By Katie Higley
The University of Illinois has many recognizable traditions, from Alma Mater to homecoming. One of these traditions with humble origins is the Block I. The Block I began as a small but mighty pep club in 1910. 200 students, armed with capes and megaphones, filed into Illinois Field to cheer on their Fighting Illini [1]. These students started the Block I student cheering section, which would become a beloved Illinois tradition for over one hundred years that is still going strong today.
In 1924, with star players like Red Grange, the Block began to grow. Now in Memorial Stadium, the Block would situate itself in the east stands near the 40-yard line and go beyond the capes and megaphones. In 1926, the now-famous orange and blue cards were introduced. Members of the Block were given one orange and one blue plywood card [2]. University card stunts have a long and storied history, with the first card stunts done at the University of California, Berkley in 1908. Throughout the 20th century, many Universities in the Pacific Coast Conference and the Big Ten had student card sections. Examples include the now defunct “Wolverines Club” at the University of Michigan and the “Gopher Rooter Club” at the University of Minnesota. Today, only six universities still have active student card sections. This includes Ohio State University, Michigan State University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Berkeley, University of Southern California, and the University of Illinois [3].
As a result of World War II, the Block did not function from 1939 to 1945. In 1946, the War Whoops Pep Club would bring back the Block and, with a lot of hard work, would create the strongest showing of the Block yet [4]. In 1948, Barbara Jean Shade (Lateer) would become the first Chairwoman of the Block I. Before transferring to Illinois, Barb was a student at the University of Southern California (USC). At USC, Barb was a member of the “Trojan Knights” card section. Barb would bring her experiences with the card section at USC to Illinois, which was a good thing because the Block was about to be put on probation. [5] In a letter from the Athletic Association, Block leadership was told that the Block was being put on probation for the year, and if performance did not improve, the Block would be discontinued. This spurred Barb and fellow Block member Keith Goodwin into action. Barb and Keith started to improve the Block by addressing its issues. One long-standing issue was the orange and blue cards used for the stunts, as they were plywood panels. The plywood panels were bulky (approximately 16 x 20″) and had caused injuries in the Block. Another long-standing issue was the capes as they soaked up rain and were not color fast. As a result of identifying these and other issues, the Block improved greatly. The Block switched from bulky plywood panels to lightweight posterboard, got improved sound amplification for directing stunts with the help of Athletics, and fixed issues with gaps in the Block by only allowing members into the section through a special gate who were college age.
As a result of the Block’s newfound success, the Marching Illini began to work more closely with them to fully coordinate the music to the stunts. The Block even offered the opportunity to coordinate with them to visiting bands [6]. The Block would continue to grow in popularity during the 1950s, so much so that a second block was added in the West Upper deck in 1954 [7]. A 1955 article from the Courier gives us an idea of what it was like to sit in the Block during this time, “if the 2,200 students in the University of Illinois’ Block I cheering sections left their stadium seats to play ‘ring around the football field,’ the flash cards used in cheers at a single game would circle Memorial Stadium’s track five-and-a-half times [8].”
The Block would continue to be successful during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1972, the Block was named the Best Card Section by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As part of this honor, the NCAA paid the Block I to flash the sponsor logos to the opening of the NCAA Football Highlight-of-the-Week television program. The sponsor logos included the Pac 8, the Big 10, Chevrolet, and Kmart [9]. By 1976, the Block I was the Nation’s largest card section and served as a model for other student card sections. The Block also became the first traveling card section when it traveled to Purdue in 1976 and 1977. Around this time, the Block would begin using computerization to help design stunts. The 1976 edition of the Illio described the process as such:
“They [designs] are given to a committee which keypunches them into a computer. The computer prints out an instruction sheet for each Block I member. These sheets contain the number of each stunt and the corresponding color card each person is supposed to display. During the show, the stunt number is called out from the loudspeaker system at the bottom of both sections and Block I members respond by holding up the appropriate card to form a picture [10].”
In 1985, the Block reached a major milestone. For 75 years, students had gathered with capes, pom poms, and cards to cheer on the Fighting Illini [11]. Today, the Block I is in the North end zone (which includes the center two sections of the student section) and the far east side sideline seating in Memorial Stadium [12]. The Block’s continued presence at Memorial Stadium has made it one of the universities’ most beloved and recognized traditions.
[1-2], [4], [6-8] 41/68/151 Box 6, “Block I Scrapbook, prepared by Rob David (B.S. 1981), 1949-1981.”
[3] 41/68/151 Box 6, “Block I Scrapbook, prepared by Rob David (B.S. 1981), 1949-1981.”; “Card students have been around for over 100 years,” Robert A. David, https://www.cardstunts.com/about/history/.
[5] “Card students have been around for over 100 years,” Robert A. David, https://www.cardstunts.com/about/history/.
[9] 41/68/151 Box 6, “Block I Scrapbook, prepared by Rob David (B.S. 1981), 1949-1981.”; 1981 Illio, p. 60-61.
[10] 1976 Illio, p. 176-179.
[11] 1986 Illio, p. 32-33.
[12] “Block I Students – Football Cheering Section,” University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, https://fightingillini.com/sports/2015/11/10/traditions_blockistudents.aspx.
