(Digital Collections) This Is The Most 1990’s Video In Our Collections, And It Is Glorious

Oh, man. Let all that mid-90’s goodness settle in. It’s so perfect, it’s causing a Pavlovian response in my mind where everything tastes like Surge and smells like CK One and is swathed in flannel.

The context on this piece is that, in celebration of Baylor’s sesquicentennial year (1995), a fundraising packet was sent to previous donors and members of the Sesquicentennial Associates group encouraging their support of a major fundraising campaign. The video – on VHS, natch – was included along with a standard form letter.

A friend at the Mayborn Museum Complex, Trey Crumpton, found it in their archives and gave it a watch. It was important to his team because it mentions the goal of raising money for a new home for the Strecker Museum, which was then housed in the basement of the Sid Richardson Building. It was important to OUR team because, as the digital repository for the University Archives, it is our responsibility to preserve, provide access to and promote resources like this.

Plus, it’s really, really rad.

Let’s break it down from start to finish, shall we?

First off, that’s not legendary voiceover actor Don LaFontaine (a.k.a. the “in a world” movie trailer guy, a.k.a. “Thunder Throat”). I KNOW, RIGHT? I asked my friends in university marketing if they could find out who it was, and Brenda Tacker dug into her personal archive to come up with a name: John William Galt of the Dallas area. Yes, the V/O was done by a guy whose name is synonymous with a character in an Ayn Rand novel. And that’s just within the first five seconds.

Football Throw Fake Out Kid

C’mon, kid, we all know you wanted to throw the ball; why’d you choke? Sweet “bear paws on shoulders” jersey, though.

THAT HAIRCUT THO

That is the bowliest of bowl cuts, a true paragon of the Moe Howard School of 90’s Haircuts. (This coming from a guy who once rocked the George Clooney/Caesar Cut for a BIT too long past its expiration date, so I’m able to cast a few stones here.)

90’s Technology!

You have more computing power in your smart phone than that entire lab did 20 years ago.

Synchronicity 3

“We’re walking, we’re walking, we’re walking … ”

Nice ‘Stashe

And that’s a whole ozone layer’s worth of hairspray, too.

It’s Like Watching A Blacksmith Train His Apprentice!

No one under 25 knows how to develop and print their own photos anymore. But that is one tastefully lit darkroom shot!

Dead Things In The Basement

“Any ideas how we can make our natural history museum less creepy?”
“Stop making people go underground to see mounted skeletons?”

Bold Vision, Avant-Garde Scene Framing

“See the artist in his natural habitat, as framed through the slats of his studio’s staircase!”

A Democrat Governor of Texas!

Oh, look, it’s alumna and former governor Ann Richards. That’s one pink ensemble, Madame Governor!

All He’s Missing Is A Member’s Only Jacket

Man, Bugle Boy. That takes me back.

The Best On-Screen Graphics Money Could Buy

Take a good look at that logo, cause now it’s reserved for use with materials related to the President’s Office exclusively!

Those are just a few of my favorite moments found in this 7-minute treasure, but let us know if there’s something here that really brought you back to the Clinton Era. And, as a bonus, if you saw yourself somewhere in the video, tell us and we’ll add your name to this post (if you give permission, of course; you might have a deep-seeded aversion to people knowing about your questionable fashion choices)!

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You can view the entire record for this video in our Digital Collections here. Special thanks to Lori Fogleman, Brenda Tacker, Trey Crumpton and everyone involved in making, saving and unconditionally loving this video.