The Hawk (Saint Joseph's University mascot)
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The Hawk is the mascot for Saint Joseph’s University. The Hawk represents the University’s motto, “The Hawk Will Never Die” by flapping its wings non-stop (even during halftime) throughout every basketball game. The Hawk, who has been flapping his wings since 1956, travels with the basketball team to all of its away games. The role of mascot is annually awarded to student, who is given a full scholarship for serving as the Hawk.
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[edit] Origin of the Hawk Mascot
Saint Joseph's athletic teams have been recognized with the nickname "Hawks" since 1929. At that time, the school's yearbook editor, Charlie Dunn, initiated a contest among the student body for a symbol. More than 100 submissions were narrowed to two, with "Hawks" winning out over "Grenadiers" (World War I soldiers who specialized in tossing grenades) by a slim margin in the final vote. The winning suggestion was submitted by John Gallagher, Class of '31, who was a catcher on the Saint Joseph's baseball team. He won a sweater with a special Saint Joseph's monogram for selecting the winning name. According to the student annual, the name was appropriate because it typified "the fighting spirit of our crimson and gray athletes and it is suggestive of the aerial attack which has made our football team famous." Ironically, football was discontinued at Saint Joseph's following the 1939 season. [1]
The idea for the Hawk as a mascot was originated by Jim Brennan during the 1954-55 season. Brennan, an ex-Marine and SJU cheerleader, at first wanted to secure an actual hawk, but later switched to the costume idea. The student government raised the 120 dollars needed to buy the initial costume, which Brennan donned for three years. He made his debut as the Hawk on January 4, 1956, a 69-56 win over La Salle College at the Palestra. [1]
[edit] Hawk Selection
Hawk selection has become an annual application and interview process in which a current student is selected to represent to school. Since 1992, the student awarded the role of mascot has been recipient of an endowed scholarship and is considered a full member of the basketball team. [2] [3]
| List of Students who have served as the Hawk | |
|---|---|
| Season | Student |
| 1955 to 1956 | Jim Brennan |
| 1956 to 1957 | Jim Brennan |
| 1957 to 1958 | Jim Brennan |
| 1958 to 1959 | Pierce Markley |
| 1959 to 1960 | Pierce Markley |
| 1960 to 1961 | Pierce Markley |
| 1961 to 1962 | Al Pastino |
| 1962 to 1963 | Al Pastino |
| 1963 to 1964 | Al Pastino |
| 1964 to 1965 | Charlie Wieners |
| 1965 to 1966 | Charlie Wieners |
| 1966 to 1967 | Chuck Elsesser |
| 1967 to 1968 | Chuck Elsesser |
| 1968 to 1969 | Bill Berner |
| 1969 to 1970 | Bill Berner |
| 1970 to 1971 | John Donnelly |
| 1971 to 1972 | John Donnelly |
| 1972 to 1973 | Joe Cassidy |
| 1973 to 1974 | Joe Cassidy |
| 1974 to 1975 | Joe Boyle |
| 1975 to 1976 | Joe Boyle |
| 1976 to 1977 | Joe Boyle |
| 1977 to 1978 | Joe Boyle & Ron Manion |
| 1978 to 1979 | Kevin Quirk |
| 1979 to 1980 | Kevin Quirk |
| 1980 to 1981 | Kevin Quirk & Randy Kiernan |
| 1981 to 1982 | Randy Kiernan |
| 1982 to 1983 | Dennis Sheehan |
| 1983 to 1984 | Dennis Sheehan |
| 1984 to 1985 | Dennis Sheehan |
| 1985 to 1986 | Jim Boyle, Jr. |
| 1986 to 1987 | Frank Simone |
| 1987 to 1988 | Frank Simone |
| 1988 to 1989 | Jim Scarano |
| 1989 to 1990 | Jim Scarano |
| 1990 to 1991 | Tony Duldulao |
| 1991 to 1992 | Chuck Sack |
| 1992 to 1993 | Chuck Sack |
| 1993 to 1994 | Dan Gallagher |
| 1994 to 1995 | Brian Kearns |
| 1995 to 1996 | Brian Kearns |
| 1996 to 1997 | Glenn "Trip" Whitaker |
| 1997 to 1998 | Bobby Gallagher |
| 1998 to 1999 | Pat McGrory |
| 1999 to 2000 | Joey "G" Gawarzewski |
| 2000 to 2001 | Sarah Brennan |
| 2001 to 2002 | Steve Klarich |
| 2002 to 2003 | Steve Klarich |
| 2003 to 2004 | Chris Bertolino |
| 2004 to 2005 | Mike Tecce |
| 2005 to 2006 | Andrew Moral |
| 2006 to 2007 | Jim Miller |
[edit] Awards
- Sports Illustrated Mascot of the 20th Century [4]
- Sporting News Mascot of the Year 2001 [5]
- Street & Smith's Best Mascot
- ESPN College Basketball Magazine Best Mascot
- "Best of Philly" award from Philadelphia Magazine in 2003-04
- Eastern Basketball Atlantic 10 Conference's best mascot
[edit] Trivia
- ESPN used a "flap-o-meter" on the national telecast of a Saint Joseph's game to estimate that the Hawk flaps its wings 3,500 times during a regulation game. [6]
- Sarah Brennan in 2000-01 has been the only woman to serve as the mascot. [1]
[edit] External Link
[edit] References
- ^ a b c http://sjuhawks.cstv.com/school-bio/stjs-the-hawk.html
- ^ http://sjuhawks.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/051805aaa.html
- ^ http://www.hawkhoopclub.org/TheHawk.htm
- ^ http://www.hawkhoopclub.org/Tradition.htm
- ^ http://tsn.sportingnews.com/cbasketball/bestof/bestof2.html
- ^ http://www.hoopville.net/cw/05/recap.asp?EntryID=11920
[edit] See also
