I'm certain the Bryan Station "Defenders" came from early KY history. Creek Indians besieged the settlement there once if my History memory is in order.

 

Same with Harrodsburg "Pioneers." (i.e. Fort Harrod)

I don't know the entire story, but I want to think Brooksville High School was the Polar Bears because the gym they played in didn't have heat. Because it was so cold during the winter months of basketball season the team was referred to as the Polar Bears. When Bracken County High School opened they kept the same nickname. I've always hoped that their gym was nicknamed "The Igloo."

 

I was going to ask how in the world did Bracken County become the Polar Bears. I'll always remember traveling to Bracken County for a game when Boyle played and I laughed and laughed about the Polar Bears. Thanks for the info.

The story behind Cooper's mascot entails a mystery that went unsolved for 35 years.

 

This story entails 2 states, KY and AZ. The land where the school sits used to be a large farm. It was mostly dense with trees but did have some livestock housed in a field near an old barn. Back in the early 70's a family living in Ft. Mitchell visited Canada and the Western United states one summer on vacation. This family were one of the biggest animal lovers you will find. While in Canada, they discovered a species of squirrel they have never seen before. A Black squirrel, as black as coal. Well against the govt's knowledge they were able to cpature a few of these squirrels and decided to take them back home to Ft. Mitchell KY. Before they headed for home they were drove throughout the Southwest and while visiting the Grand Canyon and Sodona AZ they met a couple who had raised wild cats that were fund abandoned by their mothers. They happened to have a baby Jaguar that this family fell in love with, so along with the squirrels they got a cage to transport the Jaguar cub back home with them.

 

Well because it was against the law to house a wild animal in the city limits of Ft. Mitchell they had to keep it quiet. When returning home, they released the squirrels in their neighborhood, you can still see black squirrels if you drive through Ft. Mitchell to this day, several of them on Pleasant Ridge and the area surrounding. The squirrels mulitplied and are doing just fine to this day. The Jaguar cub was another story. They kept the cat penned up for as long as they could without anyone knowing they had him. Once the Jaguar got too big they thought about donating him to the Cincinnati Zoo but were afraid of the ramifications once it became public they raised a wild cat in the city limits. The Jaguar got along with humans due to the fact that is all he knew since he was a cub. They didn't know what to do until one day their son who was 27 at this time told his parents that there was a place where he would deer hunt in Union where it was very dense with woods and plenty of deer and other wildlife in the area and was far enough away from the general population that it would be safe. So one night they packed up the Jaguar and drove to Boone County KY where they found the spot. They walked for miles into the woods until they found a spot to release the cat. To make a long story short, the cat found it's way after a year or two to the farm. Livestock started dying off.

 

At first the owners of the farm thought it was coyotes killing off their cows but they couldn't catch them in the act. So for a week the farmer stayed out at the barn trying to catch the invader. On the third night, much to his surprise, he spotted the Jaguar walking along the fencline and before he could think he fired off a shot to scare the cat away. He wasn't sure what it was, just a big cat, maybe a mountain lion, who knows. Anyway he called Animal control who then got him in touch with a zoologist at the cinicinnati Zoo, eventually they were able to catch the cat and he was eventually sent to the Nashville Zoo. He did pass away back in 1998.

 

Anyway the farmer eventually sold a good size parcel of his land to the county where they built Cooper High School. The School sits on the land where the old barn used to reside and where they caught the Jaguar. Which is why Cooper uses the mascot Jaguars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, I made it all up....well not all of it, the part about the black squirrels is true.

Ram stole my favorite too, the Poca Dots. Classic!!

 

Like CoachBuckett, I am surprised there isn't a Miners, Diggers, Dusters, Strippers, etc. in eastern KY.

 

Oh, there are some strippers in eastern KY....just sayin.

The story behind Cooper's mascot entails a mystery that went unsolved for 35 years.

 

 

Ok, I made it all up....well not all of it, the part about the black squirrels is true.

 

 

you have no idea how intrigued, and subsequently disappointed i was!!!

 

 

The Royals of Mason Co. have a cool origin story:

 

When the Minerva/Orangeburg/Lewisburg (I think, McPapa can correct that) merged, they built the school "Up on the hill." the only city school left to compete with the county school was the famed "Maysville Bulldogs" and since the new school was up on the hill, they picked Royals because they were to be "The Kings of the Hill"

Massey Ratings Mascot Database

 

Link to national list of mascots and the number of schools using each name....#1 in USA is Eagles

 

Top Ten

 

Eagles 1240

Tigers 941

Bulldogs 849

Panthers 841

Wildcats 748

Warriors 717

Lions 569

Cougars 540

Indians 443

Knights 441

Plenty of room for cats, dogs and birds when dealing with mascots.

Previous post is link to list including HS and College

 

Here is HS top 10

 

Eagles 1148

Tigers 863

Bulldogs 788

Panthers 783

Wildcats 692

Warriors 656

Lions 509

Cougars 463

Indians 417

Mustangs 404

I don't know the entire story, but I want to think Brooksville High School was the Polar Bears because the gym they played in didn't have heat. Because it was so cold during the winter months of basketball season the team was referred to as the Polar Bears. When Bracken County High School opened they kept the same nickname. I've always hoped that their gym was nicknamed "The Igloo."

 

I was going to ask how in the world did Bracken County become the Polar Bears. I'll always remember traveling to Bracken County for a game when Boyle played and I laughed and laughed about the Polar Bears. Thanks for the info.

 

The story I had always heard (while growing up on the mean streets of Brooksville) was that years ago the team occasionally practiced on an outdoor court that used to be located in front of the old high school. It was literally a few feet from the street & someone mentioned that the boys looked like "a bunch of Polar Bears" out there practicing in the cold. And the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Could be an urban legend, but it sure does sound interesting.

I was going to ask how in the world did Bracken County become the Polar Bears. I'll always remember traveling to Bracken County for a game when Boyle played and I laughed and laughed about the Polar Bears. Thanks for the info.

 

We don't appreciate you laughing at us, Purple Kool-Aid boy.

 

How long ago was this game? I remember Bracken & Boyle doing a home & home just a few years ago. I think Bracken won one of those games, but not sure.

The story I had always heard (while growing up on the mean streets of Brooksville) was that years ago the team occasionally practiced on an outdoor court that used to be located in front of the old high school. It was literally a few feet from the street & someone mentioned that the boys looked like "a bunch of Polar Bears" out there practicing in the cold. And the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Could be an urban legend, but it sure does sound interesting.

I've heard both stories. I don't which is true or if it was a combination of the two, but it seems to be a point of controversy.

I've heard both stories. I don't which is true or if it was a combination of the two, but it seems to be a point of controversy.

 

The Ledger-Independent did a story on it once, but it's been a long time ago.

That's an awesome story. I had no idea how that name, which is kind of odd for sports team, had came about. :thumb:

I always found it kind of a interesting fact. Some good history in the reason behind the mascot.

Dayton "Greendevils"

Dayton "Greendevils"

 

Lancaster High School (which later consolidated into Garrard County) was also called the Green Devils, but it was two words, not one like Dayton. I'm not aware of any other schools that had that nickname.