We had tried to discover the origins of the Rusty Boot team cheer and had traced it all the way back into the 60's without ever finding out more than that. But when Coach Bill Whittaker opined that he had the original pair of rusty boots, I was intrigued. And he certainly had what one can describe as one gnarly pair of Adidas javelin spikes. With 1" spikes in both front and back, I likened them to the velociraptors of track spikes.
I devised a plan to turn them into an award for the Reunion which would represent the highest pinnacle any of us could attain. So I sent one of them off to be bronzed and crossed my fingers, as the process isn't always successful. But I received the beauty just in time to bring it to the Reunion last week. All thanks must go to Coach Whittaker.
Behold, The Rusty Boot! I will try to get Greg Fredericks to take a picture of the actual spikes as it resides at Coach Groves' residence in State College. Visit Coach some time to see it in-person.