Homecoming (Past and Present

Post date: October 17, 2022

By Peter Wolff

In 1875, the University of Harvard hosted a football game against their competitor college of Yale. The large sporting event between the two rival institutes was bestowed the name of, “The Game,” as it marked the start of a long and seemingly never ending rivalry between the two colleges. To boost their team’s spirit, Harvard invited students of the past and present to participate in cheering on their old college. Unbeknownst to Harvard, they had established the first ever homecoming event. The term homecoming, however, would not be coined until the 1910’s by Chester Brewer. Brewer would also go on to modernize homecoming and turn it into a large, yearly event that every high school and college across the states knows today.

In 1911, Chester Brewer put out a newspaper article directed towards former alumni that studied at the University of Mizzou. The article described an event where students could come home to see their team play football, hence the name homecoming. In addition to the game, graduates were eligible to attend a pep rally, dance and parade. This allowed students to socialize with one another and also see their old University. In the years that followed, more major colleges and high schools started to celebrate homecomings during their late football seasons. While Brewer modernized homecomings to a certain degree, it would be approximately 20 years until a homecoming king and queen would be designated.

By the mid 1930’s, the idea of a homecoming court rapidly spread. The “royalty” was picked based on a senior’s attributes, extracurriculars, hobbies and ambitions. Based on these qualities, other teachers would vote on which students would be good candidates for the queen and king of homecoming. The runners up would then be announced individually where seniors would pick the most fitting couple which would be deemed the king and queen at their homecoming dance.

While today’s homecoming is not exactly the same as it was 100 years ago, the base concept is still similar to “The Game” between Harvard and Yale. Homecomings are not just a time to watch football or party, but a time to celebrate your school with pride, socialize with friends and create memories of a lifetime.