Name-a-Day Calendar, November 5: Le Moyne Dolphins

Page 364 of 365

Chosen in: 1947

Chosen by: The staff of The Dolphin student newspaper

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Le Moyne College was established in DeWitt, New York—a suburb of Syracuse—by the Society of Jesus (commonly known as Jesuits) in 1946 and named for missionary Simon Le Moyne. The dolphin has been a central university symbol since October 24, 1947, when the school’s student newspaper, titled The Dolphin, published its first issue.

In this issue, they explained their reasoning for selecting this title:

“It is a well-known item of history that, while the early Christians were being persecuted at Rome, they would assemble for services at a secret place, usually in the catacombs. They would be informed of a contemplated meeting by the figure of a fish being left in the vicinity of their homes…

“It was not until the second century that the specific use of the dolphin as a Christian symbol became common. It … seems to have been … that the dolphin was popularly considered to be friendly toward men … also there were associated in the imagination … the ideas of love and tenderness…

“Drawing closer to home, we note that just as the figure of the dolphin was to be seen on the seal of the Bishop of the ancient See of Syracuse, so also is it to be found on the seal of the present head of our own Diocese of Syracuse….”

If you’d like specific people to thank, the issue credits the Class of 1951 as well as six editors: Ann Byron, Donald Franklin, Francis Gillin, Gerald Girvin, Timothy Kelleher, and Mary Therese King.

Le Moyne began playing intercollegiate men’s basketball later that school year. The Dolphins took to calling them the Dolphins for basically the same reason. It stuck.

Le Moyne is represented by a costumed dolphin named Iggy.

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