[abell1198]

Editors note:

I was researching the possible cause of why attendance numbers dropped for the association in 1875 after rising for the first four seasons. Was it something to do with upgrading to OOTP18 or was it the economics of the time? Interestingly enough, I came across an event in April 1875 regarding the Rutgers-Princeton rivalry.

Apparently there were two revolutionary war cannons left on the grounds of what would become Princeton University. With one cannon larger than the other, they were simply called Big Cannon and Little Cannon. With the threat of invasion during the War of 1812, Big Cannon was moved to New Brunswick to defend the city. After the war, the cannon remained on what would become Rutgers University.

Since the cannon was left, (probably because of it's weight, it was difficult to move) a dispute over ownership of the cannon developed over the following decades. Big Cannon was eventually returned to Princeton. However, in 1875, some Rutgers students tried to remove Big Cannon and return it to New Brunswick. But, since it was too heavy, they took Little Cannon instead. Some months later, Little Cannon was returned to Princeton under the escort of the New Brunswick police chief. This little property dispute, however, has led to the Rutgers-Princeton Rivalry, or at least contributed to it.

Allan Bell