Fulton’s Westminster College and Eureka College in Illinois are launching the Berlin Wall bowl, a first-of-its-kind college football rivalry inspired by Cold War history.
The two colleges have sections of the Berlin Wall on their campus and both share connections through former President Ronald Reagan. Tim Riley is the director and chief curator of America’s National Churchill Museum in Fulton:
“President (Ronald) Reagan, who is largely responsible for ending the Cold War, famously said Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall, was a graduate of Eureka (College). He played football for Eureka, graduated in 1932,” Mr. Riley says.
Curator Riley says we are still living with the legacy of freedom versus tyranny today. Former President Reagan traveled to mid-Missouri’s Fulton in November 1990 to dedicate Westminster’s “Breakthrough” sculpture that features eight original sections of the Berlin Wall.
Curator Riley says the Berlin Wall bowl transcends football. He says the football teams at Fulton’s Westminster College and Eureka College in Illinois are pleased to launch the Berlin Wall bowl. Both colleges have connections to former President Ronald Reagan and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher:
“Our shared histories between the two colleges and our nation and Western democracy relies heavily on what happened at the end of the Cold War. It was a pivotal moment for the world,” Curator Riley says.
Riley describes the Berlin Wall as an ideological divide that divided the 20th century between freedom and tyranny. Curator Riley says the football rivalry reminds a new generation that freedom, courage and principled leadership remain essential values today.
The inaugural Berlin Wall Bowl will be played Saturday at Eureka College in Illinois.
Click here to listen to the full interview between 939 the Eagle’s Brian Hauswirth and America’s National Churchill Museum director and chief curator Tim Riley: