The "Wabash Cannonball" (arranged by Joel Leach) is known as a second fight song for K-State. Wabash Cannonball was first performed for an athletic event at K-State on December 16, 1968. It was the only selection in the band's repertoire that evening for a home basketball game at Ahearn Fieldhouse. Just three nights prior, arsonists had set fire to Nichols Hall, at that time the home of the Music Department, destroying all of the departments assets, including the sheet music. The band director at that time, Phil Hewett, just happened to have taken this one piece home from the library that very night to do some work on the arrangement, thus making it the only selection to survive the fire. Since then, the Wabash Cannonball has come to represent the survival of the underdog in the hearts and minds of all true K-State fans, and has earned a secure place in the KSUMB's history and traditions.