The Oregon Duck
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Oregon Duck (also known as the Fighting Duck, Donald Duck or simply The Duck) is the University of Oregon's mascot, based on Disney's Donald Duck character through a special license agreement. The mascot wears a green and yellow costume, and a green and yellow beanie cap with the word "Oregon" on it.
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[edit] Early mascots
The nickname for Oregon's first sports teams was "Webfoots," coined by longtime Oregonian sports editor L. H. Gregory.[1] The name originated from a group of fishermen from the coast of Massachusetts whose descendants settled in Oregon's Willamette Valley. When the University of Oregon was founded in 1876, Webfoots was the natural choice for the school's nickname.[1]
[edit] Puddles and Donald
Sports reporters later changed the nickname to "Ducks," and by the 1930s, a small white duck named "Puddles" began to appear to sports events. Beginning in 1940, cartoon drawings of Puddles in student publications began to resemble Donald Duck, and by 1947, Walt Disney was aware of the issue. Capitalizing on his friendship with a Disney cartoonist, Oregon athletic director Leo Harris met Disney and reached an informal handshake agreement that granted the University of Oregon permission to use Donald as its sports mascot.
When Disney lawyers later questioned the agreement in the 1970s, the University produced a photo showing Harris and Disney wearing matching jackets with an Oregon Donald logo.[2] Relying on the photo as evidence of Disney's wishes, in 1973, both parties signed a formal agreement granting the University the right to use Donald's likeness as a symbol for (and restricted to) Oregon sports.[1]
The mascot that appears in graphic art is more similar to Donald Duck than the mascot costume that appears at University functions, which has a rounder head and body than typical renditions of the Donald Duck character.
Donald was the only duck mascot of any collegiate or professional team until 1993, and the advent of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks franchise of the National Hockey League.[1]
[edit] Other mascots
A Nike-designed futuristic rubber-suit wearing duck, nicknamed "Duck Vader", "Mandrake", or "RoboDuck" by the student body, began appearing at athletic events in 2003,[2] though as of 2007 this mascot is no longer in use.
[edit] Mascot controversy
During the 2007 season opener, the Duck attacked Shasta, the mascot for the Houston Cougars, for imitating his trademark move, doing push ups after his team scores (although many mascots have the same routine). Footage of the attack became very popular on YouTube for several weeks. The Duck was suspended for a game and the student inside the costume received an unspecified punishment.[3]
