New Design for The Eternal Flame Symbolizes Connections between Past, Present and Future
Since establishing the first collegiate Homecoming in 1909, Baylor University has invested in meaningful Homecoming traditions that embody the spirit of the University. Central to Homecoming is the Eternal Flame, the immortalization of a narrative that connects and inspires generations of the Baylor family.
Steeped in significance, the Eternal Flame has persisted, even evolved, at pivotal moments in Baylor history. This Homecoming season, Baylor University will unveil the newest iteration of the Eternal Flame. A six foot by nine foot sculpture with three stainless steel architectural flames that coalesce to embrace one united blaze, a design symbolizing the relationship between the past, present and future of this indelible tradition.
Immortalizing the past
The Eternal Flame has long inspired students to remember the Baylor basketball players, known as the Immortal Ten, who were killed in a bus-train accident in 1927. The spirit of the Flame is a remembrance of the sacrifice of James Clyde “Abe” Kelley, one of the men who perished in the wreck, forfeiting his life to save his teammate, Weir Washam.
The Eternal Flame has been housed in various containers throughout the years. The earliest memorial ceremonies for the Immortal Ten involved candlelight vigils, wherein the Flame was passed from student to student.
From 1947 to 2008, the story of the Immortal Ten was retold annually during Freshman Mass Meeting and the Flame, which was housed in a metal canister known as a smudge pot, was handed down to the incoming class as a symbolic welcome into the Baylor family.
“The elements that make any tradition grand and meaningful are consistency and connectedness,” Matt Burchett, director of student activities, said. “We reiterate the narrative the same way throughout generations to invite each other into the Baylor family.”
Inspiring the present
A successful, longstanding tradition, the retelling of the story of the Immortal Ten has remained constant throughout the decades.
“Only the most meaningful traditions persist,” Burchett said. “The placement of this tradition amongst thousands of stories illuminates its importance and meaning to the Baylor family.”
In 2009, the tradition evolved from the use of a smudge pot to the iconic passing of a torch. Baylor students selected four torchbearers, one from each class who embodied the sacrificial spirit of Abe Kelley. Wearing a basketball jersey with the number 10 emblazoned across the front, the torchbearer from the senior class passed the torch to the junior class representative, the sophomore and finally the freshman torchbearer.
“Through the passing of the torch, this tradition has become a symbolic and literal passing of the Flame and of the responsibility to embody the Baylor spirit,” said Neal Knighton ’75, MA ’78, and former Chamber member who has relayed the narrative of the Immortal Ten at Freshman Mass Meeting since 1985.
Investing in the future
Former Baylor President Samuel Palmer Brooks famously stated in his Immortal Message, “to you seniors of the past, of the present, of the future I entrust the care of Baylor University. To you I hand the torch.”
Bearing this responsibility, Baylor University is again at a threshold of investing in the future of a meaningful tradition. What began as a candlelight vigil, flickered into the protecting of a smudge pot and refined into a symbolic torch bearing, will soon abide as a visible structure that symbolizes the past, present and future of this tradition.
At the conclusion of Freshman Mass Meeting on Thursday, Oct. 22, the new structure for the Eternal Flame will become a part of the legacy for the first time.
“Anytime we place an emphasis and resources into a tradition, we invest in its meaning and significance,” Burchett said. “The new vessel for the Eternal Flame celebrates the beauty of this tradition and what it symbolizes by immortalizing it into a cohesive design.”