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The UW’s first Homecoming royal on record is Queen Virginia Bohn ’36, pictured here in the 1936 Badger yearbook. At her side is Howard Heun ’36, who was not a king, but served as general chairman for the homecoming committee. The yearbook affectionately dubbed the duo “Howie and Queen Ginger.” In 1937, the Badger began referencing a court of honor, which presumably added more royals, or at least nobles, to the party. Despite there being a king for countless campus dances in the mid-20th century, including the pre-prom, the junior prom, the summer prom, the Snow Ball, and the Military Ball, the yearbook does not name a Homecoming king until 1945, when Dan Murphy ’47 won the first of two consecutive crowns. By 2011, royalty fell out of favor on campus, and the court was replaced with a scholarship program. Today’s Homecoming regime includes the Wisconsin Union, the Wisconsin Homecoming Committee, and the Wisconsin Alumni Association. Long live us!

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