilight hours.
The Cannon
Everyone who attends a Rocket football game is familiar with the "boom" of the cannon when the Rockets score. The tradition of the cannon originates from 1966 when Pi Kappa Phi member Walt "Swift" Piotrowski saw a canon being shot off at a University of Texas game. Another fraternity brother, John "Tank" Drake, was able to obtain a Civil War era canon. that canon was in use until it was replaced by a brand-new cannon in 2010.
The canon was first fired at the football game vs. Xavier on Sept. 17, 1966 from the top east stone tower in the Glass Bowl. The cannon continued to be fired from this position until 1989, when it had to be moved to the field because of structural concerns with the stone towers. From 1990 to 2008 the cannon was fired from field level until it was moved to the east balcony of the Larimer Building for safety reasons. In 2009 the cannon returned to its original position on the east tower. Blasts are fired at the beginning of each home game, at the end of each half, and after every Rocket score.
I-75 Rivalry
Just 20 miles of highway on I-75 separate the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University, considered by many observers to be the greatest rivalry in the Mid-American Conference. These two universities first met on the gridiron in 1919, playing 12 times before the series was discontinued following the 1935 game (a 63-0 Toledo triumph).The rivalry resumed in 1948 and has been stirring up emotions on both sides ever since.Â
From 1980-2010, the trophy that traded hands between Toledo and Bowling Green was referred to as "The Peace Pipe Trophy." Beginning in 2011, the schools retired the trophy out of respect to Native American culture, and began using the "Battle of I-75" trophy, a dense bronze and granite sculpture weighing more than 50 pounds.
