The Jayhawk spirit on campus is overwhelming, especially when sitting in Allen Fieldhouse, surrounded by thousands of fans shouting,
“Rock Chalk Jayhawk, go KU!�
Big Jay and Baby Jay hype up the crowd, and everyone cheers even harder for some of the greatest basketball players in the country. We call them our very own Jayhawks, but where did the name “Jayhawk� come from? Turns out, the history of our mascot is rooted in just as much, if not more, emotion than the basketball games we line up hours in advance for.
1912
THE CRAZY BIRD WITH THE SHOES The term “Jayhawker,â€? coined in 1848, was derived from the struggles between Kansan VHWWOHUV Ă€JKWLQJ IRU and against slavery during the Civil War on the Kansas and Missouri border. Kansas terULWRU\ ZDV D EDWWOHĂ€HOG HDFK VLGH frequently attacked each other’s settlements. Members on both sides were called “Jayhawkersâ€? for a long time. Lawrence, where the University of Kansas was founded, was a free state stronghold, however, and soon the name “Jayhawkerâ€? became attached to those who fought against slavery. The Jayhawk was a patriotic symbol during the Civil War. New Yorker Charles Jennison came to Kansas to raise a regiment of free VWDWH Ă€JKWHUV FDOOHG -HQQLVRQ¡V -D\hawk Regiment. By the end of the war, “Jayhawkâ€? was synonymous with those who fought passionately for Kansas to be a free state. The term was associated with the spirit of comradeship and courageous Ă€JKWLQJ TXDOLWLHV When the KU football team SOD\HG LWV Ă€UVW JDPH LQ LW RQO\ seemed natural to call these passionate athletes Jayhawkers. For years, KU football players were known as Jayhawkers, but fans were without a clear picture of what a Jayhawk truly looked like. No one had thought of the JayKDZN DV DQ DFWXDO ELUG WKH ZRUG had always been more of a sentiment than a creature.
14
The mythical mascot was formed from two different birds: the blue jay and the sparrow hawk. The combination of a quarrelsome bird known to rob other birds’ nests, and a bird known as a stealthy hunter, makes our mascot, the Jayhawk, a bird no one dares to mess with. Daniel Henry “Hankâ€? Maloy, a cartoonist for the University Daily Kansan and yearbook, used this idea for inspiration when drawLQJ WKH -D\KDZN 0DOR\ ZDV D sophomore from Eureka who had previously drawn the KU mascot as a bulldog in his cartoon drawings for the school newspaper. “I had been drawing cartoons up there for two years without ever having seen sign of a Jayhawk,â€? Maloy wrote in The Outlook, a KU QHZVOHWWHU LQ This long-beaked, long-legged, EOXH ELUG DSSHDUHG IRU WKH Ă€UVW WLPH LQ KLVWRU\ RQ 2FW DQG SHRple were confused by the fact that he was wearing shoes. Maloy had an obvious explanation: for kicking opponents. A popular song at the time, “You Gotta Quit Kicking My Dog Around,â€? inspired the idea for 0DOR\¡V Ă€UVW FRPLF VWULS ZLWK WKH -D\KDZN 7KH ELUG Ă€QDOO\ PDGH D lasting impression on KU students ZLWK KLV Ă€UVW DSSHDUDQFH D FRPLF showing him kicking the Missouri +RXQG 'RJ 7KLV ZDV RXU Ă€UVW RIĂ€FLDO -D\KDZN And so the image of our mascot remained this friendly-looking bird for the next eight years, sparking inspiration for many others to create their own interpretations of the Jayhawk.
1920
THE MYSTERIOUS MOTIONLESS BIRD The next Jayhawk to show up on campus did not leave as lasting as an impression as the original, only remaining the image for three years IROORZLQJ LWV ÀUVW appearance. Every cartoonist had his own opinion of how the mascot should look, and Maloy said he knew that would be the case when KH FUHDWHG WKH ÀUVW DFNQRZOHGJHG Jayhawk. For some, the Jayhawk needed to be friendly and cheerful. For others, the Jayhawk needed to EH ÀHUFH LQWLPLGDWLQJ DQG UHà HFWLYH RI LWV XQGHQLDEOH ÀJKWLQJ QDWXUH
“If I was forced to pick my least favorite Jayhawk, I would have to JR ZLWK WKH -D\KDZN Âľ VD\V 5Hbekah Lewis, a senior from Wichita. “It just too closely resembles a real bird and loses the uniqueness that makes the Kansas Jayhawk stand out.â€? No one knows much about the -D\KDZN RU ZKDW WKH DUWLVW had in mind when drawing this more traditional-looking bird. Even searching through archives at the Spencer Research Library didn’t reveal much about the mysterious YHUVLRQ 7KH DUWLVW LV XQNQRZQ for this somber, motionless bird atop a KU monogram.
1923
MORE THAN A MYTH-SPIRITED JAYHAWK Many have retold the story of the Jayhawk, asserting that it’s more than just a mythical bird. Its roots in history evoke an emotion in fans that cannot be found at any other school. F.C. Blackmar, dean of the graduDWH VFKRRO LQ JDYH D VL[ PLQXWH radio presentation on the Jayhawk LQ 'HFHPEHU +H VWDUWHG KLV presentation describing the origin and how the combination of two birds that were frequent in the Missouri Valley makes our mascot a mythical creature. This, however, was not the most memorable portion of his speech. He ended his speech by describing what the Jayhawk says about us. “But no matter about the origin of this mythical creature, about its uncertain history, about its early use by people whose actions were
sometimes questionable, today ‘Jayhawk’ embodies the Kansas spirit, the University spirit of unity, loyalty, honest and right living,� Blackmar said. Two KU students, George Hollingbery and Jimmy O’Bryon, both sophomores at the WLPH FUHDWHG WKH -D\KDZN They designed a duck-like bird that was widely accepted by the students. Hollingbery and O’Bryon painted the Jayhawk on store windows and backs of raincoats to spread KU spirit and to make some extra pocket change. It wasn’t too long after that when the Jayhawk started to appear on jackets, sweaters and uniforms.