This week in Philly history, Penn student dies during strange ‘bowl fight’ tradition, which is immediately discontinued
On Jan. 12, 1916, University of Pennsylvania freshman William Lifson, 17, was killed during the annual “bowl fight” between freshmen and sophomores.
By the time the whistle blew, declaring the end of the 1916 “bowl fight,” William Lifson was unconscious.
On Jan. 12, 1916, Lifson was killed, another student would spend a week in the hospital with a concussion, and seven others were seriously hurt during the annual contest, which pitted freshmen against sophomores on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.
And the 17-year-old’s death would put an end to the strange, yet beloved, university-approved 50-year tradition.
“The young man died with his hands on the bowl,” provost Edgar Fans Smith told The Inquirer, “which, I understand, is the greatest honor to be gained by a member of the Freshman class in the bowl fight.”
This violent ritual, which had occurred yearly since the Civil War, has obscure origins. While its rules seemed to evolve along with the contest, the matchup carried an aura of a large-scale, yet down-and-dirty, wrestling match.
The sophomores would carry into battle a large wooden bowl that was inscribed with their graduation year, and the freshmen would designate one of their grapplers as the “bowl man.”
The freshmen intended to break the bowl.
The sophomores intended to put the designed “bowl man” in the bowl.
The event took place on Museum Field, which sat on 33rd Street near Spruce on Penn’s campus and predated a Penn Museum expansion, and was primarily used by the lacrosse and soccer teams.
So, the “bowl fights” were a mad concoction of lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, and kids' keep-away ball games.
Punching was apparently not allowed but, judging by a few archival photos, that rule wasn’t always honored.
The battle, by the time of Lifson’s death, had been broken up into two periods. Designated referees had been added, along with a halftime.
As the construction of the physical bowl evolved, and it became too difficult to break, the contest was decided by how many hands were on the bowl at the final whistle.
And after that final whistle on Jan. 12, 1916, when Lifson’s face was pulled up from the mud, the students recognized that the Elizabeth, N.J., native wasn’t breathing. Lifson, who had gone out for the wrestling team and lived at the Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity house, died on his way to the hospital.
His death put an end to the tradition, which would be replaced by “Hey Day,” an event that celebrates the junior students' ascension into their senior year.