Name-a-Day Calendar, April 29: Missouri Tigers
Page 174 of 365
Chosen in: 1890
Chosen by: The school athletic committee
In the American Civil War, Missouri was one of the most hotly contested states in the nation. It remained in the Union, but it entered the war as a slave state and maintained a Confederate government presence. Throughout the war, some guerilla bands of Confederate fighters—known as bushwhackers—would travel from town to town, looting everything in sight. Many such towns were protected by small, pro-Union militias. Columbia’s militia called themselves the Tigers.
The University of Missouri was founded well before the Civil War,1 but they didn’t begin playing intercollegiate sports until well after it. In 1890, they started their football team, and the team’s nickname was clear; the school athletic committee dubbed the team the Tigers in honor of the Civil War militia. That’s how it’s been for 133 years.
Missouri has had a rich history of costumed tiger mascots. Their current mascot is named Truman.
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1839
It's my dad's birthday, and he went to Mizzou.
If that means anything, my birthday was the day you covered Harvard. Does this make me smart