Brother Bob Selig brought more than just money and prestige to the Beta-Omicron house. He brought a bit of style and Hollywood glitz to the University of Denver, too. So when the Kappa Sigs were trying to raise $5 million for a new house in 1946, his brothers were impressed, but not necessarily surprised when Brother Selig brought Ginger Rogers to campus to raise money. Nor were they surprised when Brother Selig organized a stunt with the DU basketball team later that night. Dinner guests tossed basketballs to DU’s basketball players, most of whom were Kappa Sigs. Players then spelled out “$5 million” on the floor.“That was his flair for the unusual and innovative at work,” said Brother Gene Steinke ‘47. “He was a tremendous thinker. Though he was primarily behind the scenes, Bob was the best Kappa Sig I ever knew.” Brother Selig always went above and beyond what average college students would do. A graduate of Denver’s East High School, he took a job as a cub reporter at The Chicago Tribune for a year before enrolling at DU and joining Beta-Omicron. He left school four years later without getting his degree, a fact that hardly prevented him from serving as the president of DU’s Board of Trustees years later. After leaving, he worked at Fox Intermountain Theaters in Denver, where he earned a promotion by selling Shirley Temple dolls to little girls in beauty salons. He made a deal with shopkeepers offering them discounted dolls if they would give them away to girls who got their hair done with the popular “Shirley Temple curls.” He also opened a foreign-language theater in Denver before moving to Los Angeles to work for the Pacific Theaters chain. He married his wife, Olive, and they had a son, Robert while in Los Angeles. Despite his professional success, Brother Selig will be remembered most as a loyal Kappa Sig with an infectious personality. As the saying goes, people didn’t meet Brother Selig, they were met. “I remember that he was a dynamic individual. He could get up and speak at just about anything,” said Brother Shirley Huntsman ’30. “I used to live in Grand Junction, and I would meet Bob when I came to Denver. You automatically felt enthused and welcome when he talked to you.Bob was perhaps the most wonderful individual I ever met. His fraternity brothers felt the same way.”
Beta-Omicron Chapter of Kappa Sigma
The University of Denver
