Stanford Axe

"The Axe" redirects here. For the rugby player nicknamed "The Axe", see Trevor Gillmeister.

Stanford University's Axe Committee carries the Axe around Memorial Stadium during the 2008 Big Game

The Stanford Axe is a trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Big Game, a college football match-up between the University of California Golden Bears and the Stanford University Cardinal. The trophy consists of an axe-head mounted on a large wooden plaque, along with the scores of past Big Games. Stanford has held the Axe since 2010, most recently retaining it after defeating Cal 45-31 in 2016.

Origins

The Stanford Axe was originally a standard 12-inch lumberman's axe. It made its first appearance on April 13, 1899 during a Stanford rally when yell leaders used it to decapitate a straw man dressed in blue and gold ribbons while chanting the Axe yell, which was based on The Frogs by Aristophanes (Brekekekek croax croax):

**Axe Scorecard**
Stanford (44)	California (33)
1933 1934 1935 1940 1942 1946 1955 1957 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1968 1969 1971 1973 1974 1976 1977 1978 1981 1984 1985 1987 1989 1990 1991 1992 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2007 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016	1936 1937 1938 1939 1941 1947 1948 1949 1951 1952 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1967 1970 1972 1975 1979 1980 1982 1983 1986 1993 1994 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008 2009
Ties (3)
1950 1953 1988

Give 'em the axe, the axe, the axe!

Give 'em the axe, give 'em the axe,

Give 'em the axe, where?

Right in the neck, in the neck, in the neck!

Right in the neck, right in the neck,

Right in the neck! There!

Cal steals the Axe

The University of California Rally Committee in possession of the axe during the 2010 Big Game

The Axe made its second appearance two days later on April 15, 1899 at a Cal-Stanford baseball game played at 16th Street and Folsom in San Francisco. Led by Billy Erb, the Stanford yell leaders paraded the Axe and used it to chop up blue and gold ribbon after every good play by the Stanford team, while shouting the Axe yell. However, Stanford lost the game and the series, and the yell leaders debated if the Axe was a jinx and whether to dispose of it.

As Stanford students discussed the Axe's fate, a group of Cal students seized it and ran off with the Axe. It in turn was passed from student to student, and a chase ensued through the streets of San Francisco, first followed by Stanford students and fans and second followed by the San Francisco police. During the chase, the Axe's handle was broken off.

Cal student Clint Miller, who was wearing an overcoat so he could easily conceal the axe head, was the last to handle the Axe. As he reached the Ferry Building, he noticed the police inspecting the pockets of every boarding male passenger. As luck would have it, Miller encountered an old girlfriend, Agnes. Posing as a couple, the two successfully boarded the narrow gauge ferry to Alameda/Oakland (to avoid the police searching those buying tickets to Berkeley) and from there Miller took the Axe back to Berkeley where it was first stored in a fraternity (Chi Phi), and later in a bank vault. Two days later, Cal held its first Axe Rally.

Stanford recaptures it

A group of American football players, surrounded by photographers, lift a plaque upon which is an ax head and an inscription.

Stanford players lift the Stanford Axe after winning the 2010 Big Game

For the next 31 years, the Axe stayed in Berkeley as a prize of conquest. In 1930, twenty-one Stanford students plotted to take back the Axe from Cal. This group became known in Stanford lore as the Immortal 21; Cal partisans call them the Immoral 21.^[1]

Cal's protection of the Axe at the time was intense—it was kept in a Berkeley bank vault and brought out, in an armored car, only for spring baseball and Big Game rallies. The Stanford group decided that their best chance would be right after the spring Axe rally, held that year on April 3 at Cal's Greek Theatre ^[2]

After the rally, four Stanford students posing as photographers temporarily blinded Norm Horner, the Grand Custodian of the Axe, with camera flashes. In the subsequent scuffle, the Stanford students grabbed the Axe while several others disguised as Cal students tossed a tear gas (or smoke, depending on account) bomb at the Cal students who guarded it. The Axe was taken to one of three cars which sped off in different directions. Several other Stanford students (disguised as Cal students) further delayed attempts to recover the Axe by organizing a search party away from the direction of the getaway cars. Although several of the raiders were caught, the Axe made it back to Stanford where it was paraded around the campus.^[2]

The Axe becomes a trophy

Possession of the Axe is contested at the annual Big Game

For three years after the raid on Berkeley the Stanford Axe lay in a Palo Alto bank vault while both universities decided what to do with it. In 1933, both sides agreed to designate the Axe as the annual trophy to be awarded to the Big Game's winner; in the event of a tie, it would be kept by the side already possessing the Axe.

However, the agreement did not stop students from both schools from stealing (or attempting to steal) the Axe. Since 1933, Cal students have stolen the Axe three times and Stanford students four times; the most recent incident occurred in 1973. On January 28, 1978, a group of Cal students paraded a carefully constructed replica of the Axe across the court of Stanford's Maples Pavilion during the Cal-Stanford basketball game. This "Fake Axe" stunt led to erroneous reports in the following day's papers that the Axe had been stolen, therefore some sources report 1978 as the most recent theft.^[3]

Traditions

Depending on which school holds the Axe, the trophy's recorded score for the 1982 Big Game is changed. This is part of the continuing dispute surrounding The Play, the last play in the final seconds of the 1982 game, which ended with a kickoff return marked by five laterals, the Stanford Band thinking the game was over and rushing the field, and then a touchdown run through the band featuring the last Cal returner bowling over a Stanford trombone player in the end zone. Referees declared the touchdown as legal and California the winner of the game. However, Stanford contends that one of the five laterals on that play was an illegal forward pass and that a Cal player was tackled before he lateraled the ball. As a result, whenever Stanford wins the Axe, the 1982 score is changed on the trophy from "California 25, Stanford 20" to read "California 19, Stanford 20." Despite this practice, the official score must be on the Axe prior to the start of each Big Game no matter who has it at the time.

When Stanford has the Axe, it is guarded by the Stanford Axe Committee and kept in a secret location, when not on display in the lobby of the Arrillaga Sports Center. When California is in possession of the Axe, the Chairman of the UC Rally Committee acts as its custodian. It is generally displayed in the lobby of the Martin Luther King Junior Student Union Building.

During the Big Game, the Stanford Axe is displayed by the school that won the Big Game during the previous year. The Stanford Axe is transferred at the Big Game during what is known as "The Stare Down." With two minutes remaining in the Big Game, the Stanford Axe is brought to the 50 yard line, where members of the UC Rally Committee and the Stanford Axe Committee wait until the end of the game to determine who will take the Axe. Once the game ends, the winner of Big Game takes possession of the Axe until the next Big Game is played.

Currently, Stanford has the Axe after winning the 119th Big Game on November 19, 2016 by the score of 45–31.

Although Stanford leads the all-time series before and after the use of the Axe as a trophy, California still has held the Axe for a longer amount of time due to their 31 year possession before the recapture of the Axe by Stanford. During the time the Axe has been used as a trophy, Stanford has held it 47 times to California's 34.

References

↑ R. L. Templeton; Clinton R. ("Brick") Morse, Norman Horner, Wagner d'Alessio. "The Stanford Axe". Retrieved 19 November 2013. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
1 2 Alkire, David (18 November 1966). "Operation 'Immortal 21' Highlights Spirited History of Stanford's Axe". The Stanford Daily. 150 (41). Retrieved 15 March 2016.
↑ San Francisco Examiner, Sunday January 29, 1978.

External links

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California Golden Bears football

Venues	California Field (1904–1922) California Memorial Stadium (1923–2010, 2012–present) AT&T Park (2011)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Stanford: Big Game (Stanford Axe) UCLA

Culture & lore	Oski "Fight for California" Marching band Tightwad Hill The Play

People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

Stanford Cardinal football

Venues	Stanford Field (1905–1921) Stanford Stadium (1921–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games California: Big Game USC Notre Dame San Jose State: Bill Walsh Legacy Game

Culture & lore	Stanford Tree "Come Join the Band" "All Right Now" Stanford Band The Play Stanford Axe T formation 1906–17 Stanford rugby teams 1894 Chicago game 2007 USC game

People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

Pac-12 football rivalries

Conference	Apple Cup (Washington–Washington State) Arizona–Arizona State Big Game (California–Stanford) California–UCLA Civil War (Oregon–Oregon State) Oregon–Washington Rumble in the Rockies (Colorado–Utah) Stanford–USC UCLA–USC

Non-conference	Arizona–New Mexico Battle of the Brothers (Utah–Utah State) Battle of the Palouse (Idaho–Washington State) Beehive Boot (BYU–Utah–Utah State) Bill Walsh Legacy Game (San Jose State–Stanford) Colorado–Nebraska Holy War (Utah–BYU) New Mexico–Utah Notre Dame–USC Notre Dame–Stanford Rocky Mountain Showdown (Colorado–Colorado State)

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