Centre College: Centre traditions 101

DANVILLE, KY—Few colleges have as rich a collection of traditions as Centre. Some are glorious, some romantic, some simply off the wall. Here is a primer on the most important ones.

C6-HO

At the beginning of the Roaring '20s, Harvard University, the nation's dominant football power, was riding a five-year undefeated streak. Then the Crimson invited Centre College up to Cambridge for what they thought would be a "warm-up" game, a light workout before facing Princeton the following week.

On Oct. 29, 1921, before 45,000 stunned fans, the Colonels shocked mighty Harvard, in what many still consider one of the 20th century's greatest sports upsets. Back in Danville, overjoyed students painted the "impossible formula" C6-H0 (Centre 6, Harvard 0) on everything in sight, including some cows. One such marking can still be seen on the side of the Centre post office.
The Centre victory was no fluke, however. The team was undefeated in regular season play, going on to beat other national powerhouses.

On the 75th anniversary of C6-H0, Centre challenged Harvard to a rematch. Harvard declined.

Centre alumnus Fred Vinson died in 1953—but still makes it to every home football game.

Vinson ('09, '11 law) was a brilliant student and three-sport athlete at Centre who went on to become Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Even as one of the world's most powerful men, he maintained close contact with Centre and always attended football games with his Phi Delta Theta fraternity brothers when he returned to campus.

Soon after his death, some of the brothers decided there was no reason Vinson shouldn't continue to attend the games he had enjoyed so much and they took his portrait to a game. His portrait (which has come to be known as "Dead Fred") hasn't missed a home game since. Sometimes Dead Fred even travels to away games when Centre faces a particularly tough opponent. There have been reports that a tear can be seen in Fred's eye after a tough loss.

Dead Fred has been featured extensively in national media, including USA Today, the New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN. When Centre hosted the Vice-Presidential Debate in 2000, Dead Fred had his own special security credential and was the first person seated. (No one knew at the time how appropriate this was, given the crucial role the Supreme Court played in the 2000 election.) The Dead Fred story ran in media around the world, from the New York Times to the Arab Daily News.

Nearly 40 years ago a striking sculpture called The Flame was installed at the center of campus. In the 1980s, students began a tradition of running from their dorm to The Flame and back—naked!

"The Flame Run" has become such a part of campus lore that is now lends its name to an alumni e-newsletter. Public nudity is against student conduct regulations, so prospective Flame Runners must choose their time well and run really fast -- or be prepared to pay the fine.

A legend has sprung up about the circular brass College seal embedded in the brick walkway in front of Old Centre. The belief is that if two students kiss on the seal at midnight, they'll end up marrying after graduation. This piece of folklore hasn't been scientifically tested, but the proliferation of double alum weddings reported in the alumni magazine would lend support to the notion.

Centre students enjoy an occasional swing on the campus swing which hangs from a tree near Old Centre.

Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/