The big game was a slug-fest, quite literally. In the balance, was the league football championship.Īt 1:30 P.M., the large crowd rises to its feet to sing the “National Anthem.” Then the shrill sound of the referee’s whistle signals the kickoff. A valiant and underdog Michigan team faces the Maroons, college football’s version of the Monsters of the Midway. A typical blustery wind swirled inside the Marshall Field football stadium, the home of the University of Chicago Maroons. It was overcast and cold on Thanksgiving Day in Chicago in 1898. It begins on the shores of Lake Michigan, in the windy city of Chicago and culminates on the U-M campus with “The Victors” debut under the baton of Sousa. The traditional lore about the origin of “The Victors” is the oft-repeated, Michigan band member pass-along story to new members, and it is generally accepted as accurate. A softer version of “The Victors,” is recognizable as the soundtrack. Mott hospital child patients, smiling as their caregiver therapists and doctors stand next to them. Each of the creative TV commercials feature brief snapshots of U-M or C.S. Capitol.Ī much tamer rendition of the vigorous march is the background music for a recent U-M Health System (UMHS) television advertising campaign. President Ford was a 1935 graduate of the University of Michigan, and he would often request the Naval band to play “The Victors” prior to state events instead of “Hail to the Chief.” Ford also selected “The Victors” to be played during his December 2006 funeral procession at the U.S. Ford, the 38th President of the United States. “The Victors” had a notable fan, President Gerald R. However, several other University marching bands claim the Sousa statement is about their fight song. Some boast that Sousa called “The Victors” one of the four greatest marches he had conducted. The “March King,” John Phillip Sousa, conducted “The Victors” premiere in Ann Arbor in April 1899. Petty, Henriksen, Dobos and Studwell do agree emphatically that “The Victors”–regardless of its solo or dual authorship–is one of the most stirring marches ever written. I doubt that Elbel would have ever heard of Rosey, least of all talked to him and be familiar with his work.”Īnd, adds Studwell: “By the way, make sure it’s noted that Elbel’s hometown is South Bend, Ind., the location of the University of Notre Dame.” He continued, “Back then, everybody copied Sousa, but George Rosey was a small, insignificant composer and a self-publisher, not close to Sousa’s stature. Petty adds: “The reason that this issue should be publicized is that ‘The Victors’ is an important part of U-M’s heritage, and George Rosey’s contribution has been overlooked.” While fascinating to ponder, none of these theories is likely to be proven, and they serve only to mitigate Elbel’s offense by explaining that any influence on ‘The Victors’ by ‘The Spirit of Liberty’ was most likely subliminal.” In his paper, “The Authorship of ‘The Victors’ March,” Henriksen writes: “Several theories have been advanced as to just how the melody for the trio of ‘The Victors’ got into Louis Elbel’s head. The melody of a trio is a music term for a subordinate division of a piece of music that is usually in a contrasted key and style. The real question is how and why did Elbel use Rosey’s material?” That the remainder of “The Victors” is composed by Elbel is not disputed. “The two versions are so similar that there is no doubt that one came from the other. “There is legal proof that the familiar trio portion of “The Victors” was copyrighted by Rosey before Elbel’s composition ,” comments Mark Petty, a former U-M band member.
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