GETTYSBURG, Pa.  – For more than eight decades, Gettysburg College and Dickinson College have been inexorably tied together on the football field by a unique mahogany and silver bucket. The "Little Brown Bucket" as it is known across the campuses, symbolizes the passion and dedication of the student-athletes and coaches who have played on the gridiron at both institutions throughout the years and will be the focal point of this Saturday's meeting in Carlisle, Pa.
 
The first Gettysburg-Dickinson game featuring the Little Brown Bucket was held on Thanksgiving Day in 1938 and this Saturday's meeting marks the 52nd contest involving the prize. Dickinson is Gettysburg's second most-played rivalry overall, with the two institutions squaring off 85 times beginning with the first official contest in 1892.
 
"For me it's exciting to be part of the tradition," said Gettysburg Head Coach Maurice Banks, who enters his first Bucket battle this weekend. "That's something we've been telling the players is that they get to be part of this tradition, they get to be a part of this history. They seem to be really excited to go play in this trophy game."
 
The Little Brown Bucket was provided by S. Walter Stauffer and George H. Hummel, graduates and members of the Board of Trustees at Dickinson and Gettysburg, respectively. According to the Nov. 17, 1938 edition of The Gettysburgian, the trophy was part of "an effort to create a more friendly feeling between students of Gettysburg and Dickinson" following years of tense intercollegiate competition.  
 
Gettysburg and Dickinson are separated by only 27 miles and the two institutions have sought the same student-athletes and engaged in intercollegiate competition since the 1870s. Football was actually the first sport to feature the two long-time rivals, with the two schools battling in a pair of unofficial and unsanctioned games in 1879.
 
Many Gettysburg players competed against or with Dickinson players in high school, and that familiarity combined with the proximity of both schools has served to fuel the fire to run out to the turf and battle for the Bucket.  
"Sometimes Dickinson and Gettysburg students would interact in other ways—socially and academically - and there was a feeling that this is a neighborhood rivalry," noted Rich Swartz '80, who grew up just an hour away from both schools. "Who doesn't want to be the best player or team on the block?  You want to be able to say to recruits that, if you're coming to Central Pennsylvania to play football, there are several choices you could make, but why not come to the best football program. I think a lot of Bullets want to be beat Dickinson for this reason."
 
The Bucket is the oldest of three annual trophies up for grabs on Gettysburg's football schedule. It pre-dates the "Old Tin Cup," awarded to the victor between Gettysburg and Muhlenberg College, by 16 years, while "The Lincoln Trophy" sought after by the Bullets and the Diplomats of Franklin & Marshall College was created in 2014.
 
The rivalry has seen its ebbs and flows through the decades. Gettysburg dominated the series for many years, particularly after the Bucket was instituted. From 1938 to 1986, the Bullets won 16 of 18 meetings, including the last two in 1985 and 1986 by shutout.
 
When Gettysburg opted to jump into the University Division of the Middle Atlantic Conference, the rivalry fell by the wayside from 1954 to 1977. Barry Streeter assumed the helm of the Bullets in 1978 and the annual competition was renewed. One year later, Swartz led the Orange and Blue to a 50-6 trampling the Red Devils.
 
"It meant a lot with the proximity between the schools and the length of time the rivalry has been played," recalled Streeter, who retired in 2017 after 39 years at the helm. "It was so much fun and when we got the win and the trophy, we danced around for a while after the game every time."
 

Dickinson won its fair share in the 1990s and 2000s before things heated up at the start of the most recent decade. Beginning with a 28-24 win in 2010, Gettysburg won four of six match ups, including three-straight from 2013-15. Current assistant coach Nick Ulassin '15, helped the Bullets claim wins in 2013 and 2014, including scoring a rushing touchdown in the latter match up.
 
"You know about Dickinson and F&M before even being a player here," recalled Ulassin. "As far back as my recruiting trip I knew those were the two biggest games of the year. Everything about the week is heightened. Everyone wants that Bucket. So getting to beat them as a senior, scoring my last college touchdown, and going out with the Bucket is one of the best football memories I have."
 
In 2015, Gettysburg edged Dickinson 20-17 at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium, the first of three consecutive three-point decisions in the series. The 2016 showdown in Carlisle ended in a 37-34 victory for the Red Devils in double-overtime. Including that decision, Dickinson has won the last four meetings with Gettysburg to keep the Bucket ensconced in Carlisle.
 
Both teams head into this Saturday's meeting in search of their first wins of 2021. After a non-conference loss to Bridgewater College to open the year, Gettysburg was upended in overtime by Moravian University 16-13 last Saturday. Dickinson had the misfortune of running into a pair of nationally-ranked programs in its first two games, dropping a 31-21 decision to No. 17 Randolph-Macon College and falling to No. 9 Muhlenberg College 34-13.
 
The student-athletes from both institutions are hungry for their first wins in nearly two years after losing the 2020 campaign to the pandemic. The Little Brown Bucket gives both sides added incentive to go out and give it their all this Saturday
 
"The Dickinson rivalry means a lot to us," stated senior captain Matt Lynch (Bridgewater, N.J./Immaculata). "Practice leading up to the week of the game always feels a little different. Winning the bucket especially as a senior would be something really special to my teammates and I. It's something we haven't had the chance to bring back to Gettysburg, but this team is different and I think we're ready to bring it home on Saturday."
 
Dickinson's head coach, Brad Fordyce, has yet to lose a Bucket game in his five-year tenure at the helm. On the other side of the field will be Banks, who seeks his first win as a collegiate head coach. While claiming a rivalry win over Dickinson would make the day all the better, the weekly preparation for the showdown hasn't changed.
 
"Us as coaches, we won't approach it any differently, but the players definitely have a little more juice this week than they normally do," noted Banks. "That's always good for us. We let them know it's there. We let them know it's a trophy game and there is history behind hit and we game plan like we normally do."
 
The first victory of the season isn't the only thing on the line for both programs. With the win comes the opportunity to be immortalized among the all-time greats at both institutions as well as gaining local bragging rights in Central Pennsylvania. At the end of the game, one team will raise the Little Brown Bucket to the sky and create a memory that will last a lifetime.
 
"It's fun to play for a trophy and have something to hold up and celebrate with after a hard fought win," said Swartz. "It's not the Stanley Cup or the Lombardi Trophy, but the Little Brown Bucket will forever have a spot among the many great memories I have of playing sports, and playing football at Gettysburg College in particular."
 
The Bullets and Red Devils square off on Biddle Field at 1 p.m. on Saturday.