The following is the background as to how the Ole Miss-Mississippi State football game came to be known as the "Battle of the Golden Egg" or even "The Egg Bowl." Excerpts are reprinted from the book "Mississippi Mayhem," written by WIlliam Banner III. 1926 Up until the 1926 meeting in Starkville, Ole Miss had only claimed five victories in the previous 23 football contests between the Rebels and Bulldogs. Thus, when Ole Miss claimed a 7-6 victory over then Mississippi A&M College, a celebration was due at Scott Field after that '26 contest. Oddly, huge roars went up from both sides at the final whistle, not just from the Ole Miss stands. While the A&M players walked slowly off the field with heads bowed, wrote one newsman, the Maroon student section stood and sang the alma mater. But on the east side, pandemonium. Well wishers rushed "like madmen onto the field," Webb Burke said in his 1957 interview. Some fans made a dash for the goal posts. Irate Aggie supporters took after the ambitious Ole Miss group with cane bottom chairs, and fights broke out. The mayhem continued until most of the chairs were splintered. As explained by the Reveille, A&M yearbook, "A few chairs had to be sacrificed over the heads of these to persuade them that was entirely the wrong attitude." As described in a story for the Commercial Appeal by Ben Hilbun, who one day would become president of the Starkville school, "The phantom of victory, that for thirteen years eluded Ole Miss, returned to the bearded Berserkers ... and they won over A&M, their traditional rivals, 7 to 6." Ole Miss students fought for the goal posts, he continued, "but were restrained." Ole Miss fans couldn't believe their victory. Through all their 13 defeats since 1910 (they did not play in 1912, 1913 and 1914) they had only scored in three games, counted just 33 points to A&M's 327, an average of 25-3. Injuries to players were expected. But not to spectators. Ole Miss and A&M students, shocked by the battle that erupted after the game, vowed that it must not happen again. The result was the Golden Egg, a trophy to cool the heat of battle, instituted the following season by joint agreement of the two student bodies. Meanwhile, "The Battle of Starkville" continued in student newspapers. The Reflector denounced other newspaper stories complimenting the clean play, especially that of Ole Miss. The Aggie writers thought the Ole Miss players used some unfair tactics. The Mississippian asked, "Why 'gripe,' ye Aggie Scribe? Wait til 'next year'." The Reflector described the post-game battle. Only a band of "hoodlums," a writer declared, would swarm onto a field of victory to secure souvenirs. The Mississippian replied that the Aggie chair brigade which defended the goal posts "came to the field with malice aforethought ... with the intent of staging a 'free for all' ..." 1927 The Golden Egg was first proposed by members of Sigma Iota, an Ole Miss honorary society. As thoughts of last year's game, Sigma Iota proposed that a trophy be awarded in a dignified ceremony designed to calm excited fans. One proposal that was rejected was to send the goal posts to the winning side each year. A&M approved the suggestion of an award, and Ole Miss, two weeks before the game, officially added its approval. The trophy, to be called "The Golden Egg", would be a regulation-size gold-plated football mounted on a pedestal. Cost approximately $250 would be shared by both schools. Ole Miss students held a tag day to raise funds. The joint resolution of the two student bodies declared they agreed on the trophy "in order to effect a better understanding in athletic relations, to foster clean sportsmanship, and to promote a lasting tradition..." A brand-new series between the University of Mississippi and Mississippi A&M College began on Thanksgiving Day, 1927; The first Battle of the Golden Egg. Of course, it was the Ole Miss-A&M slugfest, played before a crowd of 14,000 for the first possession of the gold football which was to become symbolic of supremacy in this annual feud-battle. It was actually the 25th meeting of the two combatants. And for the second time in four years it was Push versus Pass, a heavier line versus a lighter passing attack. And once again the Pushers prevailed, except this time the pushing team was Ole Miss. The score was 20-12.