THE NIGHT THE BELL FELL
October 29, 2007 by CAROLYN CRIST
Filed under News
Fans traditionally ring the bell after each football victory, but a hush fell over North Campus around 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
Police say Bulldog football fans broke the bell at the University Chapel while celebrating Georgia’s win over Florida.
University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said a pedestrian told a University police officer the bell wouldn’t ring. The officer inspected the tower with a flashlight and discovered the bell was damaged. It was hanging on support beams below.
The officer said he thought it unsafe and called the Physical Plant.
CHAPEL BELL HISTORY
Late 1900s and 2000s: bell rings after football victories, graduation days or wedding days
On Jan. 2, 1981, rope broken after victory against Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, the same year as Georgia’s first college football national championship
1913: the bell was moved behind Chapel
1800s and early 1900s: the bell chimed class changes or informed students of daily mandatory religious services
1823: the bell tower topped the Chapel roof
“I don’t know how or when it happened. We wanted to make sure the area was safe,” Williamson said in a phone interview Sunday.
Officers were posted nearby to inform fans they couldn’t ring the bell.
