Arizona Mascot and Fan During the Sun Bowl

Photo: Arizona Mascot and fan during the Sun Bowl. Sparky the Sun Devil is the official mascot of Arizona State University. Originally the ASU athletic teams' mascot was an owl, then became a "Normal" (named for the Tempe Normal School), then was later changed to a bulldog. The State Press, the student newspaper, ran frequent appeals during the fall of 1946, urging the Bulldog to be replaced by the new Sun Devil. On November 8, 1946, the student body voted 819 to 196 to make the change. On November 20, as reported by the Arizona Republic, the student council made it official. The following day, the first Arizona State team played as the Sun Devils. Two years later, alumnus and Disney illustrator Bert Anthony designed "Sparky", a devil holding a trident (colloquially referred to as a pitchfork). Anthony is rumored to have based Sparky's facial features on that of his former boss, Walt Disney. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparky_the_Sun_Devil

Area: Central / University

Source: EPMH

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History