Scott A. Key

In 1887, the year a group of knowledge-thirsty Presbyterians founded "The Occidental University of Los Angeles, California," a Kansas prohibitionist named Harvey Wilcox purchased a ranch just west of the city, naming it Hollywood. Tuition in 1888, the year Oxy opened its doors, was $50. The new college wasn't exactly swamped with applicants: 40 students enrolled that fall. Southern California's oldest football rivalry? Not UCLA-USC. Oxy and Pomona first squared off in 1895 -- preceding those other guys by more than 30 years. Student body president Clarence Spaulding became Oxy's first Rhodes Scholar in 1908. Today, Oxy still has more Rhodes Scholars (10) than USC (9). Big changes came to campus in 1926: freshmen were required to live on campus for the first time, and the Oxy basketball team had to adjust to playing indoors after Alumni Gymnasium was built. Sammy Lee '43's first gold medal in diving at the 1948 London Games wasn't Oxy's first Olympic hardware: Tigers have won a total of seven medals. If Oxy were a country, we'd be tied with Israel and Tunisia. In 1992, with the nation's eyes on Los Angeles during the largest riots the country had seen since the '60s, Occidental was recognized on the front page of The Wall Street Journal for its forward-thinking stance on diversity. A knight who hits people with a chicken? A commanding officer of a naval base and the Girl Scouts? The James Dean of disability studies? There are some brilliant characters among our notable alumni.