As requested, here is the story behind the Cornell University fight
song, "Give My Regards To Davy." Thanks to Cornell's on-line advisory
service, "Dear Uncle Ezra," where this account first appeared in Dec.,
1988, and to Steve Worona, who told me where to look for it.
 
    As you've noticed, anyone who's been to even one Cornell sports event has
heard the fight song "Davy".  If you don't know what the words mean, the song
will be confusing, but all of it does in fact have a meaning. Thanks to an
article by Scott Pesner, '87, I think I have it figured out. The song tells the
story of a Cornell student who has been thrown out of the University, but
promises to return in the fall.  Here are the words:
 
    Give my regards to Davy,
    Remember me to Teefee Crane.
    Tell all the pikers on the hill
    That I'll be back again.
    Tell them just how I busted,
    Lapping up those high highballs.
    We'll all have drinks
    At Theodore Zinck's
    When I get back next fall.
 
   "Davy" is David Fletcher Hoy '91, the University Registrar from 1895 until
his death in 1930.  Hoy was the one who sent "bust notices" to students who had
failed their final exams, and as a result would have to take a semester leave.
The student whose story the song tells holds Hoy responsible for his
predicament.  Hoy Field, by the way, was named for David Hoy, because of his
dedication to the baseball team
   Professor Thomas F. Crane lives on as "Teefee Crane".  Crane became the
first Dean of the University in 1896, and though he was not well liked at the
beginning, he later became popular with the students.
   "Pikers" were apparently freshmen, so it seems that the student wanted his
story told so no freshmen would succumb to the temptation of putting the social
life before the studies.  The "hill" is, of course, the hill on which the
University sits, perched "above Cayuga's waters".  The University has long been
referred to as "the hill" by Cornellians and Ithacans alike.
   "Theodore Zinck" was an Ithaca bar owner.  His bar, located in the Hotel
Brunswick on North Aurora Street, was very popular among the students.  Even
though Zinck's itself no longer exists, its spirit survives in the "Zinck's"
senior social society.  Each year, seniors buy "Zinck's Cards" which entitle
them to discounts in various area establishments.  Also, "Zinck's Night" is
held each Thursday in a different Collegetown bar.  This is so strong a
tradition that Cornell alumni gather one Thursday night each fall, "National
Zinck's Night", wherever they may be, to commemorate the Zinck's spirit. I
can't help but add here that the drinks don't necessarily have to
contain alcohol to be in the spirit.
   The story is one of determination to triumph, a spirit that is always
appropriate at Cornell games...and in life.  Go Big Red!