FADE IN:
KENAN
Today we will be discussing the campus tradition of Whiteball.The architecture of Rhodes College has long been appreciated not only for its Collegiate Gothic beauty but also for the opportunity its stone and slate give to creative pastimes. There are rumours of games being played in the 1940s and 50s that utilized the campus architecture as a playing field, but it wasn’t until the 1960s that we can find official confirmation the beginnings of the sport that would become known as Whiteball.
LILLIAN
To most of us that pass by the back of the Rat and White Hall we do not think of that area any differently than any other part of campus. To Whiteball players, that area is their court. I had heard of the game of White Ball a few times during my time here at Rhodes, but nobody knew exactly what the game was or what the rules were. Not even where or how it started.
KENAN
So, when did Whiteball start/arrive on campus?
LILLIAN
There is not a definite date as to when Whiteball originated. In fact, there are many contradicting reports concerning its inception and who created it. The earliest mention of Whiteball was a photograph of Rhodes students playing the game in the May 3, 1963 Sou’wester. The caption of the photograph is “NEWEST CAMPUS RAGE is the breath-taking game of ‘Roof-ball.’ Here David Linsey (Left) watches as Rusty Vance leaps to snare a difficult bank shot.” In a Sou’wester article from 1992, Richard Huddleston, an employee of the bursar’s office at the time claimed a different origin story:
“Hank Williams Jr.’s guitar player was in town and returned to Rhodes for the first time in 15 years to play White Ball. He told me that White Ball got started in 1967 when he and some friends started bouncing the ball onto the roof and the game was invented within a few weeks.”
From the invention of Whiteball the game has gone through many name changes, and varying participation levels, but the game still holds an importance to the school. In 1993, Governor Ned McWherter signed a certificate giving the Rhodes College Whiteball Association "Tennessee's Outstanding Achievement Award", conferred in recognition of services performed as to preserve and enhance the tradition of Tennessee excellence which is the pride of the people.
In 2007 there were students at Rhodes that created a film that documented the game of Whiteball. The video included interviews from alums and current students at the time. One of the alums that had played for years stated that “[Whiteball] could be more than a time waster, it could be an obsession.” This video was a way for the alums that still love White Ball to preserve the rules of a now dying game on campus.
KENAN
How did Whiteball evolve?
LILLIAN
There were many different games that would be played but White Ball was the most prominent. In the 1970s students would refer to what we now know as Whiteball as, “Wallbal” but more commonly “Roophball” or “Roofball”. Roof Ball was actually a variance of the game in which it would be played on the opposite side of the Whiteball court. According to a former student Gerald Koonce, Class of 1972:
“I was one of the first people to play Whiteball, which was invented in the spring of 1973 by Guy Rose. Before that, from the mid '60s at least, we played Roofball, which also used a tennis ball. It was played on both sides of the covered walkway between the refectory and White Hall. The idea was to throw the ball off a roof and into the other side's defensive area without them catching it. Because the west side was so much harder to defend, the players switched sides when one team got to 5. First team to 9 won.”
KENAN
What exactly are the rules of the game?
LILLIAN
When playing any game there are variances to the rules, depending on who is playing. This applies to Whiteball as well. Even when Whiteball was at its prime people had differing opinions over minor rules. As I understand it there are two teams of two people and the game is played to thirteen points. Your team can only score a point when you are serving. The ball has to first hit the slate over the walkway between White Hall and the Rat during the serve. After the serve has been made the ball can hit the walls of the buildings or other slated roofs during any other point in the game. It is the responsibility of the other team to return the ball whether they let it hit the ground or not. “A set” is referred to if your teammate needs assistance, they can return it to the roof. If another player that is not on your team and is in the way you can call a “hinder” and the point can be done over again. To win the game you must win by two points. Randomness is key to playing the game. The court is irregular. A good player is determined by a good serve rather than a player not being able to return the serve.
LILLIAN
A huge part of Whiteball culture is Bob Elfirt.
KENAN
I’ve heard about Bob!
LILLIAN
Bob was one of my favorite parts of researching Whiteball. For those of you Wondering who Bob is…
Bob is a fictional character that was created in the 1970s. Who gets to serve was based off of spelling of zero-B-O-B as each person hit the ball. Whomever won the point was up to serve next. Bob was not only a fictional person, but “Bob” referred to a club mainly made up of Whiteball players. In an honors paper written by Will Hull in 1989, Will refers to “Bob” as an anti-fraternity group. The “Bobs” in the early 1970s signed up for all the rooms in the 3rd floor of Ellet and White halls. This way they were in a prime location to play Whiteball as much as they wanted. Somehow the fictional character Bob was registered for classes and had records on file. Bob Elfirt was even given fictional titles. He was the president of Bob Hall and served as a chairman for Bob Elfirt for political solutions.
The November 3, 1972 Sou’wester contains a photograph of a Rhodes student dressing up as Bob for Halloween. The Sou’wester issue the following week contained the obituary for the fictional student, Bob Elfirt. The obituary reported that he died on November 6, 1972 and that he lived to be 150 years old. He was described as a charter member of the “Bob” club, a Corned Beef House Personality of the week, an active roof ball player, ghost writer for the Bob Elfirt wise-saying-for-the-day, and as always answering his door with a friendly “What the hell do you want?”
Whiteball players would gather on their “court” outside White Hall and the Rat at all hours of the day. Most of the time there would be many people hanging out and other people would be waiting for a game. There was a box on the door on the left of the court where the students would keep their balls. This way anyone could start a game of Whiteball at any time. The alums that were being interviewed said that there would almost always be music playing and kegs that would be on the court for them to enjoy. There was a period where alumni would come to campus to play early on Sunday mornings with a couple of current students.
On homecoming weekends there usually is a Whiteball reunion where graduated players would come back and relive their time at Rhodes and play a couple games. Whiteball was more than a game to these students, it was a culture. These students would wake up early in the morning and play Whiteball almost all day long. It had become part of their daily life and routine. In the interview, from the 2007 film, one of the Rhodes alum that would play quite often stated that, “[Whiteball players] were prone to wanting to break the rules.” Whiteball was once so popular that it was a contender for official Rhodes “campus sport.”
Whiteball is almost never seen on campus anymore. There is not a clear explanation why Whiteball phased out of Rhodes campus culture. The game of Whiteball was played for about 40 years on a court that was created by the buildings on campus. Although Whiteball no longer holds a strong campus presence it once was a huge part of student’s daily life and still remains as a small yet significant tradition at Rhodes.
KENAN
When we decided to do this episode, I read the honors paper White Ball: Ritual Protest as Counterculture. The author, Will Hull, had attempted to describe members of the sub-culture but ultimately found that it was easier to describe that they were not: “They are not the center of the campus social scene. They do not wear polos. They do not drive BMWs. They do not wear bows in their hair.” He adds “What they share is a desire to have a good time and to perspire as little as possible. Whiteball is a willingness to risk looking a bit ridiculous in order to have a good time.”
It sounds like something we should try to bring back!
Thank you for joining us for this episode of Lynx to the Past. If you have questions, comments or want to share your own Rhodes College story, email us at lynxtothepastpodcast@gmail.com.
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