ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., June 2, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- College football is built on school rivalries, such as Miami and Florida State and Michigan and Notre Dame. But only one is fought with blood, sweat and mud for an old, wooden bucket. The new book, The Rivalry: Indiana and Purdue and the History of Their Old Oaken Bucket Battles 1925-2002 (now available through AuthorHouse), by Robert D. Arnold, is an anthology of each game and the tenacity of coaches, players and fans to bring home "The Bucket."
The Rivalry is a detailed history of one of college sports' most heated and legendary rivalries. For more than 100 autumn Saturdays, the Boilermakers of Purdue University and the Hoosiers of Indiana University have clawed, tackled and fought toward glory at season's end for year-long bragging rights. These schools, only a short train ride apart, established their rivalry as one the best competitions in the early 1900s. In 1925, the game changed when alumni from both schools joined to introduce an old, weathered, wooden bucket as the winning prize.
"Every fall, late in November, these two teams played for possession of the 'Bucket,' no holds barred, through cold, ice, rain, mud and all other meteorological events indigenous to Indiana in late November," Arnold says. "Fights were commonplace and feelings ran deep, particularly among the respective students who had proceeded to make 'Bucket Week' a period of celebration and skullduggery."
The Rivalry covers every game in the 78-year history of the match-up. The battles of black and gold versus cream and crimson come to life in Arnold's historical accounts, weaving the games into the history of the 20th century and the evolution of college football.
More than a sports record book, The Rivalry is the history of a pastime and a people whose hopes, dreams and emotions still lie on the football fields of Indiana.
A graduate of the Indiana University School of Law, Arnold served as executive and general legal counsel for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield for more than two decades. After retiring, he fulfilled his youthful ambition to write. He chronicled the story of his Indiana University class of 1954, and wrote a book on the Hoosiers' only undefeated football season, Hoosier Autumn: The Remarkable Story of Indiana University's 1945 Championship Team. An Indianapolis resident for most of his life, he now lives in St. Petersburg, Fla. with his wife.
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