Somewhere in the late 70s, and forgive me if I'm a little fuzzy on the precise year, our homecoming king was The Creature. He was a fellow SRC guy who I won't out in case he has tried to erase that episode from his digital past. And I think I remember the queen that year was gorgeous!

Conrad Bain.

(11-10-2014 02:22 PM)Barney Wrote:  Our winners were "Pretzel Man" (a cheerleader who bounced around on his hands, with his legs wrapped impossibly up over his shoulders) and a gay man running as Queen.
Nominated, but not winning, were a pair who ran as a couple: Ava Gina and Hugh G. Rection.

??? Was this the mid-to-late '70s? If so, your "pretzel man" was Jim Guenther (Baker College), and I don't believe Jim ever was an official cheerleader. He was, however, one of Baker's lead racers on our winning Beer-Bike team of that era....and one of the original Baker 13 members. A bit quirky, but a great guy.

Yep, that's him - - but I do believe he was officially a cheerleader.
I think "The Creature" was a couple of years prior to this...

(11-10-2014 10:25 PM)Barney Wrote:  Yep, that's him - - but I do believe he was officially a cheerleader.
I think "The Creature" was a couple of years prior to this...

He was at Rice for 5 - 6 years, and arrived a couple years before me. Perhaps he was a cheerleader prior to my arrival in 1974, but I don't believe he was while I knew him.

Some years ago - perhaps 15 or so - whenever the carbon nanotube was still big news at Rice, Professor Smalley came to visit our brass at Lockheed in Fort Worth. He showed his CV and, of course while I was not in the room, my director made it well known in our department what a laugh it was that Professor Smalley had won Homecoming Queen that year. It was not done in a respectful interesting sort of manner, but more of a "what wierdos!" kind of way. The guy was a graduate of Kansas and then SMU for his PHd. Unconventional thinking, I say....

(11-10-2014 10:25 PM)Barney Wrote:  Yep, that's him - - but I do believe he was officially a cheerleader.
I think "The Creature" was a couple of years prior to this...

The Creature was definitely late 1970's as 4G alludes.

(11-10-2014 10:44 PM)WeatherfordOwl Wrote:  Some years ago - perhaps 15 or so - whenever the carbon nanotube was still big news at Rice, Professor Smalley came to visit our brass at Lockheed in Fort Worth. He showed his CV and, of course while I was not in the room, my director made it well known in our department what a laugh it was that Professor Smalley had won Homecoming Queen that year. It was not done in a respectful interesting sort of manner, but more of a "what wierdos!" kind of way. The guy was a graduate of Kansas and then SMU for his PHd. Unconventional thinking, I say....

What a shame. I'm sure that guy wasn't qualified to hold Dr. Smalley's jock.

(11-10-2014 10:21 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-10-2014 02:22 PM)Barney Wrote:  Our winners were "Pretzel Man" (a cheerleader who bounced around on his hands, with his legs wrapped impossibly up over his shoulders) and a gay man running as Queen.
Nominated, but not winning, were a pair who ran as a couple: Ava Gina and Hugh G. Rection.

??? Was this the mid-to-late '70s? If so, your "pretzel man" was Jim Guenther (Baker College), and I don't believe Jim ever was an official cheerleader. He was, however, one of Baker's lead racers on our winning Beer-Bike team of that era....and one of the original Baker 13 members. A bit quirky, but a great guy.

(11-10-2014 10:28 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-10-2014 10:25 PM)Barney Wrote:  Yep, that's him - - but I do believe he was officially a cheerleader.
I think "The Creature" was a couple of years prior to this...

He was at Rice for 5 - 6 years, and arrived a couple years before me. Perhaps he was a cheerleader prior to my arrival in 1974, but I don't believe he was while I knew him.

I haven't found anything in past/indexed online Threshers on "pretzel man" or Jim Guenther (beyond a mention for intramural football) .... but

... Sid Rich's Malcolm "The Creature" Welch, 1978 Homecoming King, was the subject of an entertaining full-page photo-feature/interview on page 16 of the November 16, 1978 Thresher.

(11-11-2014 12:08 AM)Almadenmike Wrote:  

(11-10-2014 10:21 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-10-2014 02:22 PM)Barney Wrote:  Our winners were "Pretzel Man" (a cheerleader who bounced around on his hands, with his legs wrapped impossibly up over his shoulders) and a gay man running as Queen.
Nominated, but not winning, were a pair who ran as a couple: Ava Gina and Hugh G. Rection.

??? Was this the mid-to-late '70s? If so, your "pretzel man" was Jim Guenther (Baker College), and I don't believe Jim ever was an official cheerleader. He was, however, one of Baker's lead racers on our winning Beer-Bike team of that era....and one of the original Baker 13 members. A bit quirky, but a great guy.

(11-10-2014 10:28 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-10-2014 10:25 PM)Barney Wrote:  Yep, that's him - - but I do believe he was officially a cheerleader.
I think "The Creature" was a couple of years prior to this...

He was at Rice for 5 - 6 years, and arrived a couple years before me. Perhaps he was a cheerleader prior to my arrival in 1974, but I don't believe he was while I knew him.

I haven't found anything in past/indexed online Threshers on "pretzel man" or Jim Guenther (beyond a mention for intramural football) .... but

... Sid Rich's Malcolm "The Creature" Welch, 1978 Homecoming King, was the subject of an entertaining full-page photo-feature/interview on page 16 of the November 16, 1978 Thresher.

Bingo! 1978 Freshman Year (mine that is)

(11-10-2014 11:57 AM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  What did they do for homecoming in the 50's? These things go in cycles.

Here's a photo of the 1951 Homecoming Queen candidates:



... Then the Oct 12, 1972, Thresher included this report:

Quote:A homecoming court was approved by a vote of 408 students against 235 opposing. ... In the preference section, 182 students voted for a "King and Queen" court, 160 for a traditional all-female court, 31 for an all-male court, and 64 and (sic) other opinions."

The wide variety of "other opinions" was, shall we say, quite Rice-like.

(11-10-2014 05:18 PM)baker-13 Wrote:  2009, if I recall correctly, was H1N1 (King), and Kanye West (Queen, shortly after the interrupting-Taylor-Swift fiasco).

Yep!

Notable winners from my time at Rice were two ply toilet paper, the crane over Hanzen (which the construction company put a crown on), mitochondria and the MOB. I also love the fact that Dr. Smalley has Rice Homecoming Queen on his CV! This whole legitimate homecoming court is BS in my opinion. Who are we trying to be, SMU?

IIRC, while we were still in the SWC (at least the waning days), there was a policy that the top vote-getting serious candidate (i.e. female undergrad) for Homecoming Queen was our representative attendant in the Cotton Bowl court, with the homecoming queen of the SWC champ serving as queen. Do I have that right?

(11-11-2014 01:41 AM)Almadenmike Wrote:  

(11-10-2014 11:57 AM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  What did they do for homecoming in the 50's? These things go in cycles.

Here's a photo of the 1951 Homecoming Queen candidates:

Willy was a candidate? That seems pretty out there.

(11-11-2014 03:35 AM)texd Wrote:  IIRC, while we were still in the SWC (at least the waning days), there was a policy that the top vote-getting serious candidate (i.e. female undergrad) for Homecoming Queen was our representative attendant in the Cotton Bowl court, with the homecoming queen of the SWC champ serving as queen. Do I have that right?

I believe the Rice athletic Dept. had that as a strong preference. The SWC wanted a verrry serious court, and asked each school to send a female rep. The Rice Athletic Dept wasn't going to send a refrigerator, despite the glee it might have engendered, so when they were forced to go to an alternate candidate than the top vote-getter, the dept. chose an "event appropriate candidate" in conjunction with the SA president, most typically being the highest vote-getter with two x chromosomes. Don't know if there were years in which they were "forced" to decide solo.

(11-11-2014 12:08 AM)Almadenmike Wrote:  

(11-10-2014 10:21 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-10-2014 02:22 PM)Barney Wrote:  Our winners were "Pretzel Man" (a cheerleader who bounced around on his hands, with his legs wrapped impossibly up over his shoulders) and a gay man running as Queen.
Nominated, but not winning, were a pair who ran as a couple: Ava Gina and Hugh G. Rection.

??? Was this the mid-to-late '70s? If so, your "pretzel man" was Jim Guenther (Baker College), and I don't believe Jim ever was an official cheerleader. He was, however, one of Baker's lead racers on our winning Beer-Bike team of that era....and one of the original Baker 13 members. A bit quirky, but a great guy.

(11-10-2014 10:28 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-10-2014 10:25 PM)Barney Wrote:  Yep, that's him - - but I do believe he was officially a cheerleader.
I think "The Creature" was a couple of years prior to this...

He was at Rice for 5 - 6 years, and arrived a couple years before me. Perhaps he was a cheerleader prior to my arrival in 1974, but I don't believe he was while I knew him.

I haven't found anything in past/indexed online Threshers on "pretzel man" or Jim Guenther (beyond a mention for intramural football) .... but

... Sid Rich's Malcolm "The Creature" Welch, 1978 Homecoming King, was the subject of an entertaining full-page photo-feature/interview on page 16 of the November 16, 1978 Thresher.

I spent some time going through the link you provided. Thanks very much for the trip down memory lane! I found a number of my friends named in the Thresher, and even a mention of me

(11-10-2014 11:28 PM)4GOwls Wrote:  

(11-10-2014 10:44 PM)WeatherfordOwl Wrote:  Some years ago - perhaps 15 or so - whenever the carbon nanotube was still big news at Rice, Professor Smalley came to visit our brass at Lockheed in Fort Worth. He showed his CV and, of course while I was not in the room, my director made it well known in our department what a laugh it was that Professor Smalley had won Homecoming Queen that year. It was not done in a respectful interesting sort of manner, but more of a "what wierdos!" kind of way. The guy was a graduate of Kansas and then SMU for his PHd. Unconventional thinking, I say....

What a shame. I'm sure that guy wasn't qualified to hold Dr. Smalley's jock.

He eventually made it to Chief Engineer (VP) of one of our largest programs, then something happened and he got canned. Then he went to Bell and eventually got canned there too. Other than that he was (and probably still is) a very friendly likeable sort of person. He did have advanced degrees in multiple disciplines, so he wasn't dumb. Speaking of which, I have had - in my days as a hiring manager - more trouble than I expected trying to get PHd's hired to do ordinary work. Team leads now days, especially those in the, ahem...shall we say....less experienced...regime, seem to feel, a)threatened, and b)like they might not really want to do the kind of work in the team. But it seems to me that a person doesn't come looking for a job unless they really need the money and are willing to work for it. I thought about going back for a PHd but various things disuaded me. I always sort of figured if I was going to get another degree I'd be better off with something in a different technical discipline instead of going deeper into the EE field. That might be worth a separate topic somewhere.

Mike, thanks too for that link - - ah the good 'ol days.
It was fun seeing Creature holding one of those old cases of Lone Star Longnecks with Mindy McNeely. Weingarten's used to have those stacked to the ceiling.
Amazing all the full-page ads for liquor.....of course, you guys may recall that Willie's Pub was reputed to be the #2 mover of beer in all of Houston, behind the Astrodome. Thursday nights there were great, weren't they!

(11-11-2014 09:23 PM)WeatherfordOwl Wrote:  

(11-10-2014 11:28 PM)4GOwls Wrote:  

(11-10-2014 10:44 PM)WeatherfordOwl Wrote:  Some years ago - perhaps 15 or so - whenever the carbon nanotube was still big news at Rice, Professor Smalley came to visit our brass at Lockheed in Fort Worth. He showed his CV and, of course while I was not in the room, my director made it well known in our department what a laugh it was that Professor Smalley had won Homecoming Queen that year. It was not done in a respectful interesting sort of manner, but more of a "what wierdos!" kind of way. The guy was a graduate of Kansas and then SMU for his PHd. Unconventional thinking, I say....

What a shame. I'm sure that guy wasn't qualified to hold Dr. Smalley's jock.

He eventually made it to Chief Engineer (VP) of one of our largest programs, then something happened and he got canned. Then he went to Bell and eventually got canned there too. Other than that he was (and probably still is) a very friendly likeable sort of person. He did have advanced degrees in multiple disciplines, so he wasn't dumb. Speaking of which, I have had - in my days as a hiring manager - more trouble than I expected trying to get PHd's hired to do ordinary work. Team leads now days, especially those in the, ahem...shall we say....less experienced...regime, seem to feel, a)threatened, and b)like they might not really want to do the kind of work in the team. But it seems to me that a person doesn't come looking for a job unless they really need the money and are willing to work for it. I thought about going back for a PHd but various things disuaded me. I always sort of figured if I was going to get another degree I'd be better off with something in a different technical discipline instead of going deeper into the EE field. That might be worth a separate topic somewhere.

You raise some worthwhile issues about talent management and team leadership. I have some experience in those areas and would be happy to join a thread if you want to set it up