Victory Bell (North Carolina–Duke)

This article is about trophy for the North Carolina–Duke football game. For other trophies, see Victory Bell (disambiguation).

Victory Bell

First contested	November 27, 1888 Duke 16, North Carolina 0
Number of meetings	105 (71 trophy meetings)
Most recent meeting	November 10, 2018 Duke 42, North Carolina 35
Next meeting	October 26, 2019 in Chapel Hill
All-time series	North Carolina leads, 59–39–4, with two UNC wins vacated (per North Carolina) North Carolina leads, 58–40–4, with two UNC wins vacated (per Duke)
Largest victory	North Carolina, 50–0 (1959)
Longest win streak	North Carolina, 13 (1990–2002)
Current streak	Duke, 3 (2016-present)

Template:OSM Location map

The Victory Bell is the traveling trophy given to the winner of the annual football game between the Duke University Blue Devils and the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. The game was worth two points in the yearlong Carlyle Cup between the two schools.

History

North Carolina and Duke first met in football in 1888, and the series has been renewed annually since 1922.

Two cheerleaders, Loring Jones of Duke and Norman Sper of North Carolina, were influential in the concept of the Victory Bell. Jones designed the model and Sper obtained the Bell from an old railroad train. North Carolina won possession of the first ever Victory Bell game with a 20–0 shutout victory at Kenan Memorial Stadium in 1948.

At one time, the series was every bit as heated as the basketball rivalry between the two schools. However, this rivalry has been revived in recent years as Duke has dominated the rivalry since 2012. After a period where Duke won only one game between 1990 and 2011, the Victory Bell has resided in Durham for five of the last seven years. Duke victories in the 2012 and 2013 games marked the first time Duke had won consecutive games in the series since winning three straight from 1987 to 1989. After consecutive North Carolina victories in 2014 and 2015, Duke matched its longest winning streak in the last 30 years with wins in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

In 2016, the Blue Devils defeated the Tar Heels to start the streak with a win in Durham. It continued in 2017 as Duke defeated UNC, this time in Chapel Hill. In 2018, Duke captured their third consecutive win by defeating UNC, 42-35.

Traditions

It has been a tradition as of late for the winner to spray-paint the platform of the trophy to match their school colors--Carolina blue for North Carolina and royal blue for Duke. After losing the Victory Bell in 2003, North Carolina came back the next year and beat Duke 40–17 in Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium. After the conclusion of the game, North Carolina football players immediately spray-painted the platform Carolina blue, leaving large amounts of Carolina blue paint residue on the track of the stadium. Whenever North Carolina has been in possession of the Victory Bell, cheerleaders wheel it out while ringing the bell at the same time the live ram mascot, Rameses, is brought out onto the field. The bell is also displayed in front of the students' section.

Game results

While the two schools agree that North Carolina leads the series, they do not agree on the overall record. North Carolina claims an all-time lead of 59–38–4; Duke claims North Carolina leads 58–39–4. The dispute centers around an 1889 game where both teams stayed home because they believed they were the home team. As a result, both schools claim the game as a win by forfeit, 1-0. Most neutral recordkeepers credit the game to North Carolina.

Both schools agree that North Carolina vacated its wins in 2008 and 2009. Both schools also agree that North Carolina leads the series since the introduction of the Victory Bell with a record of 43–23–1, with two vacated North Carolina wins.

Note: Duke was known as Trinity College until 1924.

Duke victories

North Carolina victories

Tie games

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
1	November 27, 1888	Durham, NC	Trinity	16–0
2	May 8, 1889	Raleigh, NC	Trinity	25–17
3	1889	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	1–0†
4	November 20, 1891	Chapel Hill, NC	Trinity	6–4
5	November 12, 1892	Durham, NC	North Carolina	24–0
6	October 28, 1893	Durham, NC	Trinity	6–4
7	October 24, 1894	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	28–0
8	October 12, 1922	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	20–0
9	October 12, 1923	Durham, NC	North Carolina	14–6
10	October 11, 1924	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	6–0
11	October 10, 1925	Durham, NC	North Carolina	41–0
12	October 16, 1926	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	6–0
13	November 19, 1927	Durham, NC	North Carolina	18–0
14	December 8, 1928	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	14–7
15	December 7, 1929	Durham, NC	North Carolina	48–7
16	December 6, 1930	Chapel Hill, NC	Tie	0–0
17	November 21, 1931	Durham, NC	Tie	0–0
18	November 19, 1932	Chapel Hill, NC	Duke	7–0
19	November 18, 1933	Durham, NC	Duke	21–0
20	November 17, 1934	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	7–0
21	November 16, 1935	Durham, NC	Duke	25–0
22	November 14, 1936	Chapel Hill, NC	#13 Duke	27–7
23	November 13, 1937	Durham, NC	North Carolina	14–6
24	October 29, 1938	Chapel Hill, NC	#11 Duke	14–0
25	November 18, 1939	Durham, NC	#13 Duke	13–3
26	November 16, 1940	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	6–3
27	November 15, 1941	Durham, NC	#3 Duke	20–0
28	November 14, 1942	Chapel Hill, NC	Tie	13–13
29	October 16, 1943	Durham, NC	Duke	14–7
30	November 20, 1943	Chapel Hill, NC	#6 Duke	27–6
31	November 25, 1944	Chapel Hill, NC	#11 Duke	33–0
32	November 24, 1945	Durham, NC	#15 Duke	14–7
33	November 23, 1946	Chapel Hill, NC	#14 North Carolina	22–7
34	November 22, 1947	Durham, NC	#13 North Carolina	21–0
35	November 20, 1948	Chapel Hill, NC	#5 North Carolina	20–0
36	November 19, 1949	Durham, NC	North Carolina	21–20
37	November 25, 1950	Chapel Hill, NC	Duke	7–0
38	November 24, 1951	Durham, NC	Duke	19–7
39	November 22, 1952	Chapel Hill, NC	#20 Duke	34–0
40	November 28, 1953	Durham, NC	Duke	35–20
41	November 27, 1954	Chapel Hill, NC	#20 Duke	47–12
42	November 26, 1955	Durham, NC	#18 Duke	6–0
43	November 24, 1956	Chapel Hill, NC	Duke	21–6
44	November 23, 1957	Durham, NC	North Carolina	21–13
45	November 22, 1958	Chapel Hill, NC	Duke	7–6
46	November 21, 1959	Durham, NC	North Carolina	50–0
47	November 19, 1960	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	7–6
48	November 18, 1961	Durham, NC	Duke	6–3
49	November 24, 1962	Chapel Hill, NC	Duke	16–14
50	November 28, 1963	Durham, NC	North Carolina	16–14
51	November 21, 1964	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	21–15
52	November 20, 1965	Durham, NC	Duke	34–7
53	November 19, 1966	Chapel Hill, NC	Duke	41–25

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
54	November 18, 1967	Durham, NC	North Carolina	20–9
55	November 23, 1968	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	25–14
56	November 22, 1969	Durham, NC	Duke	17–13
57	November 21, 1970	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	59–34
58	November 20, 1971	Durham, NC	North Carolina	38–0
59	November 18, 1972	Chapel Hill, NC	#16 North Carolina	14–0
60	November 24, 1973	Durham, NC	Duke	27–10
61	November 23, 1974	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	14–13
62	November 22, 1975	Durham, NC	Tie	17–17
63	November 20, 1976	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	39–38
64	November 19, 1977	Durham, NC	#18 North Carolina	16–3
65	November 25, 1978	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	16–15
66	November 24, 1979	Durham, NC	North Carolina	37–16
67	November 22, 1980	Chapel Hill, NC	#15 North Carolina	44–21
68	November 21, 1981	Durham, NC	#12 North Carolina	31–10
69	November 20, 1982	Durham, NC	Duke	23–17
70	November 19, 1983	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	34–27
71	November 24, 1984	Durham, NC	North Carolina	17–15
72	November 23, 1985	Chapel Hill, NC	Duke	23–21
73	November 22, 1986	Durham, NC	North Carolina	42–35
74	November 21, 1987	Chapel Hill, NC	Duke	25–10
75	November 19, 1988	Durham, NC	Duke	35–29
76	November 18, 1989	Chapel Hill, NC	#25 Duke	41–0
77	November 17, 1990	Durham, NC	North Carolina	24–22
78	November 23, 1991	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	47–14
79	November 21, 1992	Durham, NC	#21 North Carolina	31–28
80	November 26, 1993	Chapel Hill, NC	#13 North Carolina	38–24
81	November 19, 1994	Durham, NC	North Carolina	41–40
82	November 18, 1995	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	28–24
83	November 23, 1996	Durham, NC	#13 North Carolina	27–10
84	November 22, 1997	Chapel Hill, NC	#8 North Carolina	50–14
85	November 21, 1998	Durham, NC	North Carolina	28–6
86	November 20, 1999	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	38–0
87	November 18, 2000	Durham, NC	North Carolina	59–21
88	November 17, 2001	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	52–17
89	November 23, 2002	Durham, NC	North Carolina	23–21
90	November 22, 2003	Chapel Hill, NC	Duke	30–22
91	November 20, 2004	Durham, NC	North Carolina	40–17
92	November 19, 2005	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	24–21
93	November 25, 2006	Durham, NC	North Carolina	45–44
94	November 24, 2007	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	20–14
95	November 29, 2008	Durham, NC	North Carolina	28–20 ‡
96	November 7, 2009	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	19–6 ‡
97	November 27, 2010	Durham, NC	North Carolina	24–19
98	November 26, 2011	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	37–21
99	October 20, 2012	Durham, NC	Duke	33–30
100	November 30, 2013	Chapel Hill, NC	#24 Duke	27–25
101	November 20, 2014	Durham, NC	North Carolina	45–20
102	November 7, 2015	Chapel Hill, NC	#21 North Carolina	66–31
103	November 10, 2016	Durham, NC	Duke	28–27
104	September 23, 2017	Chapel Hill, NC	Duke	27–17
105	November 10, 2018	Durham, NC	Duke	42–35
Series: North Carolina leads 58–40–4

† Both schools claim this game as a win by forfeit; most neutral recordkeepers credit the game to North Carolina.
‡ North Carolina vacated wins from the 2008 and 2009 seasons.