Mascots Bring School Spirit to Generations of Students

January 24, 2020 Macee Hall, Staff Writer

(ABILENE, Texas)–Hardin-Simmons University boasts a history rich with tradition, yet some of the school’s most memorable traditions are the school’s official and unofficial mascots: Hoss, Dam-It, and Gilbert.

Hoss

Modern day Cowboys are well acquainted with the gentle giant who roams the Forty Acres during sporting events and on special occasions, but few know the history of the university’s famous cowboy.

HSU’s previous cowboy mascot greets a group of children in 1992.

HSU’s previous cowboy mascot greets a group of children in 1992.

HSU alumni may remember the previous mascot, who gallivanted across campus throughout the 1990s. When placed in storage, the unnamed cowboy sadly disintegrated, leaving the costume unwearable for future generations.

In January of 2018, however, HSU’s Alumni Association Board of Directors voted to create a new mascot costume that would inspire the university’s student body and foster an air of pep and loyalty across campus. In May, the Alumni Association held a naming competition for the new cowhand.

Though alumni, students, faculty, and staff sent in many fitting names for the new mascot, a vote of the Alumni Association’s favorite four suggestions determined that the cowboy would bear the name Hoss after Eric “Hoss” Cartwright, a character on the hit television show “Bonanza.” A fan favorite, Cartwright was played by HSU alumnus Dan Blocker, who played football and participated in theatre while on campus.

Hoss formally made his first appearance during the first home football game of the 2018 season and continues to spread school spirit amongst students and alumni, alike.

A purple and gold fire hydrant and plaque memorialize Dam-It the dog. The plaque reads, “Dam-It. He is dead. College Mascot 1916-1920.”

A purple and gold fire hydrant and plaque memorialize Dam-It the dog. The plaque reads, “Dam-It. He is dead. College Mascot 1916-1920.”

Dam-It

A brief walk around HSU’s reflection pond reveals the grave of Dam-It the dog, who served as Simmons College’s unofficial mascot from 1916 until his untimely death of pneumonia in 1920. President Sandefer’s youngest son, Gib, owned the white bulldog terrier, then known as Fritz.

Though HSU historians speculate about the origin of the name Dam-It, Fritz most likely earned his colorful nickname when he tripped a kitchen employee who was carrying a full tray of food to a group of hungry students. The exclamation stuck, and the pup was thereafter known as Dam-It on weekdays and Fritz on Sundays.

In 1920, HSU student Mamie Turner memorialized Dam-It in a cartoon that was published in the school’s yearbook, The Bronco.

In 1920, HSU student Mamie Turner memorialized Dam-It in a cartoon that was published in the school’s yearbook, The Bronco.

Legend has it that Dam-It attended classes and even chapel services with students, sometimes howling out his discontentment or agreeance with the chosen course material. Dam-it was widely known for lounging on the warm rocks around campus or near students’ feet during lectures.

After his passing, the student body was so moved that they held a funeral for the beloved bulldog. The ceremony was large enough that it garnered the attention of national media outlets.

Today, students remember Dam-It’s legacy each time they pass by his purple and gold fire hydrant memorial on Anderson lawn. Bits of Dam-It’s original gravestone are kept in HSU’s private collection in the Richardson Library.

Gilbert

Gilbert dries off after a bath in the Reflection Pond.

Gilbert dries off after a bath in the Reflection Pond.

Gilbert the goose joined the HSU family in 2013, when a group of freshman pranksters decided to play a practical joke on a friend in their Ferguson Hall hallway. The white feathered fowl is named after former HSU President Jefferson Davis Sandefer’s son, Gilbert, whose first name was his mother Lucille’s maiden name.

When HSU’s beloved goose came to campus, school officials believed that Gilbert was male. However, after a snapping turtle bit Gilbert’s foot in the Spring 2016 semester, the vet who treated the injury informed campus officials that Gilbert is, in fact, female.

Gilbert’s legacy includes many merchandise items and a coffee shop named in her honor. Each spring semester, the campus holds a birthday celebration for the goose, which also serves as a spring party for students preparing for finals.

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