Top of the Morning, Oct. 20, 2026

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Before Illini home games, we visit with fans pregaming outside Gies Memorial Stadium on "The News-Gazette Tailgate Show" (WDWS, WHMS, WSOY, WDAN). Saturday's program kicks off at 11 a.m. and includes a chat with St. Joseph's Ed Dunn and his fraternity brothers from IlliDell of Alpha Gamma Sigma.

Before their former house at 303 E. Chalmers was razed several years ago, a handful of items went to auction, including the basement bar. "About five us, we got together and purchased it," said Dunn (Class of '92). "We weren't sure what we were going to do with it. We were just sure we wanted it."

While strolling Lot 31 on a football Saturday, "we saw guys who had a trailer with a bar on it. That lit a fire. It took us visually seeing it to know what we could do."

Manteno's Ed LeSage took it from there, installing the 15-foot-long bar — surrounded by 12 stools — on a trailer that the brothers use on game day in Lot 31. It even has a name: Nobby's Bar.

"(Nobby) was a dog that was part of the fraternity before we joined. He'd sit at the bar with the fellas," Dunn said. "Guys from all over come back and say, 'Hey, Nobby's Bar is still alive.' It's just on a moving trailer."

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