What's in a school nick name and where does it originate from? For many student-athletes they were Bulldogs, Trojans, Tigers or even Panthers before they became Eastern Illinois Panthers. EIUPanthers.com took a look at some of the more unique school nick names that EIU student-athletes from the 2015-16 academic year hailed from. The story of how the EIU Panthers school mascot came to be can be found by clicking this link -
Story of EIU Panthers Mascot
The student-athlete that played high school sports at that school are listed with school name along with their sport at Eastern Illinois last year.
(Note: information on origins for school nicknames was collected from various websites and references… also please note this piece is meant to show unique high school nicknames not as a comment on their political correctness)…
Centralia Orphans / Orphans Annies --- Kaylee Morris from women's swimming
--- The origin of the Orphans name has become the stuff of local legend. Coach Arthur L. Trout (who arrived at the school in 1914) said he renamed the team from the Cardinals or Redbirds after his favorite movie, the 1922 silent classic "Orphans of the Storm." But in his book "Trout: The Old Man and the Orphans," author Don Schnake suggests that the team's fans played a role in the new name: Some thought the players looked "as sad as a band of unwanted orphans" when they hit the boards. Others point to Trout's well-known frugality and the fact that he often had his players pick their game-day uniforms from a stack of previous years' leftovers. Centralia won most unique high school mascot in the nation by USA Today in 2013…
Fisher Bunnies --- Kristen Paris from women's track
--- Fisher High School received its nickname the "Bunnies" during the 1933-34 basketball season. Harold Cagle and Ward Meneely wore a rabbit's foot on their belts during the Paxton Holiday Tournament. Soon the entire team, coached by Clyde Campbell, was wearing them for good luck. Eddie Jacquin, a sports writer for the Champaign News-Gazette, is given credit for naming Fisher the "Bunny Boys" in an article he wrote describing Fisher's victory over Rantoul in the championship game. The legend of the Bunny Boys was so strong after this game that Fisher adopted Eddie Jacquin's descriptive team nickname permanently. Shortly after, it was decided to shorten the name to just the Bunnies and has remained that way to this very day.
Freeburg Midgets --- Amber Matchett from softball
--- In the early 1900s, according to legend, either a sports writer or an announcer called the talented basketball team "midgets" because no one on the team was taller than 5-foot-10.
Freeport Pretzels --- Bryn Buckwalter from women's track
--- One of two Pretzels in the country, (the other also in Illinois)… Freeport is known as the "Pretzel City", and its public high school's team is named the Pretzels. The nickname is a reminder of Freeport's ethnic heritage; in the late 1850s, many Germans, both from Pennsylvania and from their European homeland, resettled in Stephenson County bringing with them their love of pretzel snacks. In 1869, a German immigrant named John Billerbeck established the Billerbeck Bakery, which distributed so many pretzels to residents that the local newspaper later dubbed Freeport the "Pretzel City".
Hampshire Whip-Purs --- Ashley Fouch from women's track
--- The story behind the name is that sometime in the 1940's, there was a contest within the school to decide what the mascot would be named. The school colors are white and purple. One mascot name suggestion was "Whi-Pur" for the first three letters in 'white' and the first three letters in 'purple'. It is unknown exactly when and why the 'P' was added to 'whi'; but it's considered likely to have turned the nonsense word into a real one.
Hoopeston Area Cornjerkers --- Brock Ramos from men's cross country / track
--- Corn was pulled or jerked off the stalk before the advent of modern machinery. Hoopeston is known as the "sweet corn capital of the world," and Bob Poisall, a sports writer for the Commercial-News (Danville, Illinois) is credited with applying the term to the high school's teams. In the fall, the team buses to games were often late in leaving because the teams' members were still in the fields jerking corn. Per the custom at that time, Mr. Poisall was riding the team bus in order to cover the game for his newspaper. In exasperation on one of these occasions, he told them they would never get anywhere, they were just a bunch of cornjerkers. Glenn Brasel, coach of Hoopeston High School from 1922 through 1946, must have liked the term and felt it would be an appropriate team name. The emblem of an ear of corn first appeared on the team uniform in 1930.
Lincoln Railsplitters --- Amina Jackson from women's track / Katlyn Hasprey from women's golf
--- Lincoln is the only town in the United States to be named for Abraham Lincoln before he became president. He practiced law there from 1847 to 1859. The nickname is because Abraham Lincoln was known to split rails to use the wood to make fences. It is one of four high schools in the United States to be named the Lincoln Railsplitters.
Morton Potters --- Grant & Trent Reiman from men's tennis
--- It is a common opinion that the name "Potter" originated in association with the Morton High School athletic teams because the township of Morton, IL had a nationally known company called Morton Pottery. In a study it was found that it was not until the 1941 yearbook that any teams from Morton where known as the Potters. It was not until 1956, 52 years after the high school opened, that the people were introduced to the very first Potter mascot.
Plano Reapers --- Tony Elias from football
--- Plano is known as the "Home of the Harvester," thanks to harvesting technology that helped put the town on the map in the 1860s. No reference to the Grim Reaper here.
Speedway (Ind.) Sparkplugs --- Nicholas McCormick and Michael McCormick from baseball
--- The school is located in the backyard of one of the most well-known motor sports venues in the world – Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is thought that connection is the basis for the nickname. The school is also thought to be the only one in the nation with that unique nickname. ESPN listed it among the funniest high school football mascots in the nation.
Zion-Benton Fighting Zee-Bees's --- Kendall Williams from men's track
--- According to diehard Zee-Bee fan and former coach and teacher Leroy Cliff, the school's athletic teams were originally known as the Red Raiders of the North. There is a rich legacy, however, behind the school's current nickname. During World War II in the Pacific theater, in the war with Japan, on the thousands of small islands, U.S. Naval Construction Battalions (C.B's) would build airstrips, harbors and fueling stations for use during the War. Because some of the islands were still occupied by Japan, these battalions would be called "Fighting Seabees." The school was built in 1939 by the Public Works administration and with some alterations to the few letters; the Fighting Zee-Bees were created in appreciation of the men who performed this dangerous and vital service to their country.
