:: Photo courtesy Special Collections Research Center

Peer Review ::

When Amos Alonzo Stagg created the Order of the C in 1904, he had a medieval order of knights in mind. Hoping to instill a sense of discipline and honor in his athletes, he arranged to have the bells atop the Reynolds Club ring each morning and evening as a wake-up call and lights-out command. Stagg also created the first lettermen’s club on an American campus and instituted the annual Blanket Ceremony. The 1947 ceremony shown above took place on the old Stagg Field. In addition to the large C, the blankets—still awarded to graduating seniors, now at the annual Order of the C dinner—feature a star for every year an athlete letters.—M.M.