A look at the Fremont Cannon rivalry game

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 | 2 a.m.

Here’s some background information to get you ready for Saturday’s Fremont Cannon rivalry game between UNLV and UNR.

UNLV will look to snap a seven-game losing streak in the rivalry game that dates back to the late-1960s — the winner gets possession of the 545-pound cannon and paints the carriage its colors.

Kickoff is at 12:07 p.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium.

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  Associated Press

  How it all began

  Bill Ireland, UNLV’s first football coach and a UNR alum, came up with the idea of the two teams playing for a replica of Fremont’s cannon before their first meeting in 1969. UNR won the initial meeting, prevailing 30-28 on Thanksgiving Day, but didn’t get the cannon because it hadn’t been built. Ireland’s idea came to fruition when the Kennecott Copper Corp. reconstructed the cannon and donated it to the rivalry for the 1970 game, which UNLV won, 42-30. The cannon, which weighs 545 pounds and cost $10,000 to build, is a replica of the cannon explorer John C. Fremont had during his expedition to Nevada in the mid-19th century. The trophy is believed to be the heaviest in college football. The winning school paints the cannon’s carriage its color — red for UNLV, or like the past seven years, UNR blue.

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  Sam Morris

  Series has belonged to UNR

  Fans of the scarlet and gray haven’t had much to rejoice about in the rivalry series, with in-state rival UNR winning a record seven straight meetings. Adding insult to injury is the fact most of the wins have come in blowout fashion. UNR leads the series 22-15 — even though it feels much worse. The games aren’t even close with UNLV losing by a combined 90 points the past three years, including 37-0 last year when Rebel quarterback Caleb Herring completed just one pass.

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  Sam Morris

  It’s a league game this year

  With UNR joining UNLV’s Mountain West Conference this fall, this is just the fifth time the teams have met as members of the same conference. Remember, UNR was a Division I-AA school until the early 1990s. This is the Wolf Pack’s first year in the Mountain West Conference, leaving the Western Athletic Conference to join UNLV’s league. So, in basketball, the teams will now place twice each season.

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  Las vegas sun file

  Rebels keep cannon without winning

  In the 1980s, the cannon spent seven of the 10 years in Las Vegas. But that was when the rivalry wasn’t played annually, meaning UNLV kept the cannon for five consecutive years with just one victory. Now in its 37th year, the Fremont Cannon game has been played 23 straight seasons dating back to 1989.

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  FILE PHOTO

  Hold on tight

  UNLV had to spend $1,500 on the cannon at one point, but it was money well spent. After beating UNR in the 2000 game, UNLV students stormed the field at Sam Boyd Stadium and starting spray-painting the cannon Rebel red in celebration. The celebration included players and students lifting the cannon above their head — believed to be the first-and-only time the cannon was lifted. That is because, of course, it dropped and broke into pieces. The incident prompted UNR coach Chris Ault to criticize UNLV for not respecting the rivalry. Two weeks later, UNLV paid to have the cannon repaired. Later that year, they beat Arkansas to win the Las Vegas Bowl — the last time UNLV appeared in a bowl game.