When my father-in-law, Joe, participated in track and field and football at Louisiana State University in the 1920s after World War I, athletes received no scholarships from the university and even had to buy their own uniforms.
Joe was quite an athlete and participated in the Inter-Allied Games in 1919 in Pershing Stadium, outside Paris, which were scheduled in lieu of Olympic Games at the end of WWI.Why the university waited until Joe was in his 80s to induct him into the Hall of Fame, I can't say except for a guess that he was old and perhaps not long for the world, and they hoped for a legacy to the Athletic Department when he departed this life.
Since Joe's usual dress was farmer-casual khaki, and his most comfortable footwear was slip-on rubber galoshes, Tom bought him a new sports jacket and new shoes for the big event, which took place on the field at halftime in LSU stadium. When we met Joe at the stadium that evening, he was wearing his new sports jacket, a nice pair of slacks, and his rubber galoshes. Some concessions he would make, but concession only went so far. I don't believe he ever wore the shoes, because they were like new when we cleared out his house after he died at the age of 91.
Before the game, we had dinner with the other inductees, the chancellor, the athletic director, and other luminaries of the university. When Joe was introduced to the chancellor, he said, "Chancellor? What's that?" In his day, they were called presidents. We watched the game from the athletic director's VIP box which is indeed a fine spot to view a football game. Extended family were allotted tickets to the game in regular seating in the nosebleed section.
