Old Oaken Bucket

Old Oaken Bucket
Teams	Indiana Hoosiers Purdue Boilermakers
Originated	1925
Trophy Series	Purdue leads, 56–27–3
All-Time Series	Purdue leads, 70–37–6

The Old Oaken Bucket is the name of the trophy that is annually awarded to the winner of the Big Ten Conference college football game between Indiana University and Purdue University. It is one of the oldest football trophies in the nation. It is symbolic of collegiate football supremacy between the two largest public universities in Indiana which play it at the highest level, NCAA Division I. The trophy was first awarded in 1925 and is one of the most famous football trophies.

Purdue leads the overall series (including games prior to 1925) 70 to 37 with six ties. The Boilermakers have won eleven of the last fourteen contests. Indiana won the 2010 contest 34–31 in overtime - their first win in West Lafayette since 1996.

Series facts

Statistic	Purdue	Indiana
Games played	113
Wins	70	37
Home wins	37	18
Road wins	33	19
Neutral site wins	1	0
Total points scored in the series	2463	1532
Most points scored in a game by one team	64 (1892)	52 (1988)
Most points scored in a game by both teams	87 (2004 – PU 63, IU 24)
Fewest points scored in a game by both teams	0 (1925 – PU 0, IU 0)
Fewest points scored in a game by one team in a win	1 (1893, 1894)	3 (1921, 1923, 1940)
Most points scored in a game by one team in a loss	31 (1971)	35 (1968)
Largest margin of victory	52 (2008)	45 (1988)
Smallest margin of victory	1 (1893, 1894, 1939, 1980, 1983, 1989)	1 (1930)
Longest winning streak	10 (1948 to 1957)	4 (1944 to 1947)

History of the Trophy

The concept of a trophy for football games played annually between Purdue University and Indiana University was first proposed during a joint meeting of the Chicago chapters of the Indiana and Purdue alumni organizations in 1925:

"discuss the possibility of undertaking worthy joint enterprises in behalf of the two schools."

During that meeting Indiana alumnus Dr. Clarence Jones and Purdue alumnus Russel Gray were appointed to propose a suitable trophy. At a subsequent meeting in Chicago Jones and Gray recommended some oaken bucket be that trophy and the chapters drafted the resolution that:

"an old oaken bucket as the most typical Hoosier form of trophy, that the bucket should be taken from some well in Indiana, and that a chain to be made of bronze block "I" and "P" letters should be provided for the bucket. The school winning the traditional football game each year should have possession of the "Old Oaken Bucket" until the next game and should attach the block letter representing the winning school to the bail with the score engraved on the latter link."

Purdue alumnus Fritz Earnst and Indiana alumnus Wiley J. Huddle were appointed to find a suitable oak bucket. They found such a bucket at the then Bruner family farm between Kent and Hanover in southern Indiana.[1] Although the bucket might have been used at an open well on the Bruner family farm that had been settled during the 1840s, the Bruner family lore indicates that the bucket might have been used under General John Hunt Morgan's command during the Civil War and might have arrived at the farm after one of the Bruner men returned following completion of their military service.

In accordance with the Chicago alumni organization's resolution, the winner of the bucket gets a "P" or "I" link added to the chain of the bucket with the score, date and the city where the game was played engraved on the link. In case of a tie, an "I–P" link was added. The inaugural Old Oaken Bucket Game ended in a 0–0 deadlock on November 21, 1925, in Bloomington resulting in the very first and most visible link, an "I–P" link, being added to the handle of the bucket.

The poem "The Old Oaken Bucket"

The name of the trophy refers to a sentimental poem written in 1817 by an unsuccessful printer and publisher, Samuel Woodworth (1784–1842) which begins:

"How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood,

When fond recollection presents them to view!

The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wild-wood,

And every loved spot which my infancy knew!

...And e'en the rude bucket that hung in the well—

The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket,

The moss-covered bucket which hung in the well.

Although Samuel Woodworth was not from Indiana, the poem exemplifies the sentiment felt by the people of Indiana towards their home state. The poem was set to music in 1826 by G. F. Kiallmark (1804–1887)[2] and memorized or sung by generations of American schoolchildren; it made the poet's unpretentious childhood home in Scituate, Massachusetts the goal of sentimental tourists in the late 19th century.

Game results

Winning team is shown in bold font. Years of a Purdue win are in gold. Years of an Indiana win are in red. Years of a tie are in white.

Note: The 1903 contest, scheduled to be played on October 31 at Washington Park in Indianapolis, Indiana, was canceled after one of the trains carrying the Purdue football team struck a coal train near 18th Street on the north side of Indianapolis. In all, 17 Purdue football players, coaches, alumni, and team supporters were killed in the Purdue Wreck.

Year Purdue Indiana Location 1891 Purdue 60 Indiana 0 West Lafayette 1882 Purdue 64 Indiana 0 West Lafayette 1893 Purdue 1 Indiana 0 West Lafayette 1894 Purdue 1 Indiana 0 Bloomington 1897 Purdue 20 Indiana 6 West Lafayette 1898 Purdue 14 Indiana 0 West Lafayette 1899 Purdue 5 Indiana 17 West Lafayette 1900 Purdue 5 Indiana 24 West Lafayette 1901 Purdue 6 Indiana 11 Bloomington 1902 Purdue 39 Indiana 0 West Lafayette 1903 Purdue Indiana Indianapolis 1904 Purdue 27 Indiana 0 Indianapolis 1905 Purdue 11 Indiana 11 Bloomington 1908 Purdue 4 Indiana 10 West Lafayette 1909 Purdue 3 Indiana 36 Bloomington 1910 Purdue 0 Indiana 15 West Lafayette 1911 Purdue 12 Indiana 5 Bloomington 1912 Purdue 34 Indiana 7 West Lafayette 1913 Purdue 42 Indiana 7 Bloomington 1914 Purdue 23 Indiana 13 West Lafayette 1915 Purdue 7 Indiana 0 Bloomington 1916 Purdue 0 Indiana 0 West Lafayette 1917 Purdue 0 Indiana 37 Bloomington 1920 Purdue 7 Indiana 10 West Lafayette 1921 Purdue 0 Indiana 3 Bloomington 1922 Purdue 7 Indiana 7 West Lafayette 1923 Purdue 0 Indiana 3 Bloomington 1924 Purdue 26 Indiana 7 West Lafayette 1925 Purdue 0 Indiana 0 Bloomington 1926 Purdue 24 Indiana 14 West Lafayette 1927 Purdue 21 Indiana 6 Bloomington 1928 Purdue 14 Indiana 0 West Lafayette 1929 Purdue 32 Indiana 0 Bloomington 1930 Purdue 6 Indiana 7 West Lafayette 1931 Purdue 19 Indiana 0 Bloomington 1932 Purdue 25 Indiana 7 West Lafayette 1933 Purdue 19 Indiana 3 Bloomington 1934 Purdue 6 Indiana 17 West Lafayette 1935 Purdue 0 Indiana 7 Bloomington 1936 Purdue 20 Indiana 20 West Lafayette 1937 Purdue 13 Indiana 7 Bloomington 1938 Purdue 13 Indiana 6 West Lafayette 1939 Purdue 7 Indiana 6 Bloomington 1940 Purdue 0 Indiana 3 West Lafayette

Year Purdue Indiana Location 1941 Purdue 0 Indiana 7 Bloomington 1942 Purdue 0 Indiana 20 West Lafayette 1943 Purdue 7 Indiana 0 Bloomington 1944 Purdue 6 Indiana 14 West Lafayette 1945 Purdue 0 Indiana 26 Bloomington 1946 Purdue 20 Indiana 34 West Lafayette 1947 Purdue 14 Indiana 16 Bloomington 1948 Purdue 39 Indiana 0 West Lafayette 1949 Purdue 14 Indiana 6 Bloomington 1950 Purdue 13 Indiana 0 West Lafayette 1951 Purdue 21 Indiana 13 Bloomington 1952 Purdue 21 Indiana 16 West Lafayette 1953 Purdue 30 Indiana 0 Bloomington 1954 Purdue 13 Indiana 7 West Lafayette 1955 Purdue 6 Indiana 4 Bloomington 1956 Purdue 39 Indiana 20 West Lafayette 1957 Purdue 35 Indiana 13 Bloomington 1958 Purdue 15 Indiana 15 West Lafayette 1959 Purdue 10 Indiana 7 Bloomington 1960 Purdue 35 Indiana 6 West Lafayette 1961 Purdue 34 Indiana 12 Bloomington 1962 Purdue 7 Indiana 12 West Lafayette 1963 Purdue 21 Indiana 15 Bloomington 1964 Purdue 28 Indiana 22 West Lafayette 1965 Purdue 26 Indiana 21 Bloomington 1966 Purdue 51 Indiana 6 West Lafayette 1967 Purdue 14 Indiana 19 Bloomington 1968 Purdue 38 Indiana 35 West Lafayette 1969 Purdue 44 Indiana 21 Bloomington 1970 Purdue 40 Indiana 0 West Lafayette 1971 Purdue 31 Indiana 38 Bloomington 1972 Purdue 42 Indiana 7 West Lafayette 1973 Purdue 28 Indiana 23 Bloomington 1974 Purdue 38 Indiana 17 West Lafayette 1975 Purdue 9 Indiana 7 Bloomington 1976 Purdue 14 Indiana 20 West Lafayette 1977 Purdue 10 Indiana 21 Bloomington 1978 Purdue 20 Indiana 7 West Lafayette 1979 Purdue 37 Indiana 21 Bloomington 1980 Purdue 24 Indiana 23 West Lafayette 1981 Purdue 17 Indiana 20 Bloomington 1982 Purdue 7 Indiana 13 West Lafayette 1983 Purdue 31 Indiana 30 Bloomington 1984 Purdue 31 Indiana 24 West Lafayette

Year Purdue Indiana Location 1985 Purdue 34 Indiana 21 Bloomington 1986 Purdue 17 Indiana 15 West Lafayette 1987 Purdue 14 Indiana 35 Bloomington 1988 Purdue 7 Indiana 52 West Lafayette 1989 Purdue 15 Indiana 14 Bloomington 1990 Purdue 14 Indiana 28 West Lafayette 1991 Purdue 22 Indiana 24 Bloomington 1992 Purdue 13 Indiana 10 West Lafayette 1993 Purdue 17 Indiana 24 Bloomington 1994 Purdue 29 Indiana 33 West Lafayette 1995 Purdue 51 Indiana 14 Bloomington 1996 Purdue 16 Indiana 33 West Lafayette 1997 Purdue 56 Indiana 7 Bloomington 1998 Purdue 52 Indiana 7 West Lafayette 1999 Purdue 30 Indiana 24 Bloomington 2000 Purdue 41 Indiana 13 West Lafayette 2001 Purdue 7 Indiana 13 Bloomington 2002 Purdue 34 Indiana 10 West Lafayette 2003 Purdue 24 Indiana 16 Bloomington 2004 Purdue 63 Indiana 24 West Lafayette 2005 Purdue 41 Indiana 14 Bloomington 2006 Purdue 28 Indiana 19 West Lafayette 2007 Purdue 24 Indiana 27 Bloomington 2008 Purdue 62 Indiana 10 West Lafayette 2009 Purdue 38 Indiana 21 Bloomington 2010 Purdue 31 Indiana 34 West Lafayette 2011 Purdue Indiana Bloomington

See also

• Most-played rivalries in NCAA Division I FBS

External links

• Photograph of the Bucket
• Indiana-Purdue Series History
• History of the Bucket (Purdue)
• History of the Bucket (Indiana) including a good photograph
• Scituate Historical Society: Old Oaken Bucket Homestead

Coordinates: 42°10′51″N 70°45′45″W / 42.18077°N 70.76255°W / 42.18077; -70.76255