49 ) June 28 , 1888 : Commencement Day : Completing his Second Division studies is Hugh Augustine Gaynor . After graduation , he would join the Society of Jesus and return to Fordham in the 1910s as a German and rhetoric teacher . During his tenure at Rose Hill , Fr . Gaynor would also compose the words of “ Alma Mater , Fordham ,” still sung at every Prep graduation .
50 ) Fall 1888 : Joseph A . Faye , Class of 1889 , establishes the Holy Childhood Book Pound ( for Wayward Tomes and Articles ) — in other words , the Prep ' s first lost-and-found . Faye ’ s suggested donation for reuniting an owner with his lost item : one penny .
1890s
51 ) September 1890 : Second Division students return to school to find the construction of Junior Hall — as Hughes Hall was originally known — nearly complete . Within a few weeks , all Second Division dorms and classrooms are transferred to the new building , and Hughes Hall becomes the home of Fordham Prep for the next eight decades
52 ) May 30 , 1891 : With Lt . Clarence Edwards as their commandant , the St . John ’ s College Cadet Corps , Prep students are among them , marches in the Decoration Day Parade in Manhattan . Lt . Edwards would rise to the rank of brigadier general and became a decorated hero in World War I . Edwards Parade , Rose Hill ’ s large central field stretching from Hughes Hall to Keating Hall , is named in his honor .
53 ) June 24 , 1891 : The Nativity of St . John the Baptist : The Prep and University , still together known as St . John ' s College , celebrate their shared Golden Jubilee . A major part of the celebration is the dedication of the statue of Archbishop Hughes which still stands on Campus today .
54 ) 1893 : As the story goes , at an Army-Fordham game in 1893 , the Fordham students come up with a cheer , “ One dam , two dam , three dam — Fordham !” Because of objections by school authorities to the similarity ( deliberate or accidental ) to the word damn , it is eventually changed to ram — “ One ram , two ram , three ram , Fordham !” And so , the Fordham Ram is born .
55 ) December 13 , 1893 : The Feast of St . Lucy : On a beautiful cold , clear day , the administration cancels all classes and declares a Skating Holiday . Prep boys spend the day skating on the Rose Hill Pond , an area today occupied by the University Parking Lot .
56 ) February 16 , 1894 : George Rooney , Class of 1895 , is knocked unconscious and “ nearly broke his neck and back , and crushed his skull ” on the toboggan slide set up on campus for student use during the winter months . Within the hour , a schoolwide proclamation goes out banning tobogganing . As far as we can tell , that ban is technically still in effect at Rose Hill to this day .
57 ) February 23 , 1894 : Prep boarding students are permitted to stay up late to watch what is recorded as “ an unusual exhibition of the Aurora Borealis ” that begins after supper and lasts all night .
58 ) May 4 , 1895 : During the Columbia Games held at Columbia Oval in the Bronx , J . Francis Quinlan and Gerald J . Barry , both Prep Class of 1895 , become the first known Second Divisioners to participate in an interscholastic track competition . Quinlan takes first in the 100-yard dash , and Barry , third in pole vault .
59 ) June 27 , 1895 : Last day of the 1894-1895 School Year . With the departure of the Prep boarding students for the summer , the assistant prefect records in the Second Division log : “ Last boy gone — AMEN !”
60 ) October 31 , 1898 : All Hallows Eve : Halloween activities include ducking for apples ( in some of which were hidden coins ), lighting bonfires and roasting apples .
61 ) December 2 , 1898 : Prep students play their first recoded intramural basketball game .
32 | RAMVIEW
1900s
62 ) March 20 , 1901 : Boarding student Andrew Heide , Prep Class of 1901 , dies of