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<h1> The Victory Bell </h1>

Since 1942, the Victory Bell has been the symbol of supremecy beween the two cross-town rivals. But for two seasons prior, the bell rang loud and clear near the UCLA sideline after each Bruin score. The 295-pound bell, which originally rang atop a Southern Pacific locomotive,
was given to the UCLA student body in 1939 as a gift from the school's alumni association. 

Then a heist was performed.  During the opening game of UCLA's 1941 season, six members of a USC fraternity  infiltrated the Bruin rooting section, assisted in loading the bell aboard a truck headed back to Westwood, confiscated the key to the truck, and escaped with the bell.  For over a year, it was out of reach of Bruin hands. At one point, it was hidden under a haystack.

One day a picture of the bell was printed in a USC periodical.
UCLA students retaliated by painting the Tommy Trojan statue at USC. Trojan students then burned USC initials on UCLA lawns. A truce was called after the USC administration threatened to cancel the upcoming intercity match-up. Bill Farrer, UCLA student body president, met with his Trojan counterpart, Bob McKay.  An agreement was forged.
USC would return the bell if UCLA would agree to designate it as a trophy for the winner of the Big Game.

Thereafter, the annual winner of the game would keep the bell for the following year. Flavored with a taste of poetic justice, the Bruins proceeded to beat the Trojans for the very first time in the series and become the initial gatekeeper of the prize.

See also the [http://bruingold.com/heritage/history_USC.shtml old Crosstown Rivalry Page]

[[Category: Team Information]]