Nickname
The first athletic teams at Lafayette were nicknamed the 'Maroon' as a result of the maroon sweaters worn by the players. Though the team continued to wear maroon, a new nickname was bestowed on Lafayette. The Lafayette Student Council voted on the nickname "Leopards" since many other rival schools, such as Princeton, Pittsburgh, and Bucknell, had animal nicknames. It is not clear why the nickname "Leopards" was selected, although it is reasonable to speculate that an 'L' nickname was ideal since other schools had animal nicknames that started with the school's first letter (Pittsburgh Panthers, Bucknell Bison). The leopard was also selected because its 'cunning and physical strength, combined with the fact that it is irresistible when aroused, seemed to be typical of a Lafayette team.' The Leopard mascot made its debut against Washington & Jefferson University at Yankee Stadium on October 25, 1924, a 20-6 Leopard victory.
It was previously believed that the nickname Leopards first appeared on November 24, 1924, when a writer at the Easton Express-Times referred to the team as the 'Leopards.' The name was first used on campus when Lafayette sports editor George Parkman referred to the team as the 'Leopards' on October 7, 1927. Parkman noticed that other competitors were selecting animal nicknames and decided Lafayette should have one. Given the two different accounts of the nickname 'Leopard', it seems the nickname was slow to reasonate with students and alumni.
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Famous quotes containing the word nickname:
“A nickname is the heaviest stone that the devil can throw at a man. It is a bugbear to the imagination, and, though we do not believe in it, it still haunts our apprehensions.”
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830)