Thought I would make a fun thread before we get started into basketball season. I wanted to see how schools got their mascots and the cool stories behind them. Theirs a lot of good reasons and stories across the state and I wanted to hear them all! Please be constructive! I'm sure there is already a thread on this somewhere

I have no idea. Southern Trojans. Northwestern Purple and white.

Not sure about the Panthers mascot. But Augusta's colors are orange and black because the new school was dedicated the day before Halloween. I think before that they were red.

 

I think the Mason County Royals got their name from Kansas City baseball?

 

Campbell County Camels I would assume alliteration

Trinity High School Shamrocks.

 

In the fifth century, St. Patrick of Ireland used the shamrock to explain the mystery of the Holy Trinity: how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit could be three persons but just one God.

 

The colors are a combination of the colors of the two large Catholic high schools in Louisville at the time of Trinity's establishment in 1953. They took the green from St. Xavier and the white from Bishop Flaget and combined them into something greater than what had come before.

 

Glen Burnie Gophers, red and white. No idea how the mascot was chosen.

 

Glen Burnie High School - Wikipedia

Glen Burnie Gophers, red and white. No idea how the mascot was chosen.

 

Glen Burnie High School - Wikipedia

 

 

So you were in that '26 class?

Covington Catholic was founded by the Marianists, who are a congregation of Catholic brothers and priests who claim a particular devotion to the Virgin Mary as a model of faith and spirituality. The school's devotion to Mary gave way to its colors, blue and white, taken from the blue and white colors traditionally associated with Mary's tunic and mantle.

 

Cov Cath's Colonel mascot is primarily derived from the "Christian soldier" allegory, which comes from St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians where he said, "...be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full Armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."

 

That being the case, the school was looking for a mascot that fit the 'soldier' idea, and I guess they liked the sound of the Covington Catholic Colonels better than the Covington Catholic Corporals, Captains or Commodores. The school actually included a photo of Colonel W.S. Gilbreath in their 1934 yearbook (which was right around the time they started using the "Colonel" as their mascot), and cited him as one of the inspirations behind the Covington Catholic Colonels. Gilbreath had been a Captain in the US Army during the Civil War, was a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, and after going back to the civilian world, he was the man who conceived of and helped create the Dixie Highway through his involvement with the Detroit Automobile Owner's Club and the Michigan State Highway Commission.

 

The school briefly changed their mascot to the Crusaders (I have a copy of the 1944 yearbook to prove it), but they quickly changed back to the Colonel mascot.

 

Here's a link to listen to the original recording of the Covington Catholic Fight Song. It was written in 1957 by Bro. Raymond McQuade, one of the Marianist Brothers teaching at Cov Cath. My brother and I digitally recorded it for the school about a decade ago from an original 45 rmp record we were loaned by Coach Dan Tieman (CCH '58).

 

Colonel W.S. Gilbreath

So you were in that '26 class?

 

Hardy har.

I also heard Mason County got the Royals because the new school was built on a hill. King of the Hill and called the Royals.

I love the story behind the Somerset Briar Jumpers mascot. I'd rather let one of their folks tell it so I don't screw it up.

I love the story behind the Somerset Briar Jumpers mascot. I'd rather let one of their folks tell it so I don't screw it up.

 

This is our Legend...

 

The Somerset High School Team that took the field on that Saturday in October 1916, was optimistic, even though they had been greeted by 700 fans of the Louisville High School, with accompanying good nature jeers and shouted predictions of the gruesome fate they were going to encounter. The Louisville Boys High School had established an impressive record and was predicted to win the game by several touchdowns. Much to blue-clad Louisville's surprise, that purple and gold Somerset team showed NO MERCY. When the last play had been played, and that last whistle sounded, the score board displayed the unbelievable score of SOMERSET 51, LOUISVILLE 6. The tale of that days events were fully described in Louisville papers for days to come. The story, told in simple terms, is that a certain young man by the name of "Gooch", a sorrel topped mountaineer by the name of "Roberts", and a fully mature Irishman by the name of "McMillan" created high school football history on the banks of the Ohio.

 

Louisville sportswriters were knocking themselves out trying to describe the drubbing that was perpetrated. One writer, Mr. Johnny Head, who had fully recovered from the shock, was frantically searching for some previous occurrence with which to compare the extraordinary athletic speed and skill used to evade Louisville tacklers. That is when he remembered the story of Uncle Remus, the briar patch, and the elusive ways the Somerset team had of getting around or evading, obstructions. He also remembered the expression "Bawn and bred in de briar patch". Immediately he christened the Somerset team "Briar Jumpers" because they too were quick, swift-footed, masters of evading obstructions - and "Briar Jumpers" at home in their "Briar Patch" it has been ever since.

 

Of course home court and home fields are known as The Briar Patch. I'm not sure how Purple and Gold became our colors, maybe another Briar Jumper can help me out with that. It seems as if it started out Purple and White and changed later to Purple and Gold, but I could be mistaken.

Southwestern High (Pulaski Co) opened in the early 90's...students that would be coming to the school were able to vote on school colors and mascot. They chose Blue and Orange (Florida) and Warriors (W/Florida St. style spear logos). Home field is called the Reservation.

Silver Grove got big trains because of the old train yard

I'm sure @Mustang knows about Bishop Brossart

I'm sure @Mustang knows about Bishop Brossart

Mustangs is a carryover from the St. Mary High School Mustangs (1954-61) from which Brossart High School evolved. When we became a central high school that served six Southern Campbell County parishes and renamed Bishop Brossart High School, the Mustangs mascot came along.