Demon Deacon - Mascot

Mascot

The actual mascot made its first appearance in 1941. As the "Demon Deacon" terminology became more popular, Jack Baldwin (1943 Wake Forest graduate) took the first step and became the first in the long line of Deacon mascots.

"Some of my fraternity brothers and I were just sitting around one evening," Baldwin recalls, "and came to the agreement that what Wake Forest needed was someone dressed like a deacon -- top hat, tails, a black umbrella and all that. We wanted him to be more dignified than other mascots, sort of like an old Baptist Deacon would dress"

Baldwin found an old tuxedo and a top hat, and on the following Saturday, he led the Wake Forest football team onto the field, riding the North Carolina ram. Two years later, when Baldwin graduated, many interested students were willing to continue dressing up as the mascot. Initially, the responsibility to pick new Demon Deacons fell on Baldwin's fraternity, but later it broadened to include all students. Today, special tryouts are held annually for new Deacons, but the competition is very intense.

Number of years later the mascot continued to be the Demon Deacon but the full body was designed after a legendary fan and student named "Doc" Murphrey. If he wasn't going to become a star on the football field, he would become the biggest fan the school had ever seen. "We were playing against Carolina, and the fans started hollering, 'we want Murphrey, we want Murphrey.' Peahead got tired of it and hollered, 'Murphey come here.' And I said 'coach, who do I go in for?' And he said 'no damn body. They want you and I don't want you, so get up there with them.' I started right then and there being a cheerleader, not really a cheerleader, but just a guy who would get up when you needed somebody to rally the troops."