OLD OAKEN BUCKET
One of the oldest and most prestigious football rivalry trophies in the nation, the Old Oaken Bucket has been presented annually to the winner of the Purdue-Indiana game since 1925.
The Chicago alumni groups of both schools came up with the idea for a traveling trophy, and Russell Gray of Purdue and Clarence Jones of Indiana were given the task of finding an appropriate object. They recommended that "an old oaken bucket would be a most typical trophy from this state and should be taken from a well somewhere in Indiana." Purdue's Fritz Ernst and Whiley J. Huddle of Indiana found the fabled bucket, in a bad state of repair and covered with moss and mold, on the Bruner farm between Kent and Hanover in southern Indiana.
The Bruner farm was settled in the 1840s, and family lore suggests the bucket might have been used by Confederate General John Hunt Morgan and his soldiers during their incursion into Indiana in 1863 during the Civil War.
George Ade, distinguished humorist from Purdue, and Harry Kurrie, president of the Monon Railroad, representing Indiana, formally introduced the Old Oaken Bucket in 1925. The Boilermakers and Hoosiers subsequently battled to a 0-0 tie Nov. 21 at Ross-Ade Stadium, resulting in an "I-P" link being attached to the bucket.
Since then, there have been 63 "P" links, 32 "I" links and two additional "I-P" links attached to the chain. Purdue has been victorious in 18 of the last 26 showdowns, dating to 1997. Purdue won the 2023 meeting 35-31 in West Lafayette.
Throughout its history, the bucket has been kidnapped by partisans from both schools - a couple of times missing so long that it was given up as lost, only to turn up mysteriously just before or after the annual game.
The all-time series between Purdue and Indiana dates to 1891, with the Boilermakers boasting a 76-42-6 advantage. The schools played every year from 1920 to 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a cancelation of the 2020 game.
CANNON
The Cannon was conceived by Purdue students more than 100 years ago but was first presented as a trophy by an Illinois alumnus 76 years ago.
It all started in 1905 when a group of Purdue students took the weapon to Champaign in anticipation of firing it to celebrate a victory. Although Purdue did win the game 29-0, Illinois supporters, including Quincy A. Hall, had discovered the Cannon in its hiding place - in a culvert near the old Illinois field - and confiscated it before the Purdue students could start their "booming" celebration.
Later, Hall moved the Cannon to his farmhouse near Milford, Illinois, where it survived a fire and gathered dust until Hall suggested it be used as a trophy between the two schools when the rivalry was resumed in 1943 after a 12-year lapse.
The Tomahawk Service and Leadership Honorary at Purdue and Illini Pride now share the maintenance duty. Purdue leads the Cannon series 40-30-2, including seven wins in the last eight matchups.
The two schools first played in 1890, with Purdue holding a slight 48-45-6 edge in the all-time series.
SHILLELAGH
Purdue and Notre Dame have played for the Shillelagh since 1957. It was donated by Joe McLaughlin, a merchant seaman and a Fighting Irish fan who brought the club from Ireland.
Nineteen miniature gold "P" footballs signifying Purdue victories adorn the base of the Shillelagh, while Notre Dame has "ND" in 39 such footballs.
Notre Dame won the most-recent meeting 27-13 in South Bend in 2021, and the two schools will next meet in 2024.
The Boilermakers and the Fighting Irish first met in 1896, and they played annually for 68 consecutive seasons from 1946 to 2014.
MONON SPIKE
In 1975, a heated rivalry between the Purdue and Indiana volleyball teams began.
A little incentive was added to the series in 1981 with the creation of the Monon Spike. The traveling trophy is presented to the winning team after one of the two annual matches.
Donna Hardesty and Anne McMenamy, seniors on the 1981 Purdue team, created the trophy idea. They set out to find an object that would be a reminder of the competition on the court, as well as something rich with the tradition of the state of Indiana. They chose the Spike from the Monon Railroad, which originated in Indiana in the late 19th century. It was taken from a portion of railroad track in Lafayette. The trophy was unveiled at a media luncheon Sept. 2, 1981, at the Lafayette Country Club.
As with its sister trophy, the Old Oaken Bucket, a "P" or an "I" link is added to the chain signifying the season's winner. The Spike currently has 39 "P" links and 13"I" links.
The Boilermakers won 24 consecutive matches against Indiana from 1978 to 1985, including 10 straight Spike matches. Under head coach Dave Shondell, Purdue has won 22 of 24Spike matches, including a streak of 21 straight before falling in Bloomington in the first contestof 2023. The Boilermakers bounced back to beatthe Hoosiers in their most recent meeting, reclaiming the Spike in West Lafayette.
Purdue leads the overall series, which is the oldest in volleyball program history, 77-35 through the 2023 season.
BARN BURNER TROPHY
Beginning with the 1993-94 season, the Purdue and Indiana women's basketball teams have played an annual game for the Barn Burner Trophy. The traveling trophy is similar in concept to football's Old Oaken Bucket, volleyball's Monon Spike and soccer's Golden Boot. It is a wood plaque with a drawing of a barn and an attached basketball hoop, which best describes basketball in Indiana.
Sara Lee Corporation funded the plaque as part of its Discover Women's Sports Program.
Purdue has won 18 of the 31 Barn Burner Trophy meetings and holds an 18-13 lead in the trophy game.
In the overall series, Indiana won 17 of the first 19 meetings from 1976 to 1986, but Purdue has turned the tables by winning 53 of the last 78 to take a 55-42 advantage through the 2023-24 season.
GOLDEN BOOT
The Golden Boot is on the line each time the Purdue and Indiana women's soccer teams meet. The Boilermakers hold a 14-5-6 advantage in their regular-season series with the Hoosiers through the 2023 season.
After each victory, the winning team takes the trophy home and adds a letter to the chain attached to the gold-dipped soccer shoe. On each letter is engraved the date and score of the match it represents. The first letter on the chain is an "I," marking Indiana's overtime win in the inaugural meeting between the intrastate rivals in 1999. The next five letters are "P"s, denoting Purdue's five subsequent victories. In 2005, the teams battled to a 1-1 draw, keeping the Golden Boot in West Lafayette for a sixth consecutive year. The Boilermakers extended their regular-season unbeaten streak against Indiana to 12 before it was finally snapped in 2012 with a loss in Bloomington. In the process, Indiana gained possession of the Golden Boot for the first time. The Hoosiers retained the trophy in 2013 and 2014 before the Boilermakers regained it with a 2-0 victory in 2015. The teams tied 2-2 in 2016 and 1-1 in 2017, then the Boilermakers won 1-0 in 2018 and 2-1 in 2019, keeping the trophy at Purdue. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 matchup was delayed into the spring of 2021, when the teams battled to a 0-0 draw. Since resuming a regular fall schedule, the Boilermakers again retained the Golden Boot with a win in 2021 and fought to a 2-2 tie in 2022 before Indiana earned it back with a 1-0 victoryin 2023.
The concept for the creation of a trophy originally was discussed in 1998. But it was not until 2002, when former Purdue assistant coach Ian Rickerby joined new Indiana head coach Mick Lyon on the Hoosier staff, that the Golden Boot came to fruition. Former Purdue head coach Rob Klatte convinced Lyon that a traveling rivalry trophy would increase the significance of each meeting between the traditional rivals. Both coaching staffs pursued its design, which was completed in the fall of 2002.
Purdue and Indiana have met three times in postseason play, with the Boilermakers holding a 2-0-1 advantage in those games to lead the overall all-time series 16-5-7 through the 2023 season.
