Just ask the librarians in Archives and Special Collections about the history of the mascot here at Wesleyan, and you will find that Wesleyan students have had a mischievous streak since at least 1915. Two headlines in the file labeled “Mascot” in our own Olin Library testify to this tradition.

“Real Live Bear Will be Wesleyan Mascot,” the first headline from a November 4th, 1915 Argus read. “Cub Coming from the Wilds of Maine has Clean Amateur Record.”

But wait, a real live bear?  And aren’t we the cardinals? In order to understand the progression of the mascot to the cardinal we know today, we must go back to a time before organized sports, before women and minorities and, perhaps most importantly, before we proudly sported red and black.

In 1938, an alumnus by the name of Herbet L. Connelly (class of 1909) wrote an article on mascots featured in a publication entitled Athletics at Wesleyan. In the article, Connelly explained that our school color used to be lavender. According to an October 1884 issue of the Argus, lavender would not do for outdoor intercollegiate sports. The color, critics lamented, did not hold up in Middletown’s rainy weather.

“Lavender is not a striking color,” the editorial proclaimed.

In addition, our athletes had acquired nicknames, such as “the Methodists” or simply “the Ministers.” (Wait, so we were the Lavender Ministers?) This name became problematic, however, as the University entered the 20th century and the student body became more heterogeneous.

“The increasing number of representatives in the student body of other denominations than those from the Methodist Episcopal Church resulted in a demand for some other more general designation in reports of athletic contests than the term ‘The Methodists’,” Connelly wrote in his ’38 article.

By 1884, the colors “Cardinal red” and black had replaced lavender, but nothing had been done to change the sectarian mascot. During what appeared to be tumultuous years for Wesleyan sports fans, the students seem to have, on occasion, taken things into their own hands.

Another Argus article, dated four days after the bear proposal, offered a new animal as the junior class’s choice of mascot.

“MONKEY CHOSEN AS WESLEYAN MASCOT,” the headline reads. “While a name has not yet been decided upon, ‘John Wesley, Jr.’ has been suggested. …He will be kept at the Alpha Delta Phi House when not engaged in helping the team win in the three games yet to be played.”

After a particularly controversial citation in a local paper that referred to ‘our boys’ as the “mysterious ministers from Middletown,” Wesleyan’s cardinal red color was taken to heart and the cardinal bird was formally adopted as the University mascot in 1932. Not five years later, the University severed its ties with the Methodist Church, ending the reign of ministers on the football field and potential monkeys who would be named after John Wesley.

The cardinal of the 21st century is sadly only a human wearing a cardinal outfit—not a real live bear or monkey as previous students seemed to have hoped for. The costume safely resides with University Relations, according to John Biddiscombe, Director of Athletics. The cardinal is not, however, used exclusively for sporting events.

“University Relations agreed to purchase a new cardinal so they could use it at important events throughout the year,” Biddiscombe said.

So keep your eye out for the cardinal mascot in the upcoming weeks as Homecoming approaches. Chances are you’ll get a glimpse of the spirited little guy evoking Wesleyan pride every chance it gets.