Fordham University, a school built on Jesuit values, tradition and history, holds many stories, from the maroon sweatshirts that hang in the bookstore to how our iconic Ramses came to be. And, somehow, baseball is wrapped into a lot of Fordham’s history.
182 years ago, St. John’s College, now commonly known as Fordham University, proudly donned its school color of magenta on uniforms and signage around the Rose Hill campus.
The deep pink shade was used for Fordham’s first athletic club founded in 1859, the “Baseball Nines,” and Fordham’s team played in the first college baseball game under New York rules, with nine men on each side. Hence, the name “Baseball Nines.” Fordham won against Xavier University with a score of 33-11.
Almost 200 miles north, former archrival Harvard University also donned uniforms and signage of the same magenta hue. Neither school wanted to change their color and admit defeat to the other, and decided to play a series of baseball games in the early 1870s to earn the right to solely hold magenta as their school color.
Considering Fordham still holds the top position for most wins ever in NCAA Division I baseball, it’s no surprise Fordham defeated Harvard in the battle for magenta as their school color. The National Collegiate Athletic Association even said in a 2021 article that “if the Rams never played another game of baseball after the 2019 season, it would take Texas (second most wins in NCAA DI Baseball) 36 more years to become the winningest team at its current rate.”
However, our rivals in the north refused to change their color, which led to Fordham adopting maroon as their official color four years after the games, with Harvard later following suit and switching their school color to crimson.
During a baseball game against the United States Military Academy (West Point) in the 1890s, students cheered from the stands: “One-Dam, Two-Dam, Three-Dam, Fordham!” Much to the enjoyment of students, Jesuit faculty members frowned upon the language and changed the words to “One-Ram, Two-Ram, Three-Ram, Fordham!” In 1906, Fordham’s official mascot was changed from “The Rose Hills” to “The Rams.”
In 1925, Ramses I, a live ram, lived on campus and served as the official mascot for Fordham. Over the course of 53 years, 28 rams fulfilled the role of Ramses on campus. Unfortunately, many of the rams were “ram-napped” by rival institution Manhattan College and brought to a slaughterhouse, according to Fordham University’s Library Archives. Ramses III would often escape campus and attack New York City trains, which led to his unfortunate sentenced death.
Ramses XIX, although surviving his ram-napping, was left at the Madison Square Garden Circus with his wool dyed green by Manhattan College students. Later interviewed by The Fordham Ram, one of the Manhattan College students who kidnapped Ramses XIX in 1961 spoke about the experience. “We considered many options but could not get him to the top of the Empire State Building or Statue of Liberty.”
Ramses VIII was ram-napped by New York University and taken to a Connecticut farm right before a football game. New York State troopers picked Ramses up at state lines and escorted him to the game with four squad cars and six motorcycles, sirens blaring. He arrived just in time for halftime. There are many other stories about the other 20-something rams that spent time on the Rose Hill campus, from having their shed burnt down to appearing at Gabelli lectures.
Although the founders of Fordham University may not have predicted in the 1850s that a series of baseball games would lead to the choosing of our school’s color and mascot, the stories behind Fordham’s rich maroon shade and iconic Ramses the Ram are a vital part of Fordham’s school community today.
