Old Oaken Bucket

For the War of the Oaken Bucket, see War of the Bucket. For the 1921 film The Old Oaken Bucket, see May Tully.

The Old Oaken Bucket is a traveling trophy awarded in American college football as part of the rivalry between the Indiana Hoosiers football team of Indiana University and Purdue Boilermakers football team of Purdue University. It was first awarded in 1925.

Old Oaken Bucket

Indiana Hoosiers Purdue Boilermakers
Sport	College football
First meeting	November 14, 1891 Purdue 60, Indiana 0
Latest meeting	November 25, 2023 Purdue 35, Indiana 31
Next meeting	November 30, 2024
Trophy	Old Oaken Bucket (Originated in 1925)
Statistics
Meetings total	125 (played annually since 1920)
All-time series	Purdue leads, 77–42–6
Trophy series	Purdue leads, 63–32–3 starting 1925
Largest victory	Purdue, 68–0 (1892)
Longest win streak	Purdue, 10 (1948–1957)
Longest unbeaten streak	Purdue, 14 (1948–1961)
Current win streak	Purdue, 3 (2021–present)

75km
50miles

Purdue

Indiana

  

Locations of (1) Bloomington (IU) and (2) West Lafayette (Purdue).

Indiana and Purdue first met on the gridiron in 1891. The rivalry has been renewed annually in peacetime with some exceptions. Purdue leads the overall series 77–42–6.

History of the Trophy

The concept of a trophy for football games played annually between Purdue University and Indiana University was first proposed during a joint meeting of the Chicago chapters of the Indiana and Purdue alumni organizations in 1925:

"discuss the possibility of undertaking worthy joint enterprises in behalf of the two schools."

During that meeting Indiana alumnus Dr. Clarence Jones and Purdue alumnus Russel Gray were appointed to propose a suitable trophy. At a subsequent meeting in Chicago Jones and Gray recommended some oaken bucket be that trophy and the chapters drafted the resolution that:

"an old oaken bucket as the most typical Hoosier form of trophy, that the bucket should be taken from some well in Indiana, and that a chain to be made of bronze block "I" and "P" letters should be provided for the bucket. The school winning the traditional football game each year should have possession of the "Old Oaken Bucket" until the next game and should attach the block letter representing the winning school to the bail with the score engraved on the latter link."

Purdue alumnus Fritz Ernst and Indiana alumnus Whiley J. Huddle were appointed to find a suitable oak bucket. They found such a bucket at the then Bruner family farm between Kent and Hanover in southern Indiana. Although the bucket might have been used at an open well on the Bruner family farm that had been settled during the 1840s, the Bruner family lore indicates that the bucket might have been used by General John Hunt Morgan and his "Raiders" during their jaunt through southeastern Indiana during the Civil War.

In accordance with the Chicago alumni organization's resolution, the winner of the bucket gets a "P" or "I" link added to the chain of the bucket with the score, date and the city where the game was played engraved on the link. In case of a tie, an "I–P" link was added. The inaugural Old Oaken Bucket Game ended in a 0–0 deadlock on November 21, 1925, in Bloomington resulting in the very first and most visible link, an "I–P" link, being added to the handle of the bucket.

When Indiana and Purdue moved to separate divisions for the 2014 season—Indiana to the East and Purdue to the West—the Old Oaken Bucket was the only inter-divisional rivalry protected under the new alignment.

The poem "The Old Oaken Bucket"

The name of the trophy refers to a sentimental poem written in 1817 by a successful printer and publisher, Samuel Woodworth (1784–1842) which begins:

"How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood,

When fond recollection presents them to view!

The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wild-wood,

And every loved spot which my infancy knew!

...And e'en the rude bucket that hung in the well—

The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket,

The moss-covered bucket which hung in the well."

Although Samuel Woodworth was not from Indiana, the poem exemplifies the sentiment felt by the people of Indiana towards their home state. The poem was set to music in 1826 by G. F. Kiallmark (1804–1887)^[1] and memorized or sung by generations of American schoolchildren; it made the poet's unpretentious childhood home in Scituate, Massachusetts, the goal of sentimental tourists in the late 19th century.

Bing Crosby recorded a musical version of the poem on a Decca record on June 14, 1941, with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra.^[2]

Series statistics

Statistic	Purdue	Indiana
Games played	125
Wins	77	42
Ties	6
Home wins	40	21
Road wins	36	21
Neutral site wins	1	0
Total points scored in the series	2839	1863
Most points scored in a game by one team	68 (1892)	56 (2013)
Most points scored in a game by both teams	92 (2013 – IU 56, PU 36)
Fewest points scored in a game by both teams	0 (1916 & 1925 – PU 0, IU 0)
Fewest points scored in a game by one team in a win	1 (1894)	3 (1921, 1923, 1940)
Most points scored in a game by one team in a loss	41 (2019)	35 (2012)
Largest margin of victory	68 (1892)	45 (1988)
Smallest margin of victory	1 (1894, 1939, 1980, 1983, 1989)	1 (1930)
Longest winning streak	10 (1948 to 1957)	4 (1944 to 1947) & (2013 to 2016)

Game results

The 1903 contest, scheduled to be played on October 31 at Washington Park in Indianapolis, Indiana, was canceled after one of the trains carrying the Purdue football team collided with a coal train near 18th Street on the north side of Indianapolis. In all, 17 Purdue football players, coaches, alumni, and team supporters were killed in the Purdue Wreck. The 2020 contest was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic: Indiana was ranked #12 at the time, Purdue was unranked, and the Hoosiers were the favorites coming into the game.^[3]

Indiana victories

Purdue victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 November 14, 1891 West Lafayette Purdue 60–0 2 November 5, 1892 West Lafayette Purdue 68–0 3 November 14, 1893 West Lafayette Purdue 64–0 4 November 24, 1894 Bloomington Purdue 1–0 (forfeit) 5 October 30, 1897 West Lafayette Purdue 20–6 6 November 12, 1898 West Lafayette Purdue 14–0 7 November 30, 1899 West Lafayette Indiana 17–5 8 November 29, 1900 West Lafayette Indiana 24–5 9 October 26, 1901 Bloomington Indiana 11–6 10 November 15, 1902 West Lafayette Purdue 39–0 11 November 12, 1904 Indianapolis Purdue 27–0 12 October 28, 1905 Bloomington Tie 11–11 13 November 21, 1908 West Lafayette Indiana 10–4 14 November 20, 1909 Bloomington Indiana 36–3 15 November 19, 1910 West Lafayette Indiana 15–0 16 November 25, 1911 Bloomington Purdue 12–5 17 November 24, 1912 West Lafayette Purdue 34–7 18 November 23, 1913 Bloomington Purdue 42–7 19 November 21, 1914 West Lafayette Purdue 23–13 20 November 20, 1915 Bloomington Purdue 7–0 21 November 25, 1916 West Lafayette Tie 0–0 22 November 24, 1917 Bloomington Indiana 37–0 23 November 20, 1920 West Lafayette Indiana 10–7 24 November 19, 1921 Bloomington Indiana 3–0 25 November 25, 1922 West Lafayette Tie 7–7 26 November 24, 1923 Bloomington Indiana 3–0 27 November 22, 1924 West Lafayette Purdue 26–7 28 November 21, 1925 Bloomington Tie 0–0 29 November 20, 1926 West Lafayette Purdue 24–14 30 November 19, 1927 Bloomington Purdue 21–6 31 November 24, 1928 West Lafayette Purdue 14–0 32 November 23, 1929 Bloomington Purdue 32–0 33 November 22, 1930 West Lafayette Indiana 7–6 34 November 21, 1931 Bloomington Purdue 19–0 35 November 19, 1932 West Lafayette Purdue 25–7 36 November 25, 1933 Bloomington Purdue 19–3 37 November 24, 1934 West Lafayette Indiana 17–6 38 November 23, 1935 Bloomington Indiana 7–0 39 November 21, 1936 West Lafayette Tie 20–20 40 November 20, 1937 Bloomington Purdue 13–7 41 November 19, 1938 West Lafayette Purdue 13–6 42 November 25, 1939 Bloomington Purdue 7–6 43 November 23, 1940 West Lafayette Indiana 3–0 44 November 22, 1941 Bloomington Indiana 7–0 45 November 21, 1942 West Lafayette #18 Indiana 20–0 46 November 20, 1943 Bloomington #3 Purdue 7–0 47 November 25, 1944 West Lafayette Indiana 14–6 48 November 24, 1945 Bloomington #4 Indiana 26–0 49 November 23, 1946 West Lafayette Indiana 34–20 50 November 22, 1947 Bloomington Indiana 16–14 51 November 20, 1948 West Lafayette Purdue 39–0 52 November 19, 1949 Bloomington Purdue 14–6 53 November 25, 1950 West Lafayette Purdue 13–0 54 November 24, 1951 Bloomington Purdue 21–13 55 November 22, 1952 West Lafayette Purdue 21–16 56 November 21, 1953 Bloomington Purdue 30–0 57 November 20, 1954 West Lafayette Purdue 13–7 58 November 19, 1955 Bloomington Purdue 6–4 59 November 24, 1956 West Lafayette Purdue 39–20 60 November 23, 1957 Bloomington Purdue 35–13 61 November 22, 1958 West Lafayette Tie 15–15 62 November 21, 1959 Bloomington Purdue 10–7 63 November 19, 1960 West Lafayette #13 Purdue 35–6 64 November 25, 1961 Bloomington Purdue 34–12 No. Date Location Winner Score 65 November 24, 1962 West Lafayette Indiana 12–7 66 November 23, 1963 Bloomington Purdue 21–15 67 November 21, 1964 West Lafayette Purdue 28–22 68 November 20, 1965 Bloomington Purdue 26–21 69 November 19, 1966 West Lafayette #10 Purdue 51–6 70 November 25, 1967 Bloomington #4 Indiana 19–14 71 November 23, 1968 West Lafayette #12 Purdue 38–35 72 November 22, 1969 Bloomington #17 Purdue 44–21 73 November 21, 1970 West Lafayette Purdue 40–0 74 November 20, 1971 Bloomington Indiana 38–31 75 November 25, 1972 West Lafayette Purdue 42–7 76 November 24, 1973 Bloomington Purdue 28–23 77 November 23, 1974 West Lafayette Purdue 38–17 78 November 22, 1975 Bloomington Purdue 9–7 79 November 20, 1976 West Lafayette Indiana 20–14 80 November 19, 1977 Bloomington Indiana 21–10 81 November 25, 1978 West Lafayette #18 Purdue 20–7 82 November 17, 1979 Bloomington #12 Purdue 37–21 83 November 22, 1980 West Lafayette Purdue 24–23 84 November 21, 1981 Bloomington Indiana 20–17 85 November 20, 1982 West Lafayette Indiana 13–7 86 November 19, 1983 Bloomington Purdue 31–30 87 November 17, 1984 West Lafayette Purdue 31–24 88 November 23, 1985 Bloomington Purdue 34–21 89 November 22, 1986 West Lafayette Purdue 17–15 90 November 21, 1987 Bloomington #20 Indiana 35–14 91 November 19, 1988 West Lafayette Indiana 52–7 92 November 25, 1989 Bloomington Purdue 15–14 93 November 24, 1990 West Lafayette Indiana 28–14 94 November 23, 1991 Bloomington Indiana 24–22 95 November 21, 1992 West Lafayette Purdue 13–10 96 November 20, 1993 Bloomington #21 Indiana 24–17 97 November 19, 1994 West Lafayette Indiana 33–29 98 November 24, 1995 Bloomington Purdue 51–14 99 November 23, 1996 West Lafayette Indiana 33–16 100 November 22, 1997 Bloomington #23 Purdue 56–7 101 November 21, 1998 West Lafayette Purdue 52–7 102 November 20, 1999 Bloomington #19 Purdue 30–24 103 November 18, 2000 West Lafayette #17 Purdue 41–13 104 November 24, 2001 Bloomington Indiana 13–7 105 November 23, 2002 West Lafayette Purdue 34–10 106 November 22, 2003 Bloomington #16 Purdue 24–16 107 November 20, 2004 West Lafayette Purdue 63–24 108 November 19, 2005 Bloomington Purdue 41–14 109 November 18, 2006 West Lafayette Purdue 28–19 110 November 17, 2007 Bloomington Indiana 27–24 111 November 22, 2008 West Lafayette Purdue 62–10 112 November 21, 2009 Bloomington Purdue 38–21 113 November 27, 2010 West Lafayette Indiana 34–31 114 November 26, 2011 Bloomington Purdue 33–25 115 November 24, 2012 West Lafayette Purdue 56–35 116 November 30, 2013 Bloomington Indiana 56–36 117 November 29, 2014 Bloomington Indiana 23–16 118 November 28, 2015 West Lafayette Indiana 54–36 119 November 26, 2016 Bloomington Indiana 26–24 120 November 25, 2017 West Lafayette Purdue 31–24 121 November 24, 2018 Bloomington Purdue 28–21 122 November 30, 2019 West Lafayette Indiana 44–41 123 November 27, 2021 West Lafayette Purdue 44–7 124 November 26, 2022 Bloomington Purdue 30–16 125 November 25, 2023 West Lafayette Purdue 35–31 126 November 30, 2024 Bloomington Series: Purdue leads 77–42–6

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games
• List of most-played college football series in NCAA Division I
• Indiana–Purdue rivalry

References

1. "The Old Oaken Bucket, by G. F. Kiallmark (1804–1887)".
2. "A Bing Crosby Discography". A Bing Crosby Discography. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
3. "Indiana-Purdue Champions Weekend game canceled".

External links

• Old Oaken Bucket football trophy website maintained by the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections and the Indiana University Office of Archives and Records Management
• A Look Back at the Bucket Games Past and Hoosier Huddle's Bucket Game Memorable Moments