Friends and family on Thursday said farewell to Robert
Ridings Sr. with a campus funeral that included — among other things unique to the
man — a final blast from the cannon he fired to celebrate touchdowns at football
games.
Robert Ridings Sr., who for decades was the Dutchman
mascot for Union College athletics, died on Saturday at the age of 81.
During his 48 years with the College, as athletic
equipment manager and later as intramural equipment manager, thousands came to know him as
the congenial man who dispensed equal parts of equipment and good-natured teasing from his
“cage” at Memorial Field House, and later at Alumni Gymnasium.
Ridings and his cannon were fixtures at most home football
games. As a Union score looked imminent, Ridings would move over to his cannon to prepare
for a firing. Seconds after a touchdown, the cannon boomed and a cloud of white smoke
would obscure the cannoneer. The crowd would roar its approval, as much for Ridings and
his cannon as for the Union team.
“It's great,” he once said, “except
when the west wind is too strong and it forces the smoke back into the barrel. Then we
sometimes have complications.”
Ridings also used the cannon to start running races at
alumni events and cross country meets.
For many football games, Ridings was dressed in a Dutchman
costume complete with yellow wig and the deep-bowled pipe he used to smoke. At work in the
“cage,” he often wore a Union baseball jersey over his shirt and tie. He always
wore a Union baseball hat.
The College each spring presents the Robert B. Ridings
Award to a senior woman for her attitude, ability, participation and achievement in
intercollegiate sports.
He was retired, but continued to work part time until he
became ill last summer.
Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Anne Solarski
Ridings; a daughter, Dessa Anderson; and a son, Robert Jr.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Robert M.
Ridings Memorial Scholarship Fund at the College.