UNC versus Duke on the gridiron

It’s Homecoming at UNC, and this weekend brings the annual showdown against Duke for the Victory Bell.  Hugh Morton attended many of these confrontations with camera in hand during his lifetime, starting with his years as a student between 1939 and 1942.
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1940 UNC pep rally

PROBABLY 1940: UNC-Chapel Hill cheerleaders and ram mascot "Rameses" at indoor event, probably the pep rally before the Duke-UNC football game. Both this photograph and a similar photograph (cropped) appear in the 1941 YACKETY YACK yearbook.
PROBABLY 1940: UNC-Chapel Hill cheerleaders and ram mascot “Rameses” at indoor event, probably the pep rally before the Duke-UNC football game. Both this photograph and a similar photograph (cropped) appear in the 1941 YACKETY YACK yearbook.

1940 UNC cheerleaders
1940: This photograph (cropped) appears in the 1941 YACKETY YACK with caption, "Cheerleaders maneuver before Duke-Carolina football game."
1940: This photograph (cropped) appears in the 1941 YACKETY YACK with caption, “Cheerleaders maneuver before Duke-Carolina football game.”

1940 Daily Tar Heel office
1940: UNC-Chapel Hill student at desk at office of DAILY TAR HEEL(?). November 17, 1940 issue of THE DAILY TAR HEEL on wall in background with headline that reads "Happy Days Here Again," referring to 6-3 upset victory of UNC football team over Duke University.
1940: UNC-Chapel Hill student at desk at office of DAILY TAR HEEL(?). November 17, 1940 issue of THE DAILY TAR HEEL on wall in background with headline that reads “Happy Days Here Again,” referring to 6-3 upset victory of UNC football team over Duke University.

Late 1940s? Rameses with Blue Devil
EARLY 1940s: UNC ram mascot posing with man dressed as Duke Blue Devil mascot at UNC-Chapel Hill versus Duke University football game, probably early 1940s at Kenan Memorial Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC.
EARLY 1940s: UNC ram mascot posing with man dressed as Duke Blue Devil mascot at UNC-Chapel Hill versus Duke University football game, probably early 1940s at Kenan Memorial Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC.

1948 Charlie Justice passing
1948: #22 UNC tailback Charlie Justice, back to pass; #83 Duke left end Bill Duncan; and #52 Duke center Tommy Harris; at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan Stadium. Photograph, tightly cropped on Justice and Duncan, appears in the CHARLOTTE NEWS, 22 November 1948.
1948: #22 UNC tailback Charlie Justice, back to pass; #83 Duke left end Bill Duncan; and #52 Duke center Tommy Harris; at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan Stadium. Photograph, tightly cropped on Justice and Duncan, appears in the CHARLOTTE NEWS, 22 November 1948.

1948 Justice on teammates’ shoulders
1948: #22 UNC tailback Charlie Justice on shoulders of teammates following 20-0 win over Duke in Kenan Stadium; #63 UNC center Joe Neikirk; #42 UNC left Guard Bob Mitten; #69 UNC right end Bob Cox; #81 UNC right tackle Ted Hazelwood (background left). Cropped version of photograph appears on cover of 4 December 1948 issue of THE STATE, the November 1948 issue of THE ALUMNI REVIEW, and the 1949 YACKETY YACK.
1948: #22 UNC tailback Charlie Justice on shoulders of teammates following 20-0 win over Duke in Kenan Stadium; #63 UNC center Joe Neikirk; #42 UNC left Guard Bob Mitten; #69 UNC right end Bob Cox; #81 UNC right tackle Ted Hazelwood (background left). Cropped version of photograph appears on cover of 4 December 1948 issue of THE STATE, the November 1948 issue of THE ALUMNI REVIEW, and the 1949 YACKETY YACK.

1948 Cheerleaders with Victory Bell
1948 or 1949: UNC-Chapel Hill cheerleaders with Victory Bell after football team defeated Duke. THE CAROLINA GRIDIRON, 15 and 29 October 1949.
1948 or 1949: UNC-Chapel Hill cheerleaders with Victory Bell after football team defeated Duke. THE CAROLINA GRIDIRON, 15 and 29 October 1949.

 
1955 Duke cheerleaders at UNC-Chapel Hill football game versus Duke University at Duke Stadium
1955: Duke cheerleaders at UNC-Chapel Hill football game versus Duke University at Duke Stadium, Durham, NC.
1955: Duke cheerleaders at UNC-Chapel Hill football game versus Duke University at Duke Stadium, Durham, NC.

1957 UNC head coach Jim Tatum embraces suspended co-captain Dave Reed after upset win
1957: UNC Head Coach Jim Tatum (left) embraces player Dave Reed (right) after UNC-Chapel Hill versus Duke University football game at Duke Stadium, Durham, NC. "Carolina football coach Jim Tatum (left) suspended his co-captain and star running back Dave Reed the week before UNC's 1957 game with Duke for an infraction of team rules, and consequently Carolina was very much the underdog for the game with its traditional rival. When the Tar Heels upset the Blue Devils 21 to 13, a tearful Dave Reed embraced his disciplinarian coach in the center of the field at Wallace Wade Stadium."
1957: UNC Head Coach Jim Tatum (left) embraces player Dave Reed (right) after UNC-Chapel Hill versus Duke University football game at Duke Stadium, Durham, NC. “Carolina football coach Jim Tatum (left) suspended his co-captain and star running back Dave Reed the week before UNC’s 1957 game with Duke for an infraction of team rules, and consequently Carolina was very much the underdog for the game with its traditional rival. When the Tar Heels upset the Blue Devils 21 to 13, a tearful Dave Reed embraced his disciplinarian coach in the center of the field at Wallace Wade Stadium.”

1950s or 1960s? Duke cheerleaders with Victory Bell
1950s or EARLY 1960s?: Duke University cheerleaders and marching band celebrating with Victory Bell after football game.
1950s or EARLY 1960s?: Duke University cheerleaders and marching band celebrating with Victory Bell after football game.

1973 action photograph during UNC vs. Duke football game at Wallace Wade Stadium
1973: UNC-Chapel Hill vs. Duke University football game at Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, NC. UNC players: #61 Offensive Guard Billy Newton and #40 Halfback Jimmy Jerome. Duke players: #62 Linebacker Dave Meier, #24 Defensive Safety Buster Cox, #76 Defense Tackle John Ricca, and #45 Linebacker Keith Stoneback.
1973: UNC-Chapel Hill vs. Duke University football game at Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, NC. UNC players: #61 Offensive Guard Billy Newton and #40 Halfback Jimmy Jerome. Duke players: #62 Linebacker Dave Meier, #24 Defensive Safety Buster Cox, #76 Defense Tackle John Ricca, and #45 Linebacker Keith Stoneback.

6 thoughts on “UNC versus Duke on the gridiron”

  1. After 50 years of being a Tar Heel fan, I would love to see a book out on the Carolina – Duke games (football only) with these great pictures as the backdrop!

  2. David:
    There is a book, published in 1992, about the UNC vs. Duke football series. It is by Bill Cromartie and is called “Duke vs Carolina: Battle of the Blues.”
    It has good information about the series through the 1991 season, but it doesn’t have any Hugh Morton photographs. Here is the amazon link:
    http://www.amazon.com/BATTLE-BLUES-Duke-vs-Carolina/dp/0932520502/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447031357&sr=1-1&keywords=Battle+of+the+Blues+Bill+Cromartie

  3. There isn’t a category in the football record books for “best first play from scrimmage in a Carolina vs. Duke game,” but if there were, Carolina’s first play from scrimmage in Saturday’s 102nd meeting between the old rivals would qualify. To the delight of most of the 60,000 fans in historic Kenan Stadium, who were viewing the proceedings through a light-blue lens, UNC Quarterback Marquise Williams took the ball from center, handed it to Running Back Elijah Hood who took a few steps and flipped it back to Williams who threw an 89-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Switzer and set the tone for Carolina’s 66 to 31 win.
    The play would rank up there with the first play from scrimmage in the 36th meeting between the two schools on November 19, 1949 in then Duke Stadium (of course it’s Wallace Wade Stadium today). 57,500 fans, most of whom that day watched this play through a darker blue lens, saw Duke’s All America back Billy Cox take the first play from scrimmage for a 75-yard touchdown run. Jack Horner of the “Durham Morning Herald” described Cox’s run this way. (Hugh Morton liked to jokingly call Horner, “Little” Jack Horner).
    “Cox exploded of right tackle, cut out toward the west sideline and took off. In front of the Duke bench, he cut back toward the middle of the field and weaved and bobbed his way the rest of the distance to the Carolina goal.”
    I would not be surprised to see a Hugh Morton image of the Billy Cox run in the NC Collection at Wilson Library. We know he was there that day in ’49 because his credentials badge is part of the collection.
    Charlie Justice and Art Weiner were able to lead UNC to a 21 to 20 win on that day 66 years ago.
    Both the 2015 and the 1949 plays were nothing short of spectacular.
    (Charlie Justice and Billy Cox would become teammates on the 1952 Washington Redskins’ team).
    #####
    When I first looked at picture #3, I immediately realized that I had seen that “Happy Days” issue of DTH from November 17, 1940 (the day after Carolina beat Duke 6 to 3). It’s on the front cover of the November, 1946 issue of “Carolina Magazine.” The cover caption inside includes the following:
    “Our cover this month is not just designed in the spirit of hope. In proclaiming ‘Happy Days Are Here Again,’ as the ‘Daily Tar Heel’ did seven years ago (when we beat Duke last) we mean to answer those pessimists who are constantly reminiscing about the ‘good old days.”
    And on November 23, 1946, UNC beat Duke 22 to 7 to start a sting of 4 wins through the “Charlie Justice/Art Weiner Era.”
    Pictures #5 and #6 were taken on Saturday, November 20, 1948 when Carolina beat Duke 20 to 0 in Kenan Stadium. Picture #5 was also used in the 1996 UNC Football Media Guide on page 206 to support a Justice Era profile by Rick Brewer.
    That afternoon in ‘48 Charlie Justice made one of his most famous runs…a 43-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter to break a 0 to 0 tie.
    Picture #7 shows the 1949 UNC Cheerleading squad and was most likely taken early in the ’49 football season. Front row, left to right: Chief Cheerleader Norman Sper and Anita Gates. On the back row left to right are: Charlotte Wilson, Billy Ayers, Ann Green, Julia McHenry, Wray Farlow, Marilyn Stanley, Jerry Pense, and Joe Chambliss.
    Picture #9 was taken on November 23, 1957. The caption relates the rest of the story.

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