Name-a-Day Calendar, June 18: Penn Quakers

Page 224 of 365

Chosen in: c. 1890

Chosen by: Local sportswriters

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The school that would eventually become known as the University of Pennsylvania was first established in 1740. Its origins have nothing to do with Quakerism: it was of course founded by Benjamin Franklin, who was raised Puritan and then became Deist as an adult.

The origins of the “Quakers” nickname go all the way back to the beginning. Pennsylvania was originally founded by William Penn, a Quaker, in 1681. It quickly became a haven for people practicing Quakerism, and at one point the government of the colony was even Quaker itself. This led to Pennsylvania being known as the Quaker State, still one of its official nicknames today.

Penn, the school, was one of the earliest adopters of football at the collegiate level, starting play in 1876. Despite the university having pretty much nothing to do with the Quaker faith, the state’s association with Quakers made it so that “Pennsylvania Quakers” was a widely recognized phrase in Pennsylvania lore by this time. As such, late 19th century sportswriters began to use it to describe Penn’s athletic teams, and it stuck.

Today, Penn has a costumed Quaker mascot known simply as Quaker.

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