Long before schools added girl sport teams athletic mascot nicknames, there were many unusual mascot nicknames throughout the country. The school that I coached at had to add a girls sport nickname. Our boys were long called the Minutemen. We couldn’t possibly call the girls Minutemen or the Lady Minutemen. One student suggested the Betsey Ross. However, that didn’t sound right. So to stay as close to the boys mascot name as we could, several of my Volleyball girls suggested Minutemaids. I reminded them of the word maids and what it sort of stood for. In good nature, they said that even though it was in the title they didn’t care. So the mascot name Minutemaids came into being.
How does a group of individuals go about selecting a mascot? There are many ways. Religious schools tend to stay with generic names or names associated with their belief. Other schools have a committee that come up with a name. Some student bodies vote on a name. Some have contests for the best name. Some try to relate the mascot with the schools name. There is no set way to pick a mascot.
Some mascot names have come under scrutiny lately. The University of Illinois had to remove a Chief from a traditional dance routine. They are still called the Illini. However, now there is no mention of native Americans. A few professional teams are coming under siege as well. The Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins are two. In most cases, once a school has a nickname, it is there to stay. Most mascot names are selected to show courage, swiftness, stealth, strength, and might. However, as we will see below, I often wonder where some of these mascot names come from.
In Illinois, there are some rather unusual mascot names. Freeburg High School is called the Midgets. Centralia is the Orphan Annies. New Berlin is the Pretzels. One small school that shows a low of strength in their name is Fisher High School. They are called the Bunnies. You heard me right. I can understand Rabbits or Jack Rabbits for speed but, Bunnies. Teutopolis is called the Wooden Shoes. St. Hubert is called the Bambies.
Here are some head scratchers. The Shoals Jug Rox, Fairbury Jeffs, Cairo Syrupmakers, Watersmeet Nimrods, The Poca Dots, Tillamook Cheesemakers, Williamsport Millionaires ( I guess that is the rich school). Hickman High in Columbia, Missouri is called the Kewpies.
Mascot names are also unusual for Colleges and elementary schools as well. There is the St. Louis University Billiken, UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug, and Delta State is the Fighting Okra. Dewey Middle School is called the Dewey Ducks. One Junior High was called the Snails. I bet the Track coach liked that. Lewisville Texas is called the Fighting Farmers. Yuba City High is called the Honkers.
There are many generic names as well. Names like Hawks, Falcons, Eagles, Panthers, Devils, Tigers, Flyers, Warriors, Bears, and Bulldogs are used by many different schools.
Because of girl athletics, many place the name Lady before it. Examples Lady Bulldogs, Lady Panthers, and Lady Hawks. They use the term Lady to let others know the identity and sex of the team. That way there is no confusion with the boys.
Regardless of a mascot name and what it stands for, it is used as an identity for the team. To those that play under and for it, it stands alone as their team.
