Skipper Crew Gun Captain cadet junior Tim Brooks attempts to remove a stuck primer from Skipper, which rendered the cannon unable to fire during the second quarter of Saturday's game.
During the second quarter of Saturday's football game against Wake Forest, the Corps of Cadets' iconic cannon, Skipper, malfunctioned and was not able to continue firing.
Ten sophomore and junior cadets who man Skipper during football games noticed the malfunction when one of its primers, which are the size of a .22LR casing and ignite the cannon's charge, became stuck inside the cannon. Because of this, more primers could not be inserted into the cannon, rendering it unable to be fired.
Skipper, which was first introduced to the Virginia Tech football tradition in 1964 by several cadets, including notable alumni Homer Hickam, is fired in celebration of every score at Tech home football games.
Cadet members of the Skipper Crew said Saturday afternoon the cannon has not malfunctioned since 1982.
Members of the crew were working diligently Saturday afternoon to correct the malfunction.
"Although attempts were made on the field to repair the cannon, the proper tools were not available to conduct the repairs," said the Gun Captain of the Skipper Crew, junior cadet Tim Brooks.
Cadet members of the crew expressed hopes that the cannon would be functional again for the next Tech home football game against Duke next Saturday.
A version of this article appeared in the Oct 19 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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Well it did get an awful lot of use in those first two quarters
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Came to say that. You beat me to it.
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