Alum confesses to snatching
Illibuck trophy
Trophy was stolen 50 years ago before Illinois-OSU
game 
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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.
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"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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