John “Button” Salmon — Epsilon Alpha #79 — was student body president at the University of Arizona, captain and quarterback of the Wildcat football team, and catcher on the varsity baseball team. In the fall of 1926, days before a game against New Mexico State, he was gravely injured in a car accident north of Phoenix.
“Bear Down”
From his hospital bed, Salmon sent word to head coach J.F. “Pop” McKale: “Tell them… tell the team to bear down.” He died on October 18, 1926. Within weeks, “Bear Down” had spread across campus and became the rallying cry that still defines University of Arizona athletics today — a phrase born from one of Epsilon Alpha’s own brothers.
A Legacy That Endures
Salmon’s words are engraved on the McKale Center and echoed before every Wildcat game. Epsilon Alpha has carried that legacy for a century, including through the McKale/Salmon Fund, which supports the chapter house and honors his memory. 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of “Bear Down.”
Coach McKale and the Chapter
J.F. “Pop” McKale, a Gamma Gamma chapter Sigma Nu, coached Salmon and carried his words forward for the rest of his career at Arizona. The bond between McKale and Epsilon Alpha is part of why the chapter still honors Salmon’s memory today.
