Gallaudet Class of '99 Champions, taken in 1896.
The use of African American mascots in sports was not
altogether uncommon in the 1890s.
Most mascots may have been utilized as good luck charms, but
it appears that black mascots were often used in order to cause distraction
to the opposing teams and were often dressed in a gaudy or demeaning
fashion. The above photo being one such bold example.
African American mascots were not confined to a particular
sport, and examples existed in most sports including baseball, cycling,
football, and even ice polo. This also was not confined to southern or middle
America. The fact that the roller polo (immediate predecessor to ice polo) (similar to ice hockey but played with a ball, shorter sticks and had no off-sides rules) team from Waltham, Massachusetts made
use of a “colored mascot” was a surprise to us during our research, but as it
turned out, should not have been (Boston Globe, January 31, 1893). Photographic examples of African American
mascots are very rare (they are primarily baseball related), but do exist.
1896 Gallaudet Varsity Football Team
Another example of the use of unusual mascots is the below
Post Card showing midget “Stubb Dickson” with the Unionville Grade School.
Number eleven is identified as Dick McClellan.
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