III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 579 

Recognizing the 100th anniversary of Big Bertha, one of the largest bass 

drums in use by a university in the United States and located at The 

University of Texas at Austin. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 6, 2022 

Mr. CRUZ submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed 

to 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the 100th anniversary of Big Bertha, one of 

the largest bass drums in use by a university in the 

United States and located at The University of Texas 

at Austin. 

Whereas Big Bertha, one of the largest bass drums in use 

by a university in the United States, is known as the 

‘‘Sweetheart of the Longhorn Band’’ and an icon of The 

University of Texas at Austin; 

Whereas Big Bertha is so large that, following her construction, part of the walls of the factory where she was assembled had to be removed so Big Bertha could leave the 

factory for shipping; 

Whereas the year 2022 marks the 100th anniversary since 

Big Bertha was first put into service on October 28, 


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•SRES 579 ATS 

1922, in support of the football team for the University 

of Chicago, which was led by Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg 

and his assistant Fritz Crisler, both of whom would go 

on to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame; 

Whereas, in 1938, Big Bertha made a special trip to Carnegie Hall in New York City to join an orchestra directed 

by famed Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini for a performance of Verdi’s Requiem, where Big Bertha was the 

star of the show, used to play a single note; 

Whereas Big Bertha was a witness to history, having been 

present at the dawn of the Atomic Age, when, at approximately 3:25 PM on December 2, 1942, Enrico Fermi and 

his colleagues at the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago engineered the first controlled, selfsustaining nuclear chain reaction as part of their work in 

support of the Manhattan Project; 

Whereas the nuclear chain reaction occurred on a squash 

court under the west stands of the former Stagg Field on 

the University of Chicago campus adjacent to where Big 

Bertha was in storage, resulting in Big Bertha becoming 

radioactive; 

Whereas The University of Texas at Austin purchased Big 

Bertha from the University of Chicago in 1955, at which 

time Big Bertha moved to Texas, making her new home 

in Austin; 

Whereas Big Bertha now resides in the north end zone concourse of Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, 

where she has been admired by Longhorn football fans 

for generations; 

Whereas, due to her important role supporting The University of Texas at Austin Longhorns football team (referred 


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•SRES 579 ATS 

to in this preamble as the ‘‘Texas Longhorns’’), Big Bertha has an endowment to provide for her care; 

Whereas, since moving to Austin, Big Bertha has been a witness to football history on multiple occasions, including 

witnessing the Texas Longhorns win national championships in 1963 and 2005, back-to-back national championships in 1969 and 1970, 19 conference championships, 8 

Cotton Bowl Championships, and many other prominent 

bowl games; 

Whereas Big Bertha supported the Texas Longhorns during 

each of Hall of Fame Coach Darrell K. Royal’s 20 years 

coaching the Texas Longhorns to a record that included 

167 wins, 47 losses, and 5 ties; 

Whereas Big Bertha boomed in support of the winning 

Heisman Trophy campaigns of Texas Longhorns greats 

Earl Campbell in 1977 and Ricky Williams in 1998; 

Whereas Big Bertha’s name was given to her on the 50th anniversary of her move to Austin; 

Whereas Big Bertha is a television celebrity, having been the 

focus of a 2015 episode of the Arts and Entertainment 

Network television show ‘‘Shipping Wars’’ in which Big 

Bertha was shipped to London, England, to participate 

in a New Year’s Day parade; 

Whereas photogrammetry is the science and technology used 

to obtain reliable information about the size and dimensions of physical objects; 

Whereas photogrammetry has been used to measure and compare the size of Big Bertha with other large university 

bass drums and has scientifically proven that Big Bertha 

is, in fact, larger than other drums that have been 

claimed to be the ‘‘world’s largest’’; 


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Whereas Big Bertha and her handlers, the ‘‘Bertha Crew’’, 

are an essential part of United States history and The 

University of Texas Longhorn Band; and 

Whereas Big Bertha has been part of many historic performances across Texas, the United States, and the world: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate recognizes— 

2 (1) the 100th anniversary of the construction of 

3 Big Bertha, one of the largest bass drums in use by 

4 a university in the United States; 

5 (2) The University of Texas Longhorn Band as 

6 an important cultural and historical icon of The 

7 University of Texas at Austin and the State of 

8 Texas; 

9 (3) Big Bertha for her preeminence in band 

10 and musical performances, including on the national 

11 stage as the star of the show at an historic perform12 ance at Carnegie Hall in 1938 and the international 

13 stage as part of a New Year’s Day parade in Lon14 don, England, in 2015; 

15 (4) the Bertha Crew and The University of 

16 Texas Longhorn Band for their continued legacy of 

17 excellence in musical performance and in support of 

18 school spirit; and 

19 (5) that the ongoing debate between universities 

20 in the United States regarding which institution posVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR579.ATS SR579

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1 sesses the largest bass drum is reflective of the spirit 

2 of competition that has helped the United States 

3 reach new heights in academic and scientific achieve4 ment and ingenuity for more than a century. 

Æ 


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