By M. E.
Indiana
University and Purdue University have been known to be long time rivals in the
state of Indiana when it comes to sports. Today, it is almost a crime to be
seen supporting the other school’s team at a football or basketball game.
Rather, students support their home team by wearing their school’s colors
proudly and cheering on their own. However, this typical situation for both
schools was not the case at the state championship game of 1903. It could be argued
that this was the only time in history that Indiana University students did not
wear their red and white colors proudly and came together in support of the
students and team members of Purdue University at a supposed to be football
event. The reason for this unusual situation was due to the horrific train
accident that occurred right before the game was supposed to take place.
To fully understand the community of
students and faculty of Purdue affected by this tragedy, it is important to
explore the history of Purdue and its football team. Founded on May 6th,
1869, the university was named after John Purdue for his rather large donation
of land and money towards the establishment of the school itself.[1]The
first classes began on September 16, 1874 with thirty-nine students enrolled
and only six faculty members employed.1 All thirty-nine students
were male which displays that women were not originally admitted to the
university. During the second semester of classes, a group of students
participated in the first fraternity on campus, Sigma Chi.1 It can
be implied that this fraternity represented a bond between the first students
at Purdue University that would continue to grow strong through many different
clubs, organizations, sports teams and other Greek chapters. Further, in the
fall of the following year, women were allowed to be admitted to the university
to grow the student population.1 Shortly after, the university band
was established in 1886 followed by the Purdue football team in 1887.1 All
of these different establishments laid the roots for the student life at Purdue
University. Around this time was when the uniting colors and mascot for all of
the sports teams was chosen. Black and gold were the colors picked for all
students to wear in support of the football team and were displayed proudly at
the first game on October 29, 1887.1 Additionally, because many of
the recruits for the team were workers at the Monon Boiler Shop, Boilermaker
was adopted as the school’s mascot.1 After the colors and mascot
were chosen, many students came out to the university’s football games to
support their friends on the team and display school pride. This same kind of
student community could be found at Indiana University as well. However, with
different team colors and a different mascot to represent the team.
With that, Purdue was part of the same
football conference that Indiana University was at the time. Every year, a game
between the schools was hosted in Indianapolis where mass numbers of fans from
both schools would attend. This is where the rivalry between the schools began.
Students, their families and faculty of both universities looked forward to
this game every year. Although, in 1903 this game changed the lives of many and
was not the same exciting event as it always had been.
On October 31, 1903, (Halloween),
students, school officials, football team members, coaches and band players
boarded the Big Four Special train that was headed to Indianapolis for the
championship game against Indiana University.[2]
Students’ excitement for the game was heard loud and clear as they cheered out
the windows of the train waving black and gold flags.2 At
approximately 10:20am, the train rounded 18th street just outside of
the city and engineer W. H. Schumaker saw a large freight train carrying coal
crossing the tracks in front of him.[3]
Schumaker quickly reversed his engine and jumped from the train, escaping
before the collision.3 The first three out of twelve coach cars
behind the engine of the Big Four, smashed into the freight and took the hit
for the rest of the cars. In the first coach, Purdue’s football team, coaches
and trainers felt the first impact of the crash. The roof of the coach was ripped
off and the wood beams for the structure of the car were exposed.3 Following
in the second car was the brass band whose car was thrown off the track
completely.3 Similarly, the third coach was overturned and hurled
down a fifteen feet embankment.3
Immediately following the collision,
passengers of the remaining coaches worked together to pull mangled and
unconscious bodies from the wreckage as fast as they could.2 Strangers
helping strangers was a common theme seen in the first crucial minutes after
the crash. Women tried to assist the injured and held dying victims in their
arms to try and sooth their pain.3 At this time women were not
typically viewed as heroic. However, their bloodstained clothes and nursing
skills made them heroes to many of the victims. The wreckage quickly caught
fire and was extinguished by students before help arrived.[4]
Not long after the fire erupted, a
general alarm was sounded throughout the city and paramedics, firemen, surgeons,
and police officers arrived at the scene.2 However, before they
arrived and the wreckage was blocked off, many victims claimed to witness
robbing of corpses by local blacks.2 Because of the negative view of
blacks at the time, racism may have been a key factor in these accusations. Additionally, many injured victims
claimed to have valuables stolen from them by people who were “lending a
helping hand.” [5]
Police later reported that many of these claims were false and valuables were
more than likely lost in the wreckage.5
When help arrived, the injured were
rushed to the local hospital. Injuries included, partially and fully beheaded,
legs and other bones crushed, muscle tissue exposed, back sprains, fractured
skulls, wreckage impaled in bodies and dislocated knees.3 Out of the
954 passengers on the train, around fifty were severely injured and fifteen
were pronounced dead at the scene.3 With that, two of the severely
injured died at the hospital within the hour of arrival and the death toll was
estimated to be around twenty.2 Pronounced dead at the scene were
seven substitute players, three Purdue players, one assistant coach, one
trainer and three unidentified bodies.2 Many of the surviving
students cried over their friends, fraternity brothers and sisters, and
teammates bodies.4
As news of the wreck traveled into
the city, Indiana University fans and teammates stopped celebrating about the
game and out of respect for the killed and injured, did not display their team
colors or play any band music.3 Indiana University students felt
sympathy for their rival school’s students and many visited the hospital to
show support before families arrived.3
At
this time, rivalry was ignored and the schools came together in support of the
victims of the crash. Unlike at previous
sporting events, Indiana University students treated Purdue students like their
own and mourned the losses of Purdue’s students, teammates and faculty. This
does not suggest that the students of Indiana University treated students from
Purdue poorly, but rather, there was a divide between college age students in
Indiana because of the rivalry between the two schools. The president of
Indiana University at the time also visited the hospital to assist in any way
possible. Further, when all the students had arrived there was supposed to be a
Halloween costume parade in honor of the game falling on Halloween. After news
of the wreck, nobody dressed up or participated.2
On of the major conflicts with this
accident was that many injured were missing and authorities informed families
they could get in contact with that the missing were in fact dead.2 In
addition, many families could not be informed of anything about their loved
ones because the home addresses of the students were only listed in the Purdue
register located back in Lafayette.4 In some cases missing
passengers were not actually among the dead and would show up later. These were
the lucky cases. Unfortunately, for some like Miss. Alma Pation of Huntington,
Indiana, what authorities had said was the truth. Miss. Pation was a young woman
who traveled from home to watch the love of her life, Jay Hamilton, play in the
big game.[6]
After hearing word of the wreck, she spent all evening looking for Hamilton.6
On the next day she overheard a conversation on the street that Hamilton
had been killed in the crash and fainted in shock.6 Similar
situations to Miss. Pation’s were common throughout the weekend as people were
informed of who did not survive. Many injured students tried to spare their
families of worry and grief by requesting that their names not be published
anywhere.2
Immediately after the crash, the
state championship was called off and Winthrop E. Stone, the president of
Purdue University, announced that the university would not be participating in
any future games of the season.2 Along with that he decided to stop
all campus operations until the following Tuesday, November 2nd,
1903.6 On this day, all remaining students skipped classes to meet
in the Eliza Fowler Hall for a memorial service dedicated to those who had
perished.6 In doing this, it can be implied that the community of
students at Purdue became closer after the crash. For all students to give up
their day of classes to mourn the losses of the university shows the true
respect and loyalty Purdue students held for each other. Also, In honor of the
losses of the football players, funds from the game were given to Purdue to
build a memorial gymnasium that would display the names of the dead on a tablet
on the gym wall.6 President Stone thought this was the right choice
as to where the funds would go because before the tragedy, the football team
had to train in the basement of the dormitory on campus.6 In
addition, all of the money from pre-sale tickets was given to families of the
severely injured to help cover major hospital funds.3
About two weeks after the crash, a
list of all railway officials was collected to determine whom was to blame for
the crash.7 Harry D. Tutewiler, the coroner for Marion County, made
a testimony that the crew of the Big Four Special was to blame for the
accident.[7]
Both engineers of the Big Four Special and the freight carrying coal claimed to
not know about the other train and believed they had the right of way.2 The
reason Tutewiler testified that it was the Big Four Special’s crew’s fault was
because at the time of the crash the train was running at high speed.7 According
to Tutewiler, if the train had been traveling slower, the amount of damage and
casualties could have been cut down significantly.7 Later, it was
discovered that the speed of the train was not the cause of the accident and
blame was placed on operator H. Bishop for failing to notify the yardmaster and
posting telegram of the train’s existence on the main train schedule bulletin
board.7 On October 30th, 1903 the day prior to the wreck,
Will C. Carter who was the train dispatcher in Kankakee, IL sent out proper
notifications of the Big Four Special’s future existence and gave permission
for the train to have the right of way on the railway.7 Bishop was
supposed to post this notification sent in a telegram and notify the
yardmaster, J. Q Hicks but failed to do so.7 Therefore, J. Q Hicks
gave the right of way to the freight carrying coal that the Big Four Special
collided with.7 In the end, however, Bishop was found not guilty
because no state law had been broken and charges for manslaughter could not be
filed.7 Essentially the final blame was placed on the dispatchers in
Kankakee, IL but no action was taken because according to Carter, notifications
were sent accordingly.7 Interestingly, it was Bishop’s mistake but
fingers were pointed at the person in a different state who did everything
right. This suggests that the operators in Indiana did not want any of the
blame because friends and families of the student’s who were killed that used
the Indiana railway would stop giving providing business.
Overall, this train wreck tragedy
changed the lives of many. It did not lead to any new techniques as far as
railway schedule organization, but it did lead to operators and yardmasters
checking their work more carefully.7 Additionally, the crash
significantly weakened the divide between Indiana’s two major universities and
brought the student populations together.
[1] “Purdue University Historical Timeline,” Purdue University Libraries, 2007
http://www4.lib.purdue.edu/spcol.putimeline
[2] “Students From Purdue Killed in Train
Wreck,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Nov.
1, 1903 p.1
[3] “Death in At Goal: Awful Accident on Big
Four,” Los Angeles Times, Nov. 1,
1903, p.1
[4] “Lives Crushed Out, Fifteen College Boys
Killed in Railway Wreck,” The Washington
Post, Nov. 1, 1903, p.1
[5] “Many Students Die,” The Waterloo Press: From the Four Quarters of the Earth, Nov. 5,
1903, p. 1
[6] “The Engineer of Purdue Special Blamed,” Fort Wayne Morning Journal-Gazette, Nov.
3, 1903, p. 1
[7] “The Verdict,” The Tuesday Republic, Nov. 17, 1903 p.1
