Thursday, November 21, 1996
The Victory Bell may just be one of the most coveted possessions
in the Los Angeles area.
Each season, the winner of the USC-UCLA football game earns the
right to keep the Victory Bell for the following year. And for each
of the past five years, it has not been allowed to escape
Westwood.
Gaining possession of the bell with a 24-21 victory in 1991, the
Bruins have kept possession of the trophy, winning the past five
games of the series.
The Victory Bell, weighing 295 pounds is annually painted the
colors of the victor’s school.
But the story of the Victory Bell is much more interesting than
the bell itself.
The bell was given to UCLA as a gift of the Alumni Association
in 1939 and Bruin cheerleaders rang the bell every time the Bruins
scored.
Two years later, the bell was not longer a simple noisemaker,
but it became a symbol of the intense rivalry growing between the
two universities.
According to the USC Sports Information Department, during
UCLA’s 1941 season opener, six USC students snuck into the Bruin
cheering section, masquerading as UCLA die-hards. After the
conclusion of the game, the USC students helped "fellow" Bruins
load the bell on to a truck. They proceeded to steal the key and
after the UCLA students went searching for a replacement, the
Trojans drove off with the trophy.
For the next year, much to UCLA’s chagrin, the bell remained
hidden in various locations.
In the ensuing months, the controversy seemed to subside a
little. That was until a picture of the bell appeared in a USC
campus magazine. Retaliating pranks from both schools followed, and
the situation soon got completely out of hand–in fact, one year
the USC president threatened to cancel the game if any other pranks
occurred.
So, the decision was made on Nov. 12, 1942, that the official
competition for the Victory Bell would begin. Student body
presidents from both universities met at USC, and signed an
agreement awarding possession the trophy to the winner of the
annual football game.
Exactly one month later after the decision was made, UCLA
defeated USC for the first time ever, and as a result, staked claim
to the first "official" possession of the trophy.
Of the 54 years since then, the bell has split its time almost
evenly between the two campuses–26 years in Westwood and 28 years
across town.