Jump to content

History of school nicknames


crimsontide43
 Share

Recommended Posts

Just chill.

Oak Ridge.. When the school was started in the 40's one of the coaches was from Kentucky thus "The Wildcats" the same coach liked Kingsport's colors likewise the cardinal and grey. Over the years the hues have changed a little bit but that's how it came about. Now we are more red than cardinal and Kingsport is more maroon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 years later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Several years ago, Dr. Robert Rooks (a Brownsville dentist) wrote a book entitled, "100 Years of Haywood Tomcat Football."  

http://archive.commercialappeal.com/entertainment/lifestyle/family/books-captures-100-years-of-faith-and-football-in-brownsville-tenn-ep-623694548-324328721.html

The book is a detailed history of Tomcat football dating back to 1912. It also tells numerous stories in relation to each Haywood County High/Haywood High football game between 1912 and 2011.  

In the book Dr. Rooks states that according to legend the name "Tomcats" began as the name "Thomas Cats" because so many Haywood players had the name Thomas.  The first mention of the name "Tomcats" was in a game summary in 1920.

On a side note,  Haywood County High School (Tomcats) and Carver High School (Wildcats) consolidated to form Haywood High School in 1969.  The new Haywood High kept the nickname "Tomcats," and the school colors remained the same since both Haywood County and Carver were purple and white.  I do stress that the school's name is Haywood High School, not Haywood County High School, despite numerous references to the contrary (even from uninformed school officials).

As far as I know, there are no other schools in Tennessee with the mascot "Tomcats."  However, I do know of some other schools in other states who have a "Tomcat" mascot.  Paul Blazer High School, Ashland KY, East Aurora High School, Aurora IL, Stone High School, Wiggins MS, Tom Bean High School, Tom Bean TX, Trimble High School, Glouster OH, and Thiel College, Greenville PA.  I'm sure there could be others.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share


  • Recent Posts

    • Ah, more Coach Ham bashing. There seems to be a club, so tell us, are you the VP, Chairman?  From the stories I've heard from his past players themselves Coach Ham is one of a kind and has literally worked himself to the bone year after year at every coaching stop. His legacy isn't Ws and Ls.  So give it a rest. It may be old school cliché, but could you even walk a mile in his shoes? The man has retired from coaching, let him be. Even on these measily message boards.
    • Evans-Collins got a lot of play over the years.  Several junior high teams and the youth leagues played there in my day. 
    • Nick Boykin of Riverdale Hs and Sunkist Kids WC will wrestle in the Olympic Trials finals tomorrow against Joe Rau. Winner goes to Tokyo!
    • Yeah, I’ve seen it cause issues too. I read in a newspaper that he was just going to teach, so I assumed it was at CRHS. Maybe I misunderstood. Are there any guys on his staff ready to take it over? 
    • Sounds like the same group that designed West, South, East and Fulton. They all used the old Knoxville High Field along with Rule. Talk about a field that got over used.
×
  • Create New...