News From Fort Schuyler

May 10, 1999 - Volume 3, No. 24 - Domer Redux

"Domer Survey Feedback Issue" (2:5 -1/22/98)
"Domer Survey Feedback Issue #2" (2:9b - 2/15/98)
"Domer Derived" item (2:55 - 12/1/98)
"What’s in a Name (II)" item (2:58 - 12/17/98)
"More Domer Lore" item (3:8 - 2/4/99)

ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS - Two more contributions to NFFS on the subject, both of which refer to the original survey, do, however, provide additional details (seasoning?) to this etymological lobcsouse:

"I read the web page which explored the possible roots for the term ‘Domer,’" writes DON DREVES, Class of 1969, "and can't resist providing the real story behind the term. What is most surprising is that no one has passed it on before. This is how it actually came into being:

The term ‘Domer’ is derived from the term ‘Maridome,’ which came into use in the mid- to late 60’s. Houston’s Astrodome opened for baseball in 1965, and, as the first enclosed baseball stadium achieved instant celebrity as the Eighth Wonder of the World. In contrast, the Maritime College’s baseball team spent its spring baseball season on the College’s exposed windswept, freezing, potholed, rock-strewn, and muddy or rock-hard (depending on the day’s weather) ball field. Conditions on Maritime’s field were so poor that they actually contributed to ‘home field advantage' against visiting teams accustomed to playing on better surfaces and in more sheltered conditions.

Maritime’s baseball team, lamenting the playing conditions they were forced to endure, began to derisively refer to the field/playing environment as the Maridome, an obvious counterpoint to the celebrity, grandeur, comfort, and uniform playing conditions of Houston’s new ballpark. BOB ZANCHELLI [Class of 1968] probably coined the term (in the spring of '67 or '68), but it's hard to say for sure, because the word and concept were instant hits and the expression was immediately picked up by everybody. Team members soon began referring to themselves as Maridomers, and in time the usage expanded to the College’s other teams, and then to the College itself. By the spring of '69 I recall hearing it shortened to simply, ‘Domer.’ Use of the term apparently blossomed in the early 70's.

Don also sent a follow-up note: "I should amend my earlier note with the following reference point for information already posted on the ‘What is a Domer’ web page. At least four members of the Class of '69 played in an organized table top hockey league during the '68 - '69 school years. Several of the league members also played baseball for Maritime, and another roomed with one of the players and was always involved in some way or another with Maritime sports."

"The league usually played several games each game evenings, so three, four or more league members would be present, one serving as referee and the rest spectators. On occasion, someone would experience a Cosell moment describing the on-ice action which tended to be very aggressive and fast-paced. The term Maridome, brought in from the ball field, was often used Cosell-fashion to identify where the contest was being played."

"Greetings from an Original Domer." writes RICH MORAN, Class of 1970. "I have recently logged onto the Alumni web page for the first time and have found it fascinating. I read your article ‘What is a Domer?’ with great interest, especially since I might be able to help clear up a little of the mystery concerning the origin of the term."

"I believe it would be safe to say that the term ’Maridome’ came first and a ‘Domer’ was one who attended the Maridome; and that the terms first came to be used in late 1968 or early 1969. As you know, the late '60s were a time of political turmoil on college campuses throughout the nation. At Schuyler we were pretty well insulated from that turmoil with ‘liberty’ limited to a day and a half on the weekends and Wednesday evening. Still, we were not totally unaware of the world around us. Some cadets wanted to protest against US policy in Vietnam and others in favor of it. In almost every case, the college administration either prohibited or severely restricted any form of protest.

During the '68 -'69 academic year I was Editor of the Porthole, which that year had a top-notch staff of writers and two particularly talented cartoonists. One was ANDY "AZ" STEC of my class ('70) and the other was a MUG named DEAN D. HAGER. We published monthly and for one of the fall issues, either AZ or Hager drew a wonderfully devastating cartoon showing an aerial view of Throggs Neck viewed from just east of the bridge. The entire campus was under a clear dome (a la pheasant under glass). I don't remember the exact caption, but it contained the term ‘Maridome’ and referred to the cadet's isolation from the "real world" beyond the guard shack. Prior to that cartoon appearing in the Porthole, I don't recall ever hearing the terms ‘Maridome’ or ‘Domer’ used. However, by the spring of 1969 they both were in general use around the campus.