Ask Anne - Fall 2014

Q: Has there been any notable Halloween-related mischief at Maryland?—SUPRAJA MURALI ’09

A: Over the years, there have been many tricks and treats, but one notable incident occurred on Halloween night in 1906, when 76 cadets—the majority of the student body back then—were arrested en masse and held overnight in a makeshift cell inside the water pumping station in Hyattsville. They had caused mild property damage and performed “other pranks” on the area’s citizens, according to The Baltimore Sun. In the morning, President R.W. Silvester was called to return them to campus. Each student was fined $3.75, the equivalent of about $95 today. The students spoke fondly of the event in the yearbook, and it’s not clear whether they received any further punishment.

Q: I seem to remember a picture of Maryland winning something called the “College Bowl,” a scholastic quiz contest similar to “It’s Academic,” in the early 1980s. Do you have any record of this?—PAUL MILLER ’82

A: Your memory served you correctly. The UMD College Bowl team won the national championship in April 1981, according to The Washington Post. The five-man team of Tom Rogers, Townsend Reese, Robert Whaples, Robert Salzberg and captain Brick Barrientos defeated Davidson College, 360–180, to take the crown. “College Bowl” began as a radio show from 1953–59 and moved to television until 1970. It disappeared from broadcast media for seven years, returning to TV in 1977 and running until 2008.

Q: Did Cal Ripken Jr. once play against the Terps baseball team?—FRANCHESCA DAVIS

A: Ripken was in just his second year with the Baltimore Orioles when they took on the Terps at Shipley Field in 1982 in an early-season exhibition. It was a strong O’s team that would go on to win the World Series the next year, with Ripken playing alongside fellow future Hall of Famers Eddie Murray and Jim Palmer. The Terps weren’t too shabby, either: They were in the middle of a 33-game winning streak at home. More than 4,000 fans packed the stands—and Testudo even took on the Orioles mascot in a mock fight—but in the end, the O’s won, 12–6.

Questions may be emailed to Terp magazine or tweeted to @UMDarchives

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