It’s Sunday, which means it’s time for another one of “My wife ranks lists.” She’s previously has given us her thoughts on mascots, uniforms, and helmets. Today we’re taking a look at the 14 Big Ten nicknames. A couple of bits of history and random tidbits on the history of Big Ten nicknames.
- Did you know that the Minnesota Golden Gophers got their nickname from a political cartoon in the 1850s? The golden term was added in the 1930s by a Minnesota sports writer.
- Northwestern’s original mascot was a bear cub from the Lincoln Park Zoo named Furpaw. After a losing season in 1923, the school retired Furpaw believing he was bad luck. However, in 1924 Chicago Daily Tribune writer Wallace Abbey gave the school the wildcat nickname when he wrote after a loss to the University of Chicago, “Football players had not come down from Evanston; wildcats would be a name better suited to Coach Glenn Thistletwaite’s boys.”
- The Ohio State Buckeyes get their nickname from the colloquial term used for people from Ohio.
- Nebraska sports writer Cy Sherman gave the school its nickname when he referred to them as the Cornhuskers in 1899. The school formally adopted the nickname the following year.
Those are just to name a few. Now it’s time to take a look at how my wife ranks the nicknames
