The Red and Blue

The Red and the Blue may refer to:

1. A nickname used collectively for the University of Pennsylvania sports teams. The name comes from the two school colors which are apparent on the university's coat-of-arms. This is not to be confused with the more or less "official" nickname used since the 1890s, the Quakers
2. A popular song sung by students of the University of Pennsylvania.

Origins of the nickname and use of colors

There are several legends relating how these colors came to be used by the University of Pennsylvania. Whether they are fact or fiction remains unknown.

1. Harvard and Yale. In the early days of the university there was a race among the students of Harvard, Yale, and Pennsylvania. The Harvard team wore their famous crimson; Yale wore her traditional blue. When the Penn team was asked which colors would represent their team, they replied that they would be wearing the colors of the two teams they would soon beat. The Penn team won the race and those colors were used from then on.
2. George Washington's Clothes. It is rumored that George Washington visited the university during one of his terms as President of the United States. He is supposed to have arrived wearing a blue jacket and breeches with a red waistcoat. The next day, the students decked the university in these colors and donned red & blue themselves to honor the president. Afterward, it was decided to use these colors by the university.
3. Penn and Franklin's Coats-of-Arms. A more probable story is the one that follows. When the university was creating a seal and coat-of arms it decided to use elements from both Benjamin Franklin's and William Penn's coats-of-arms—Franklin had helped to found the university and Penn had founded the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Franklin's coat-of-arms contained the color red and Penn's a blue chevron. These colors then became the obvious choice to use.

As University Archivist Francis James Dallett pointed out in 1983: "Eighteenth century American academic institutions simply did not have colors." This leaves one inclined to relegate the above explanations to the realm of local myth.

However, a resolution adopted by the university trustees on May 17, 1910, states: "The colors shall be red and blue,...The colors [of the University of Pennsylvania] shall conform to the present standards used by the United States Government in its flags." Thus we have a rough idea of when the colors red and blue began being used, at least officially.

Song

"The Red & the Blue", while not the official alma mater of the University of Pennsylvania, is so popular that it is often played in place of it at official university functions. (The actual alma mater of the university is Hail, Pennsylvania!). Traditionally men would remove their hats for this song and wave them in time to the refrain. One still sees remnants of this custom when students wave their hands while singing the refrain.

The song was composed by Penn student William John Goeckel (B.A. 1895, LL.B. 1896). Goeckel was known among his classmates as a musician and composer and was both a member and leader of the Penn Glee Club during his time at Penn.

References

• Cheney, Edward Potts. History of the University of Pennsylvania, 1740-1940. (1940.)

External links

• University of Pennsylvania Archives
• The Practical Pennsylvanian