Texans take their football very seriously, whether it is a peewee game played in the
local park on Saturday morning or a Sunday afternoon game at Texas Stadium involving the
Dallas Cowboys. Yet, one would be hard pressed to find a more intense rivalry than the
annual football game between Texas A&M University and its archrival, the University of
Texas at Austin (UT and also known as TU). The game is traditionally played each year
during the week of Thanksgiving and one of the key events surrounding the game is the
burning of the bonfire, which takes place on the A&M campus on the eve of the game.
The ninety-year old tradition has evolved over the years, but traces its origin to
1909 when students ignited a pile of trash gathered on the spur of the moment in anticipation
of the game with UT. The earliest available photograph of the bonfire dates from
1928 and shows a bonfire stack that was constructed of wooden pallets, tree limbs, and
other similar materials. In 1943, the bonfire gained increased notoriety when it was
featured in a Hollywood motion picture entitled We’ve Never Been Licked. In 1945, the
first center pole was used and the bonfire was constructed entirely of logs in a teepee
configuration, which was topped by an outhouse. The wedding cake configuration of
recent bonfires dates to 1978.
Attendance at the annual ritual has grown over the years and ranges from 30,000
to 70,000 spectators, depending on such factors as weather and the quality of A&M’s and
UT’s football teams. The 1999 bonfire would have been the 89th one to be burned. The
bonfire was cancelled in 1963 in response to the assassination of President Kennedy in
Dallas on November 22nd,.
The 1999 bonfire was either the 90th or 92nd to have been built, depending upon
one’s point of view. The bonfire stack collapsed without incident in 1957 and again in
1994. Both stacks were hastily rebuilt and were burned as scheduled. Hence the dispute
about the number of stacks constructed during the last ninety years. Appendix C provides
a chronological history of significant events surrounding the bonfire and provides a
description of the command hierarchy used to construct the bonfire stack.
Over the years, the bonfire has been held a number of places on campus.
Since 1992, the event has been held at the Polo Fields on the north side of the campus.
The bonfire is a student-managed event and approximately 125,000 man-hours
are expended to construct the stack. Nearly 5,000 students and former students
participate in the cutting, hauling, and stacking of the 6,000 to 8,000 logs that are used to construct the bonfire structure. Area landowners wishing to clear their land
donate the trees used in the event.
The bonfire event has not been without its critics, particularly environmentalist
who decry the impact of cutting the trees and the air pollution generated by the fire.
Since 1991, however, students have carried on a new tradition by planting approximately
10,000 replacement trees each spring to show support for both the bonfire and
the environment.
The saga of the bonfire is rich in folklore. UT students have attempted to ignite
the bonfire prior to the scheduled event a number of times. Among their more creative
efforts were attempts in 1933 and 1948 to drop firebombs from airplanes. None of the
attempts, however, have proven to be successful.
The first seventy bonfires were male only affairs. In 1979, women were first
allowed to help construct the bonfire. For much of its history, Texas A&M was an all
male institution. Women were admitted to the University during the 1960’s and are now
very much a part of the activities surrounding the event.
Next » Construction
Save to del.icio.us
