Did Cornelius "The Commodore" Vanderbilt ever see the school he endowed?
Vanderbilt University.
Vanderbilt University Quick Facts
Founded: 1873Location: Nashville, Tenn. (approximately 1,060 miles southwest of Amherst)
Enrollment: 6,817
All-time football record: 505-555-43, .477 W-L%
SEC Championships: 0
Last Bowl Appearance: 2011 Liberty Bowl (Lost to Cincinnati 31-24)
Mr. Vanderbilt never saw Vanderbilt
The school is named after Cornelius "The Commodore" Vanderbilt, who gave the initial donation to found the University.
I want to know what I have to do to get a nickname that cool (What do you guys think about Harry "The Hammer" Plumer?).
At the age of 79, Vanderbilt donated $1 Million in 1873 (equivalent to $18,502,299 today), despite never having been to the South. His wife's cousin, Bishop Holland N. McTyeire of Nashville, was recuperating at Vanderbilt's New York mansion after some sort of medical procedure (the details are vague), and since Vanderbilt was literally the richest man in America at that time (he held 1/87th of America's GNP at his death), he decided to hit him up for some cash to start a school in Nashville, which was then called Central University
Vanderbilt (the man, not the school), died in 1877 without ever visiting the school, which McTyeire eventually named for him.
Local Connection
Vanderbilt''s football team might not be heralded as a historical success, but the Commodores play some pretty good baseball.
Amherst's own Kevin Ziomek, who led the Hurricanes to a state baseball title, pitches at Vanderbilt and his headed into his junior year.
If Ziomek goes on to play Major League Baseball and wins eight Cy Youngs, he still won't be Vanderbilt's most distinguished alumnus. Without legend Al Gore, I wouldn't have the technological capability to post this article to a computerized network where it's accessible anywhere in the world.
Thanks, Al.
We party all night, but gotta go to class still
It's YouTube time.
This "Black and Yellow" remix does include some good lines, but I'm not sure it'll make the cut when we do the eventual School Spirit Music Video Power Rankings (known from here on out as SSMVPW).
We the Commodores, so we do it big.