THE MICHIGAN DAILY
(Use of this col
ments of meeting
icially recognized
dent organization
Undergraduate
meeting, Oct. 21,
gell Hall. Speaker:
Unitarian Stude
Oct. 20, 7:00 p.
Church, Dr. Cut
Fromm's Psycho-A
Contemporary L
cussion and short
ing, Oct. 22, 7:30
cussion of Keat's 
copies of poems
s
Wesleyan Guild
gram, Oct. 20, 6:45
Program, "Christ
Amid Confused TJ
-Daily-Charles Curtiss
LOUIS ELBEL Rifle Club, pract
., Hail to the Victors' Rifle Range. New
Gamma Delta,
'Fgh S ng Group, weekly Su
gram, Oct. 20, 6:00
pel,1511 Washte,
Ron Johnstone, "'
Story TotiaChurch"
Graduate Outin
By Writer
In an article appearing in this
week's Michigan Alumnus, Louis
Elbel tells the story behind the A$
writing in 1898 of the Michigan
fight song, "The Victors."
Yesterday, 59 years later, Elbel
returned to the campus to lead the
marching band during halftime, as -
they played his now world-famous
march.
On a bitterly cold Thanksgiving
day in 1898, Michigan defeated the As stud
University of Chicago and won its Arbor Bank
first Western Conference football business. T
championship. The Michigan peo- Univess.
ple shouted out "Hail to Michigan University .
the champions of the West." fering amor
Walking to his sister's house PECIA
that evening, Elbel realized that
Michigan did not have an appro- book o
priate song to celebrate their vic- minimu
tory. His walking t u r n e d into SPECIA
marching; a tune and the words up to $
"Hail to the victors valiant, hailuto $
to the conquering heroes" formed
in his mind. necessit
On the train back to Ann Arbor denomi
the next day he composed the en-
tire fiht song.
When John Philip Sousa ap-
peared on campus to give a con-
cert, Elbel asked him to play the -
new march fbr the student body.
It was a "grand performance" even'' q
though the band had never seen
the music before.
When Michigan won the base- Y i
ball championship in the spring t -
of 1899 a Michigan band played ill
"The Victors" for the first time
and the students sang the refrain.
I Many people have thanked Elbel
for writing "The Victors" and in-
spiring all at Michigan, but his
comment is that "Michigan in-
spired the Victors."
Exciting Ac
to brigh

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