Memory Lane Finalists 2 comments

Monday, March 15 2010 01:18:03 PM

Origin of the Knight Login to comment

Monday, March 15 2010 10:14:55 AM

In its early days, Rutgers athletes were known informally as "The Scarlet" in reference to the school color, or as "Queensmen" in reference to the institution's first name, Queen's College. In 1925, the mascot was changed to Chanticleer, a fighting rooster from the medieval fable Reynard the Fox (Le Roman de Renart), which was used by Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales. At the time, the student humor magazine at Rutgers was called Chanticleer, and one of its early arts editors, Ozzie Nelson (later of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet fame) was quarterback of the Rutgers team from 1924 to 1926. The Chanticleer mascot was unveiled at a football game against Lafayette College, in which Lafayette was also introducing a new mascot, a leopard.

It is also a little-known fact that the New Brunswick-based broadcast station, WCTC, which serves as the flagship station of Rutgers athletics, had its call letters derived from the word "ChanTiCleer." Chanticleer remained as the nickname for some 30 years.

However, the choice of Chanticleer as a mascot was often the subject of ridicule because of its association with "being chicken." In 1955, the mascot was changed to the Scarlet Knight after a campus-wide election, beating out other contenders such as "Queensmen," the "Scarlet," the "Red Lions," the "Redmen," and the "Flying Dutchmen." Earlier proposed nicknames included "Pioneers" and "Cannoneers." The Scarlet-garbed knight, riding a spirited white charger, came to represent a new era – the rejuvenation of first-class football "On the Banks."

Rutgers and Princeton Cannon War 2 comments

Monday, March 01 2010 11:59:59 AM