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FROM THE ARCHIVES

By Eva Philips Staff writer

This week in Mercyhurst history, we travel back to the 1970s, when Mercyhurst had recently become a coeducational institution by welcoming men as students.

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On March 27, 1974, a few of the new men of Mercyhurst showed off their knack for mischief by staging one of Mercyhurst’s most comical pranks: the Big Boy Heist.

Several members of the men’s crew team managed to steal the seven-foot-tall, 150-pound Big Boy statue that stood outside Elby’s Restaurant on the intersection of 38th Street and Peach Street.

They offered a ransom for the statue, requesting free sodas and food from the restaurant in exchange for its safe return. The prank was a hit, causing widespread amusement throughout Erie at the men’s antics, and is recorded in the official chronology of Mercyhurst history as a key event.

There is even a picture of it in the hallway of Old Main with all of the other impactful events that have happened at Mercyhurst.

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