Greetings Brothers,
The Cornell University Big Red football team ended its 1938 season ranked 12th in the nation with a 5-1-1 record. That year the Big Red played the University of Pennsylvania to a draw and suffered its only loss on October 15th to the Syracuse Orangemen. The 1938 Cornell-Syracuse game was one for the ages, worthy of a Keith Jackson "Oh Nellie." Syracuse fought hard to best Cornell 19-17. Earlier that same year (in April), the teams' biggest stars, Jerome Heartwell "Brud" Holland of Cornell and Wilmeth Sidat-Singh of Syracuse were initiated into the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated by way of Kappa Chapter. Brother Holland and the Cornell Big Red were heavy favorites and were expected to put a little black and blue on the Orangemen, By all accounts, Syracuse didn't stand a chance. Enter Brother Sidat-Singh, who "buckled right in with the trace of a grin - On his face. If he worried he hid it. He started to sing as he tackled the thing - That couldn’t be done, and he did it! The following appeared in the 1938 Bulletin -
Saga of Sidat-Singh
The sons of Syracuse may now
yell .at a new, exotic saga,
Of a magic spell that entranced
Cornell in the vale of the
Onandaga.
The shades of night were falling
fast and the score was 10 to
zero, When Sidat-Singh, the wizard,
passed six times to become a
hero.
By some mysterious, dervish art
he could rifle a pigskin bullet
From the scrimmage heart or·a
spinner's start to the runner
left free to pull it.
Then Wilmeth Sidat-Singh, in
sooth, just thrice did loose his
missile,
To Heer, to Balmer, then to Ruth,
and they heard the touchdown
whistle.
That made the score stand six
to ten, but Fullback Brown
like lightning,
Soon struck again through the
Orangemen with a field-length
run that was frightening.
But there stood Sidat-Singh once
more, cool as a cobra striking,
In place of Ruth he made Allen
score with a pass through
Peck, the Viking.
So on Piety Hill the great chimes
ring-they peal in ancient
splendor,
For the sorcerous wing of Sidat-
Singh-black-artful bitterender.
But in Ithaca now the sad ·boys
ring their change on a bitter
theme-
"Did :vou see that thing ? That's
Sidat-Singh - the Syracuse
Walking Dream."
The legendary game was also colorfully recorded in the the Baltimore Sun that year...have a read - https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29095704/.
Brothers Holland and Sidat-Singh would go on to exemplify the best of Omega. Brother Holland became the ninth President of Hampton University (formerly Hampton Institute) and Brother Sidat-Sing became a Tuskegee Airmen serving in World War II. Tragically, Brother Sidat-Sing died in 1943 at the age of 25 during a training mission when the engine of his airplane failed. Biographical profiles of these two Omega exemplars can be found on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmeth_Sidat-Singh and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_H._Holland.
The H&A Committee has also attached the first page of the 1938 Bulletin for your reference. In addition to the Sidat-Singh and Brud Holland mentions, check out the article, "Requiescat In Pace" (Rest in Peace). It was news to this loyal son of Omega that Booker T. Washington's youngest son was an Omega man.
Make it a great week Brothers!
Read More - Singh-Holland_1938Bulletin
F.I.E.T.T.S.
3rd District History and Archives Committee
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The Monday Pearl is provided by the Third District History and Archives Committee and is a weekly sharing of fraternity content, commentary, and research of historical value we hope Brothers will enjoy and from which Brothers will draw inspiration. Previous "Pearls" can be found at http://3rddistrictques.org/about-us/overview/monday-pearl/. The Committee encourages your feedback. Should you have reactions, comments, information, anecdotes, documents, and the like, related to any of the content we share, we'd very much like to hear from you. Please send all communication to 3dhistoryandarchives@gmail.com.
