While every region has its natural collegiate rivals in football—think Auburn-Alabama, Michigan-Ohio State, Texas-Oklahoma—only one rivalry comes complete with capital letters. The Stanford-Cal Big Game [always capitalized by the cognoscenti] dates back to 1892, when Walter Camp coached the Stanford team to a 14-10 victory over their rivals across the bay. As a student, … Continue reading Stanford-Cal Big Game
Like millions of Americans, I am captivated by the autumnal pull of college football. The crisp cool air, the turning leaves, the thump of pad upon pad, the siren call of homecoming at the alma mater all weave their magic. I spend many Saturday hours inside watching the local heroes on the Big-10 network. … Continue reading Are You Ready for some Football?—College Coaches’ Mythic Edition
Part 3 By Matthew Schaeffer After Herbert Hoover left the White House on March 4, 1933, Hoover Ball disappeared from the public awareness. Clearly Franklin Roosevelt, suffering from the lingering impact of polio, was not going to throw a six pound ball over a net. Like Calvin Coolidge’s mechanical horse, Hoover ball was consigned to … Continue reading Hoover Ball Rejuvenated
Part 2 By Matthew Schaeffer Visitors to the Herbert Hoover Museum will find nearly seven hundred artifacts on display to tell his life story. There is an entire exhibit case dedicated to documenting the Hoovers’ time in the White House. It contains scores of artifacts, and it can be overwhelming. One artifact that escaped my … Continue reading The End of the First Hoover Ball Era
Part 1 By Matthew Schaeffer The health of the President of the United States is often newsworthy. President Trump’s height and weight made recent headlines. Obama’s smoking drew public interest. Clinton’s affinity for eating fast food, sometimes while dressed for jogging, was worth a news photo. I would argue that the American public cares more … Continue reading Hoover Ball Genesis
by Matthew Schaefer While re-processing the personal papers of Senator Bourke Hickenlooper, I came across a folder labeled ‘Fish, 1954-1966.’ This was an odd title, and less descriptive than one would hope. Being a curious cat, I further investigated this fishy folder. It contained dozens of letters, newspaper clippings, receipts and photographs documenting Hickenlooper’s landing … Continue reading Fish Story
Herbert Hoover's lifelong passion for fishing is well-known. For no other President has a biographer written a 350-page book subtitled, The Fishing President, as Hal Elliott Wert has done for Hoover. In this book, Wert describes Hoover's fishing exploits and expeditions from age 8 to age 88. Young Bert Hoover pulled a ‘record’ twelve inch … Continue reading Herbert Hoover and Fishing
by Matthew Schaefer While every region has its natural collegiate rivals in football—think Auburn-Alabama, Michigan-Ohio State, Texas-Oklahoma—only one rivalry comes complete with capital letters. The Stanford-Cal Big Game [always capitalized by the cognoscenti] dates back to 1892, when Walter Camp coached the Stanford team to a 14-10 victory over their rivals across the bay. As … Continue reading Stanford-Cal Big Game
by Matthew Schaefer From the time he was a Stanford student, Hoover was a fan of football. In his memoirs, Hoover plays up his role as the financial manager of the Stanford football team that won ‘The Big Game’ against Cal in ’94. The Stanford eleven no doubt benefited by the coaching prowess of Walter … Continue reading Are You Ready for Some Football?
by Matthew Schaefer Even before entering the White House, the Hoovers determined that they would need to escape Washington DC’s notorious summer heat and humidity. Given their love of the outdoors, the Hoovers’ purchase and development of a summer camp on the Rapidan River in Virginia came as no surprise. The camp was in the … Continue reading Home Improvements at Camp Rapidan
