Stanford Axe - Cal Steals The Axe

Cal Steals The Axe

The Axe made its second appearance two days later on April 15,1899 at a Cal-Stanford baseball game played at 16th Street and Folsom in San Francisco. Led by Billy Erb, the Stanford yell leaders paraded the Axe and used it to chop up blue and gold ribbon after every good play by the Stanford team, while shouting the Axe yell. However, Stanford lost the game and the series, and the yell leaders debated if the Axe was a jinx and whether to dispose of it.

As the Stanford students discussed the Axe's fate, a group of Cal students seized it and ran off with the Axe. It in turn was passed from student to student, and a chase ensued through the streets of San Francisco, first followed by Stanford students and fans and second followed by the San Francisco police. During the chase, the Axe's handle was broken off.

The Axe was given to a young Berkeley student, who stood at 5'7", and was able to pose as a girl with the Axe's blade concealed on his person. With this disguise, he was able to evade the San Francisco police, and was able to cross to Berkeley, where the Axe was first stored in a fraternity, and later in a bank vault. However, this story has become popular as a traditional story told at the yearly Axe Rally: Cal student Clint Miller, who was wearing an overcoat so he could easily conceal the ax head, was the last to handle the Axe. As he reached the Ferry Building, he noticed the police inspecting the pockets of every boarding male passenger. As luck would have it, Miller encountered an old girlfriend, Agnes. Posing as a couple, the two successfully boarded the narrow gauge ferry to Alameda/Oakland (to avoid the police searching those buying tickets to Berkeley) and from there Miller took the Axe back to Berkeley. Two days later, Cal held its first Axe Rally.