School Logo History/Backstory

Mr. Slippery said:
Is that the reason, or is it to differentiate Hamilton HS from the era of when Hamilton had 2 public HSs?
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It could be, but they recombined the two high schools (Taft and Garfield) in the early 80s. Might be for some older citizens.

I hear Hamilton High or HHS colloquially, too.

Taft's building is now Hamilton High School (although it has undergone extensive renovation and expansion.

Garfield has been a middle school for decades.
 
Came across this when I was researching a story for Findlay's 100th year of football. Much credit to the late, great Dave Egbert for his diligent work ... The historic first game between Findlay and Fostoria, located about 10 miles apart, was in 1898. When Findlay showed up at Fostoria for that first-ever game, it was discovered both schools had opted for the colors red and black. It was decided that the winner of the game could claim those colors, with the loser having to go with another scheme. Fostoria won the game 15-12, and the Redmen, a state power under Dick Kidwell in the 1990s, have worn the red and black ever since. As Findlay players and fans were boarding the trolley for the rail-ride home, someone pulled aside Edna Bigelow, believed to be a member of the school's spirit squad, and told her to gather together a group of her friends and decide a new color scheme for the football uniforms. Monday morning arrived, but none of the friends Edna was counting on could say the same thing. When confronted in the hallway by a team official, she blurted out the first two colors that came to mind -- blue and gold -- and the Trojans have been so decked out ever since.

As for team mascots, one of the more interesting stories I've heard over the years involved Upper Scioto Valley, a Hardin County school that was the consolidation of three small towns in the 50s or 60s. When it came time to decide a sports mascot for the new school, it was decided to use the first letter of the names of each small town -- Roundhead, Alger and McGuffey -- and thus they became the Upper Scioto Valley Rams.
 
Columbus Mifflin Cowpunchers I'm sure have an interesting tale to tell. John Marshall Lawyers makes sense. Wonder how many schools in the country have the nickname Lawyers. I guess it could've easily been the "Chief Justices'"

A lot of city league schools in Ohio history have interesting nicknames. One of my favorites from the Toledo City League is that of Toledo Libbey's nickname the Cowboys. School was built on and remained on Western Avenue in Toledo. At the time of its construction that part of Toledo really was the western edge of the city and the name Cowboys worked well I'm told. Legend has it that Toledo Woodward's first principal was a graduate of Ohio Northern (the polar bears) and also because Woodward was the northern most school in TPS. So Woodward Polar Bears made sense. The Columbus West Cowboys are named as such for I'm sure the same reasons as Toledo Libbey.

Lima Senior was a by-product of the merger of Central and South High School in Lima. Central was the Dragons and South the Tigers. Not 100% sure on how Lima Senior became the Spartans.

Triway High School became the Titans when the school was created. The story goes that Triway opened the first year of the New York City Titans of the AFL and they liked the name and ran with it.

Shawnee High School is the Indians and IMO works well. Shawnee Indians. Makes sense

Wapakoneta Redskins makes sense. Wapaghkonnetta was a Shawnee Chief. Would've been fun in the WBL if Wapak used the nickname Shawnee as their nickname. If I were Wapak I would hold this over Shawnee High School's head every time. Let them know that they may be the Indians but Wapakoneta is the CHIEF.
 
geezer66 said:
Came across this when I was researching a story for Findlay's 100th year of football. Much credit to the late, great Dave Egbert for his diligent work ... The historic first game between Findlay and Fostoria, located about 10 miles apart, was in 1898. When Findlay showed up at Fostoria for that first-ever game, it was discovered both schools had opted for the colors red and black. It was decided that the winner of the game could claim those colors, with the loser having to go with another scheme. Fostoria won the game 15-12, and the Redmen, a state power under Kidwell in the 1990s, have worn the red and black ever since. As Findlay players and fans were boarding the trolley for the rail-ride home, someone pulled aside Edna Bigelow, believed to be a member of the school's spirit squad, and told her to gather together a group of her friends and decide a new color scheme for the football uniforms. Monday morning arrived, but none of the friends Edna was counting on could say the same thing. When confronted in the hallway by a team official, she blurted out the first two colors that came to mind -- blue and gold -- and the Trojans have been so decked out ever since.

As for team mascots, one of the more interesting stories I've heard over the years involved Upper Scioto Valley, a Hardin County school that was the consolidation of three small towns in the 50s or 60s. When it came time to decide a sports mascot for the new school, it was decided to use the first letter of the names of each small town -- Roundhead, Alger and McGuffey -- and thus they became the Upper Scioto Valley Rams.
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That sir is why I internet. Awesome stuff brother.
 
Akron had the West Cowboys as well. North Vikings. South Cavaliers, Central Wildcats and East Orientals. Only North Vikings remain. Although East high remains but East was forced to change their name to Dragons despite the fact that Orientals had nothing to do with the Asian term. Rather it referred to the Orient, pyramids, desert and such. My dad's 1935 class ring shows pyramids, desert landscapes.
 
scbuckeye99 said:
A lot of city league schools in Ohio history have interesting nicknames.
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Most of the schools in Cincinnati Public have boring, I mean traditional nicknames-Withrow Tigers, Woodward Bulldogs, Aiken Falcons but there are a few good ones:

-Taft Senators (school is actually named after Robert, not WH)

-Western Hills, or West High as most call it, Mustangs (alma mater of Pete Rose and Don Zimmer, among others)

-Hughes Big Red (usually use a logo similar to KC Chiefs)

For Ohio at least, Cleveland Glenville gets my vote for best nickname with the Tarblooders.
 
scbuckeye99 said:
A lot of city league schools in Ohio history have interesting nicknames. One of my favorites from the Toledo City League is that of Toledo Libbey's nickname the Cowboys. School was built on and remained on Western Avenue in Toledo. At the time of its construction that part of Toledo really was the western edge of the city and the name Cowboys worked well I'm told. Legend has it that Toledo Woodward's first principal was a graduate of Ohio Northern (the polar bears) and also because Woodward was the northern most school in TPS. So Woodward Polar Bears made sense. The Columbus West Cowboys are named as such for I'm sure the same reasons as Toledo Libbey.
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Cleveland's public schools have some terrific nicknames.

In addition to John Marshall being the Lawyers and Glenville being the Tarblooders, I believe both East Tech and West Tech had stints as the Carpenters before changing to the respective nicknames of Scarabs and Warriors. West Tech closed about 25 years ago. East High was the Bombers, and South High was the Flyers. Both have been closed for a decade or more. John Hay was originally the Bookkeepers before becoming the Hornets. I don't know that Jane Addams offers any sports, but the school nickname is the Executives.

wildcat71 said:
Akron had the West Cowboys as well. North Vikings. South Cavaliers, Central Wildcats and East Orientals. Only North Vikings remain. Although East high remains but East was forced to change their name to Dragons despite the fact that Orientals had nothing to do with the Asian term. Rather it referred to the Orient, pyramids, desert and such. My dad's 1935 class ring shows pyramids, desert landscapes.
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I've found that the Beacon Journal originally referred to North HS as the Eskimos. This would've been in the '20s. No mention of Vikings at that time. I know South HS also used the nickname Big Blue, but I haven't investigated enough to determine if that nickname was freely interchanged with the Cavaliers, or if the school made a definitive switch from one to the other. As you probably know, Akron began with Central HS and then added the directional HSs (South being the first of the directionals) before moving on to naming them for people or the neighborhood (Garfield, Firestone, Hower, Buchtel, Ellet, Kenmore). It appears Garfield was the first of the Akron HSs to not carry a directional name.
 
This is what I know.

Fort Recovery Indians:
Fort Recovery decided on the "Indian" moniker in honor of the two historic and pivotal battles fought on the banks of the Wabash river, where the town was built upon. The first battle, Little Turtle, Blue Jacket and their combined nation army utterly massacred the U.S. forces. So our nickname pays homage and complete respect for the natives, and maybe even to invoke our young athletes with the fighting spirit of the Indians who fought there more than 225 years ago.
According to old year books, the original logo was your typical full head dressed illustrated mascot.
redskin-logo-no-background-recolor4.jpeg

Somewhere in the 80s, The Fort decided they didn't want to have the exact same logo as their direct rival from the East, the St. Henry Redskins (but with a better pallet swap). So local artist Phil Wood came up with the more known logo. Trying to be more historically accurate with the classic depiction of local tribes. Losing the full headdress and Aiming for a more simpler and faithful look, with the three feathers and hanging hair.
fortrecovery2.png

I'll note this, failed rebranding, because I kinda liked it.
In 2012(?) Phil Wood was commissioned to repaint a new logo on the flat end of Fort Site Fieldhouse. A more unique over-the-top cartoony buff Indian with two toned Purples accompanied by White and Black accents. There were shirts with this logo made that are still around and the same logo is still up on the sides of the baseball field. The rebranding didn't last and FSF was repainted once again in 2016. This is the only photo I can find of it.
images.jpg

Finally we have this more detailed Indian brave head. This is what the school currently goes with now. It's everywhere, and I suspect that it's because someone finally learned how .pngs and vector art works... but I digress.
logo_outline.png
 
OUcats82 said:
Most of the schools in Cincinnati Public have boring, I mean traditional nicknames-Withrow Tigers, Woodward Bulldogs, Aiken Falcons but there are a few good ones:

-Taft Senators (school is actually named after Robert, not WH)

-Western Hills, or West High as most call it, Mustangs (alma mater of Pete Rose and Don Zimmer, among others)

-Hughes Big Red (usually use a logo similar to KC Chiefs)

For Ohio at least, Cleveland Glenville gets my vote for best nickname with the Tarblooders.
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And Akron Buchtel Griffins. I also was partial to Akron East ORIENTALS before they changed.
 
IndianaBanana said:
This is what I know.

Fort Recovery Indians:
Fort Recovery decided on the "Indian" moniker in honor of the two historic and pivotal battles fought on the banks of the Wabash river, where the town was built upon. The first battle, Little Turtle, Blue Jacket and their combined nation army utterly massacred the U.S. forces. So our nickname pays homage and complete respect for the natives, and maybe even to invoke our young athletes with the fighting spirit of the Indians who fought there more than 225 years ago.
According to old year books, the original logo was your typical full head dressed illustrated mascot.
View attachment 7960
Somewhere in the 80s, The Fort decided they didn't want to have the exact same logo as their direct rival from the East, the St. Henry Redskins (but with a better pallet swap). So local artist Phil Wood came up with the more known logo. Trying to be more historically accurate with the classic depiction of local tribes. Losing the full headdress and Aiming for a more simpler and faithful look, with the three feathers and hanging hair.
View attachment 7961
I'll note this, failed rebranding, because I kinda liked it.
In 2012(?) Phil Wood was commissioned to repaint a new logo on the flat end of Fort Site Fieldhouse. A more unique over-the-top cartoony buff Indian with two toned Purples accompanied by White and Black accents. There were shirts with this logo made that are still around and the same logo is still up on the sides of the baseball field. The rebranding didn't last and FSF was repainted once again in 2016. This is the only photo I can find of it.
View attachment 7964
Finally we have this more detailed Indian brave head. This is what the school currently goes with now. It's everywhere, and I suspect that it's because someone finally learned how .pngs and vector art works... but I digress.
View attachment 7965
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Don't think you'll have that much longer...even with the great history. The Political Correctness police will force a change...
 
wildcat71 said:
And Akron Buchtel Griffins. I also was partial to Akron East ORIENTALS before they changed.
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I've always liked Griffins-as a mascot or just a creature in stories etc.

The Grand Rapids Griffins hockey team has a contest every year where fans can enter a jersey design that will be made and worn by the players. They are then auctioned off for charity.

.
 
Lowellville high school’s mascot—The Rockets, was formally recognized in 1946 after they held a contest. Contestants were challenged with picking a new nickname for Lowellville high school as they were originally the Blue Devils. The winner was promised $20.00 (200.00 with today’s inflation) if their nickname was selected.
 
StateChampion2012 said:
Coldwater says hold my keg.
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Oh wow, how did I never notice that one?

Reminds me of Crapoleon, where it gets REAL thin between Liberty Center and Patrick Henry and then widens back out because McClure apparently decided sending their kids across the county to Napoleon was better than the 8 mile drive to LC or being involved with towns that actually neighbor them, like Grand Rapids, Weston, or Malinta.
 
ghsknightsfan said:
all very odd boundaries!
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Buckeye Valley is an especially frustrating one because of that far southwest pocket. The high school is north of Delaware, no reason why kids living along and south of US-42 on that side of the district should be attending BVHS. Jonathan Alder makes more sense for some, Olentangy better sense for others.
 
The Dock said:
Buckeye Valley is an especially frustrating one because of that far southwest pocket. The high school is north of Delaware, no reason why kids living along and south of US-42 on that side of the district should be attending BVHS. Jonathan Alder makes more sense for some, Olentangy better sense for others.
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it doesn’t look like Buckeye Valley even borders JA. but that southwest pocket is very frustrating- you would think it could be 2 separate districts
 
ghsknightsfan said:
it doesn’t look like Buckeye Valley even borders JA. but that southwest pocket is very frustrating- you would think it could be 2 separate districts
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Fairbanks cuts BV off from JA, but there’s no good way to get to FB from the Rt. 42 corridor. Alder is right down 42.

This could probably be said for other districts, but BV is one where the drawn lines 50-60+ years ago have become incongruent with the human geography patterns and evolution of the past 15-20 years. Delaware County has grown immensely. Dublin, Plain City and their adjacent areas have also grown and expanded in population. That pocket really should be dissolved for Olentangy, Dublin, Fairbanks, JA and maybe even Delaware City to absorb. It would be a different discussion if there weren’t 3-4 55mph+ roads (42, 36, SR 257 and 745) that link easily to other districts. Just my opinion
 
The Dock said:
Fairbanks cuts BV off from JA, but there’s no good way to get to FB from the Rt. 42 corridor. Alder is right down 42.

This could probably be said for other districts, but BV is one where the drawn lines 50-60+ years ago have become incongruent with the human geography patterns and evolution of the past 15-20 years. Delaware County has grown immensely. Dublin, Plain City and their adjacent areas have also grown and expanded in population. That pocket really should be dissolved for Olentangy, Dublin, Fairbanks, JA and maybe even Delaware City to absorb. It would be a different discussion if there weren’t 3-4 55mph+ roads (42, 36, SR 257 and 745) that link easily to other districts. Just my opinion
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i really like your idea of district boundaries being determined by major roads. i’ve seen some of it but it makes plenty of sense when you think about it
 
From Wikipedia:

The Buckeye Valley Local School District was established in 1961 as a merger of the former Elm Valley (Ashley & Kilbourne/Brown High School), Scioto Valley (Ostrander, Bellpoint, and Warrensburg) and Radnor school districts. The State of Ohio was going to revoke the charter for the Radnor and Elm Valley districts due to the lack of facilities for high school students. While the Radnor district was looking to merge with schools in Marion County (Prospect and Waldo) and Elm Valley was in discussions to merge with Marengo schools in Morrow County, the Delaware County School board and county commissioners forced a merger of Scioto Valley, Elm Valley, and Radnor as to keep all these students going to school in Delaware County.

The Southwest pocket actually, at least 60 years ago, was the one that could have survived on its own. It would be by far the smallest school in the county today, and may have eventually been merged with Fairbanks, Marysville, Delaware, or even Dublin or Olentangy as they grew, but it was the one prepared to go alone.

That history leads me to my maddening part of district boundaries...why should county lines also be, for the most part, what decides district boundaries? Sure, every county would love all their students to stay in county, and I know local school districts are run by county boards. But honestly, the NE part of BV around Ashley made sense with Highland. Radnor makes sense with Elgin. It would have been much better to let those 2 do their thing and then let Scioto Valley keep the Ostrander kids. Hell today that school would also get some Delaware kids and would be doing well.

Instead you're stuck with a district that makes zero sense and a school that's 4 miles from the neighborimg districts school, but 12 (Ostrander) to 14 (Ashley) miles away from the edges of their own district.

It's actually closer for Ostrander kids to go to Jerome, Liberty, Marysville, or Hayes than BV.
 
There are three districts within Toledo. Ottawa Hill$, Washington Local (Whitmer) on that northern border, and TPS shown, which actually has a third discontinuous boundary near that park in the SW. Neither of the discontinuous are actually in Toledo.
image.png
 
eastisbest said:
There are three districts within Toledo. Ottawa Hill$, Washington Local (Whitmer) on that northern border, and TPS shown, which actually has a third discontinuous boundary near that park in the SW. Neither of the discontinuous are actually in Toledo.
View attachment 8029
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I knew about that part of Spencer-Sharples, but there's a part of TPS by Oak Openings? Never knew that.
 
eastisbest said:
Really my miscommunication because thinking on it, it's not actually "district." I was refering to the school at th airport.
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Oh ok! That makes more sense.

TPS is definitely a weird one if you don't know the history. Wasn't Rogers its own district for a long time too, or were they a TPS school that chose ti play in the GLL instead of the City League?
 
Maxie said:
Yes, you are correct. Coach Strang, one of our great head coaches, put a leaping tiger on the helmets. That occurred in the late 1950’s.?
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I am Leo’s son Carter. Dad was the first in the nation — at any level of play — to use vinyl stickers on helmets. He first did so at East Cleveland Shaw (‘56 and ‘57) using red and black stars. He then went to Massillon (‘58-‘63) where he introduced a flying Tiger decal and small stars as helmet rewards for great play. That marked the fist use of a team logo on a helmet (they are the Tigers) and the first use of helmet awards. He was also the first to use colored shoes— red at Shaw and white at Massillon. Won 3 state and 2 national HS titles at Massillon and in 2019 he was ranked as one of the nation’s 50 all-time greatest HS coaches (MaxPrep). He is a member of multiple Halls of Fame.
 
OUcats82 said:
I've always liked the schools who use a mascot that is reflective of the local economy/industry/trades:

Norwalk Truckers
East Liverpool Potters
Crooksville Ceramics
Philo Electrics
Sycamore Aviators (used to be a municipal airport in the district until recently)
Vandalia Butler Aviators (close to Dayton Airport)

I'm sure there are others but that's what I came up with off the top of my head.
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My personal favorite is the Unioto Sherman Tanks or Shermans, whichever you want to use.
 
I didn't want to go back through the old posts, but Wapak-Wisconsin was brought up as well as Colerain-Louisville.

Didn't New Bremen get in some similar logo trouble back in the day with Ball State? It was the same "lined" cardinal logo, but Bremen's was red and yellow as opposed to red and white. I wish I could find a picture of it.

Also, Van Wert had some awesome logos/scripts back in the 80s/90s/2000s. They completely copied Washington State. When WSU had cursive COUGARS on the helmet, so did VW, when it was a "running" print, so did VW, but my favorite was the cougar head. Washington State's uses W S U (or maybe C) Van Wert's cougar head used the letters VWC. I used to really like those. I liked Defiance's old Block D with the bulldog jumping out
 
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