Battle for the Old Mountain Jug
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Old Mountain Jug | |
| Teams | Appalachian State Mountaineers Western Carolina Catamounts |
| Originated | 1978 |
| Trophy Series | Appalachian State leads, 24–6 |
| Current Holder | Appalachian State |
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| Appalachian State (24) 1978 1979 1980 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 |
Western Carolina (6) 1981 1982 1983 1984 1998 2004 |
The Battle for the Old Mountain Jug is the name given to an American college football game played annually between two universities, Appalachian State and Western Carolina.
Resembling a moonshine jug, the Old Mountain Jug, the trophy awarded to the winner, is painted gold with Appalachian's mascot, a Mountaineer, and Western Carolina's mascot, a Catamount, on opposing sides.
The rivalry had natural origins. Appalachian and Western were the only public colleges in the western half of North Carolina for decades and made similar steps to their present status as comprehensive regional universities. Both basically recruited athletes from the same high schools in the early years and their graduates were, in large part, public school teachers. The alumni of the schools found themselves working together, which helped foster the rivalry.
The schools began meeting on the football field back in 1932 and it was all Appalachian in the first 13 meetings as Western only scored five touchdowns in that dismal stretch. The Catamounts finally found the answer in 1949 with a 13–6, streak-snapping win. Western went on to win the North State Conference championship and received a postseason bowl bid.
An incident related to Western's quest for Southern Conference membership occurred during the 1974 season that threw gasoline on the fires of the rivalry. Appalachian State officials informed Dr. H. F. Robinson, Western's Chancellor, and Bob Waters, the athletics director and head football coach for Western, that if Jerry Gaines, the Catamounts' all-star wide receiver/kick returner - and arguably the school's best athlete ever - were allowed to play in the WCU-ASU football game in Boone, ASU would withdraw their support of Western's membership for the Southern Conference.
The premise was that Gaines was playing in 1974 season as a fifth-year medical red-shirt and red-shirting was not permitted in the Southern Conference. Gaines was injured in the first half of the second game of the 1971 season, incidentally against Appalachian State. Catamount fans believed Appalachian State's motive was based upon Gaines' performance in the previous two meetings in the series, both won handily by Western.
| “ | Prior to the game in 1978, Yosef Club Director Wayne Clawson and Cat Club Director Tom Bommer pitched the idea of heightening the long-standing rivalry. The jug idea was presented to alumni of both universities and Rick Layton, Sports Information Director at Appalachian, and Steve White, SID at Western Carolina, were charged with drumming up media exposure.
The jug was donated by Roby Triplet, the manager of the Appalachian Bookstore. The jug weighs approximately 25 pounds and is capped with a tradtional cork. Dee Triplet, Roby's wife, painted the jug. Excluding minor touchups, the jug and its logos have not been altered since their creation.[1] |
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The Appalachian and Western rivalry dates back to 1932 with the Mountaineers holding a 53–18–1 advantage over the Catamounts.
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[edit] Game results
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[edit] References
- ^ Appalachian Sports Information (2006). "2006 Appalachian Football". Media Guide: 155.
