| Alum confesses to snatching Illibuck trophy
Trophy was stolen 50 years ago before Illinois-OSU game
Marshall Patner, a litigation lawyer in Chicago, recently confessed to "snatching" the cherished Illinois-Ohio State football trophy 50 years ago. The Illibuck, an approximately 2-foot figure of a wooden turtle, has been traditionally awarded to the annual winner of the Illinois-Ohio State football game since 1925. But in November of 1950, officials were forced to cancel the Illibuck halftime ceremony when the trophy was reported stolen the Friday night before the game. Half a century later, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Illibuck's disappearance, Patner has come forward with his confession. "(The timing) is just perfect," Patner said. Patner said the Friday night before the 1950 game, he and a friend were socializing at Katzy's, a popular University hangout at the time, when he spotted eight Ohio State fans with the Illibuck in the center of their horseshoe-shaped booth. "I didn't even know what it was," Patner said. "I saw people watching over this thing and had that instant sense that this would be interesting and that I could do it." Patner, who described himself as a "restless soul" and the organizer of the undefeated, champion intramural football team as a sophomore in college, told his friend to come behind him on the "10 count" and follow his lead. Patner then approached the Ohio State fans' booth, snatching the Illibuck and handing it off to his friend. "We were very good athletes," Patner said. "It was part of our football strategy." Patner said his friend then darted to the door with the turtle while Patner blocked the charging Ohio State fans. After a series of passes and dodges, Patner, his friend and the Illibuck escaped defensive Ohio State fans and returned safely to their housing unit. There they showed the Illibuck to friends and soon learned the deeper significance behind the turtle. "When I found out that it was a tradition, the sequence was how we could get it back to them and make it fun," Patner said. Patner said he and his friends went to Memorial Stadium that night and decided to hang the Illibuck from a flagpole, expecting it to be discovered for the game the following day. Patner theorizes, however, that the wind loosened the Illibuck from its fastening and carried the trophy away from sight. "We hung it up thinking it was all over, thinking it would be discovered," Patner said. "I was dismayed the next day that people said it was stolen. I didn't know where it was and if someone else had gotten it." Patner said it was not until almost a decade later that the Illibuck was finally found under a some boards at Memorial Stadium. During the years of the Illibuck's disappearance, Patner thinks officials invoked a new Illibuck trophy and have been carrying on the tradition ever since. Both schools agreed upon the turtle as the victory symbol for its longevity, representing the historic Illini-Bucks rivalry. Tomorrow, after the third quarter of the Illinois-Ohio State game, members of Atius-Sachem, the University's honorary society, will accept the Illibuck from members of Bucket and Dipper, Ohio State's honorary society in honor of last year's win. If the Illini win tomorrow, the Illibuck will continue its residency at Memorial Stadium. If not, it will journey to Columbus, Ohio, for the duration of this year. "It's all in good fun," said Sara Churchill, president of Atius-Sachem. "It's really exciting for us to be part of a long-standing tradition." |
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