Virginia Tech Fight Song

Nottoway County · dedicated 2019 · 1020 South Main St.

Blackstone residents Mattie Walton Epes (1896-1993) and Wilfred Preston “Pete” Maddux (1897-1977) wrote the popular Virginia Tech fight song “Tech Triumph” at this house in 1919. Maddux, who had entered Virginia Polytechnic Institute as a freshman in 1916 and served in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War I, asked Epes to help him write a song for the school. Epes improvised a tune on the piano, while Maddux wrote down the score and composed lyrics. The song, a product of “instantaneous inspiration,” was first played at a Virginia Tech football game in Nov. 1919 and quickly won the approval of the Tech Corps of Cadets. Columbia Records issued a recording in 1920.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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Virginia Tech Fight Song

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