Rutgers' most famous alum chimes in

What would the school’s most famous alum say about the current Rutgers scandal?

“Oh, Rutgers, you’ve done it again!”

Okay, well that’s a reference to Rutgers’ most famous fictional alum – Mr. Magoo.

You remember, Magoo, right? One of the early stars of animation. One of Magoo’s traits was that he was blind as a bat, even with those giant spectacles. Had he been shown the videotape of Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice physically and verbally abusing his players, Magoo probably would have reacted the same way school president Robert Barchi did – ignorantly.

Another black eye for college athletics. More importantly, though, any big news about Rutgers is an opportunity for me to fondly recall my experience with the Rutgers/Mr. Magoo connection:

Back in the summer of 1985, I was an intern at SPORT Magazine (like Magoo, a classic that’s no longer around). Working in the research department, I was enlisted to help writer David Whitford with a story he was doing on the seemingly perennial woes of Rutgers athletics. Whitford wanted to reference Magoo, who was often pictured in the cartoons sitting alone in the bleachers, waving a pennant and chanting “Rah, rah, rah for Rutgers!”

My mission: Find out why Mr. Magoo was a Rutgers fan.

Funny thing is, this was long before the internet made such research easier – yet the information I got cannot be found in a cursory web search today.

I started making calls to anyone associated with United Pictures of America, the company that produced and distributed Magoo. It was going nowhere. Then, out of the blue, I found myself talking to a man named Millard Kaufman – the creator of Mr. Magoo. Paydirt!

Why is Mr. Magoo a Rutgers’ fan? I asked. “Because he’s an alum, of course,” was the reply. Which led to my next question: Why did he go to Rutgers?

Kaufman explained that it made sense that a lovable loser like Magoo would be from New Jersey, and he would surely stay close to home for college.

“And,” Kaufman explained matter-of-factly, “Magoo wasn’t smart enough to go to Princeton.”