Does this thread remind anyone else of John Belushi?

Good story Fossil Ag!! I was laughing the entire way through it!

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For a few minutes, officials of both schools said today, the encounter took on most of the elements of warfare

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Allsome

fossil-ag is correct i remember the incident. dad took my family out to see it, plane crashed at the rodeo arena that was where olsen is now.

Good bull

Gig 'em

Such a great story.

Bumped for rivalry week.

November 23, 1954

Holy crap, in the 2nd crash one guy jumped from the plane right before it crashed with an open parachute.

Found it!!!! The event happened in 1948, and this article of the battalion covers the incident:

November 23, 1948

Love the references to TU in the articles…(although tu is preferable of course)

I was told a story from a sip while dating his daughter that when he was in school in the 50-60's that him and his buddies tried to ram bonfire to knock it down. Armed with gasoline and flares as well. They got to bonfire and we're about to get going and the car started going to build up speed and then the engine blew up and the car stopped. The said the Corp didn't take to kindly to them and took their clothes and made them walk home.

He reflected about the bombing story and that's what spurred them to try to ram the bonfire.

Haven't heard about this in any publication but most stories like this aren't written up.

Below are pictures of the 47 bonfire

txdawg80 said:

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As I was attempting to google this story, I came across another story about two small schools here in texas, where the plane was actually brought down. I know nothing to do with A&M football, none the less interesting.

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The Airplane Incident

At the height of the Tarleton-North Texas Agriculture College rivalry, frequent raids by opposing students were common. Bonfires were the primary objectives, and as described in the J-TAC newspaper (Tarleton's school paper), the students were driven by "the desire to cause premature conflagration of the accumulated rubbish." On Nov. 29, two days before the traditional football game, and in retaliation for the burning of the NTAC bonfire by Tarleton students the night before, an NTAC student and accomplice flew over the Tarleton campus and attempted to bomb the bonfire. In their efforts to repel the air attack, Tarleton students on guard threw various objects at the plane. L.V. Risinger hurled a 2x4 into the air which struck the propeller and disabled the aircraft. The pilot glided over what is now the Hall of Presidents and crash-landed in a clump of trees. While the NTAC student and his buddy were launching the air attack, three truck loads of NTAC students were attempting to invade campus by land. Both the land and air attacks were repulsed. The NTAC students were captured, given a block-T haircut and sent on their way. The Homecoming bonfire has been dedicated to L.V. Risinger, defender of the bonfire, who died in 1994.

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Boy was it a different time then!

"Aggies get blamed for everything"

Also, interesting to see a Terry L thread bumped. She passed away in 2019.

In 1992 or 1994 I believe someone cut the horns off the longhorn in the astroturf of the stadium - they were replaced by gametime with brand new squares and painted horns but man those cut out were huge. No one was caught to my knowledge or reported by media that I saw but it was a sight to see at the game.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/vandals-remove-horns-from-university-of-texas-steer/

Saw this while I was looking for some other newspaper article. Anyone remember license plate guy?

**** this. Beat coonasses

Harry Lime said:

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"Aggies get blamed for everything"

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The Battalion November 8, 1955

It was actually 1948 that the sips tried to prematurely light bonfire. My brother, Major John Johnson, was in the Corp. My brother and other members of the Corp tried to shoot them out of the air. The members of the Corp who tried to shoot them out of the air were suspended from school for one year. It was an embarassment to the administration. My brother served out his suspension, went back and graduated in 1950.

I found an article that said the plane had so many holes in it, they're not sure how it made it back to Austin. As has been stated here when the Aggies heard the plane, they came out if the dorms with rocks and baseball bats. Anything to stop the sips!

Read the Battalion article from 1948 that I posted

Believe a Tu cheerleader was the pilot. Missed Bonfire with a missile of some sort. Not sure of date.
He became a politician in Dallas if memory serves.

TERRY L said:

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Dad found this article in his scrapebook tonight he thinks it was from 1947. No idea what newspaper it is from.

"Student Fliers' Bombs Fail to Ignite Bonfire"
A.& M. Men Toss Rocks At Invading Aircraft

Two home-fashioned fire bomb crashed down on the Texas A&M campus at College Station as two University of Texas students staged a one-plane "air raid" on their traditional rivals.
For a few minutes, officials of both schools said today, the encounter took on most of the elements of warfare.
The two students-whose identities were withheld by university authorities-swooped down toward a 40 foot high pile of wood on the Aggie campus in a borrowed Taylor-craft plane at 8:15 a.m. yesterday.

Prelude to Game
The wood had been heaped for a bonfire that was staged last night as a prelude to the University of Texas-Texas A&M football game tomorrow in Austin.
"We just wanted to fire up a little school spirit by touching off the bonfire," one of the "bombardiers" explained to Dean of Men Jack Holland of the university after his return to Austin.
The episode almost ended tragically when the plane ran out of gas on the return trip. The youths crash landed in a field near Austin.
Dean Holland said the fliers pulled in for their bombing runs at about 50 feet.
"They made five passes at the field and dropped two bombs" he related.

Jugs of Gasoline
"The bombs consisted of one-gallon jugs of gasoline with railroad flares stuck in the top."
"They lighted the flares and pitched."
"When the jugs smashed, the flares ignited the the gasoline.

Rock Barrage
"Everytime they flew over the bonfire, they said, a large group of A&M students threw rocks at them.
"They said they were sweating it out."
The "raid" created a major sensation on the Aggie campus. Hundreds of students rushed to the wood pile to defend against the attackers.

Fire Hoses Strung
Fire hoses were strung to extinguish the blazes caused by the bombs.
"Our boys put out the fires without any trouble," Bishop Clements, assistant director of information at A&M told The Press.
"As a matter of fact, neither bomb hit the woodpile. Both landed about 20 feet away.

Use Bomb for Fuel
The young fliers later related that they were preparing to toss a third bomb when they realized they were about to run out of gasoline.
They saved the jug, using it to limp back to Austin after the crash landing.
Dean Holland said he was notified while the "raid" still was in progress.
"We found out that the plane had taken off at the University Airport, a private field near our campus." he said.
"I had the name of one of the boys. I left word there for him to report to me as soon as he got back."

'Poor Judgement'
The boy did-and promptly was suspended temporarily from the university by the faculty disiplinary committee.
"It was just a college prank." Dean Holland explained. "But it showed poor judgment. There is general regret on the part of the student body and faculty of the university that the incident took place."

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We Miss You Terry. RIP. Here.

Harry Lime said:

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Also, interesting to see a Terry L thread bumped. She passed away in 2019.

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She is missed.

BigJim49 AustinNowDallas said:

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Believe a Tu cheerleader was the pilot. Missed Bonfire with a missile of some sort. Not sure of date.
He became a politician in Dallas if memory serves.

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Abatt's clipping covers this. 1948 Name might come to me but I would hate to be wrong.

ABATTBQ87 said:

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Harry Lime said:

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"Aggies get blamed for everything"

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The Battalion November 8, 1955

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Friend and buddies in about 47-48 rented a jeep to go to Austin and try to light Tu's
smallish bonfire. They were stopped on the way by the Highway Patrol. Somebody had
squealed on them. Had to leave school for a semester!

Sometime later, some Ags did set fire to the Tu bonfire- a pile of trash!

' the aircraft crashed at approximately where Olsen Field is now located." That was the site of the old rodeo arena.