By Abram Farrington | Staff Writer

Years ago, a campus-wide niche competition took students by storm, posing the question: who is the ugliest man on campus?

The Oct. 20, 1950, Lariat edition read, “What ravishing, dashing gentlemen will become Mr. Ugly of 1950? Who is the ugliest man on Baylor’s campus?”

The national fraternity Alpha Chi Omega conducted a campus-wide poll to determine the ugliest man on campus. Beyond the title of Mr. Ugly, the winner would receive bountiful gifts, including “the perfect weekend,” consisting of a lavish date, a luxurious sports car and a feature in the Baylor Homecoming Parade to promote the competition.

“Mr. Ugly man and his date will have a new car furnished with all expenses paid by Conner’s Rent-A-Car system for all day Saturday and Sunday; an orchid presented to his date by Reed’s Flower shop; Dinner for two at George’s Chef,” The Lariat read.

The stakes were high in this competition, and contestants began to enter the voting poll. The publicity skyrocketed.

The competition had five contestants: Hank Dickerson, Bryce Reid, Red Wilson, Buddy Parker and Bill Athey, each nominated by a girls’ social club on campus.

Each candidate was given a week to gain popularity and votes.

“There are no restrictions to voting,” The Lariat read. “A person may vote as often and as many times as he wishes. The price per vote is one cent. Voting is not restricted to students. Votes may be solicited from anyone, anywhere, as long as they pay their penny per vote.”

Over the span of a week, contestants gathered as many votes as they could. The voting even took place beyond Baylor’s campus, meaning families outside the bubble could vote, as could any long-distance friends in contact.

All the money raised went to the Baylor Bank for future service projects of APO. Tensions were high, and the contest reached high popularity.

In 1950, Parker, a Corpus Christi senior, was named Mr. Ugly. For what seemed to be a derogatory award, Parker was more than excited to participate in a light-hearted weekend celebration and even spent it with his fiancée. The football player had an eventful start to his celebratory weekend.

“Ugly Buddy had a very big weekend,” the Nov. 20, 1950, print read. “He started things off by scoring two touchdowns in Baylor’s upset victory over the Aggies. Saturday night, Parker escorted his fiancée, Norma Faye Walden about the town.”

Parker later took advantage of his nice car and clothes, finishing his weekend with a luxurious visit to church. The letterman in football and baseball added one more feather in his cap with the momentous weekend.

Mr. Ugly competitions were prominent throughout the state, not just on Baylor grounds. Many years prior, Texas schools rallied to find the ugliest college man in Texas after a TCU student said he was sure it was him.

After many Texas colleges offered a candidate for the competition, the TCU student’s claim stood. He was, in fact, the ugliest college man in Texas.

“Joe Frederick. Texas Christian University senior claims to be ‘The Ugliest College Man in Texas,'” The Lariat edition read.

Years ago, this competition was a home run. Now time has passed since the ugliest man competition was on Baylor’s campus. The brakes were pulled on the voting, and the contest fell off the pages of The Lariat in the ’70s.

Today, Baylor students recognize the challenges in reviving such an ambitious competition. Manama, Bahrain, sophomore Saud Shareef said the competition might be fun, but probably wouldn’t be the best event.

“The people participating in it would love it,” Shareef said. “But there will be people outside of it who would not like it.”

Likewise, Tulsa, Okla., sophomore Turner McGuire said the return of the contest would spark mixed reviews.

“I can see people having different reactions to it. It would be popular mostly because everyone would be surprised at the fact that there is a competition for such a thing,” McGuire said. “I don’t think it would get positive feedback. The competition would feel derogatory and would probably come across as degrading.”

On campus today, McGuire sees the risk of bringing it back. Though it seems fun, it can harm students who don’t understand it, he said.

“If it did come back, I hope I wouldn’t be participating in it,” McGuire said.