I remember there being several ( 3 sounds about right) owls in that cage around 1970 or so. I also remember them being tethered to a perch with a leather leash. I guess it was to prevent them from flying into the roof or walls. Which led to several episodes of a bird flying off his perch and becoming entangled in the leash.. And being found dangling upside down.

I think the live mascots were great horned owls largely by default though and not through any conscious decision to choose the Great Horned over any other species.

See the letter spanning the two pages shown here about the acquisition of the first:

http://issuu.com/riceuniversity/docs/rice_winter__07/7

(03-24-2014 02:12 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  

(03-24-2014 01:29 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(03-23-2014 07:33 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  Uh ... Our official owl is the European Owl of Athena

Minor correction.

That is absolutely the owl on our seal, but our first athletics mascot I can find was a Great Horned Owl... Live and kept on campus... though I can't tell exactly when. It was 'Owl-napped' in 1917 and named Sammy.

So Sammy, the Great Horned Owl has been our mascot since AT LEAST 1917. I don't know if the Owl of Athena was merely an artistic choice or an intention... but the GHO certainly seems intentional as we have used that one single Owl for almost 100 years now.

Here's a photo of the "Sammy" that was "Owl-napped" by A&M students in 1917:



According to the Rice Centennial Timeline description, this Sammy was "a 6-foot, 191-pound, sawdust-stuffed owl."

It was certainly not a live owl ... and to me it does not look like a great-horned owl either.

The live owls that were kept between Baker and Lovett College when I was at Rice (late 1960s-early 1970s) absolutely included a great-horned owl. (I vaguely remember that at one time two or three owls were kept in that cage, and one of them may not have been a GHO.)

That's a great picture. I love the pure joy on everyone's face. (Except for Sammy. Sammy looks hardcore.)

(03-24-2014 07:37 PM)JOwl Wrote:  

(03-24-2014 02:12 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  

(03-24-2014 01:29 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(03-23-2014 07:33 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  Uh ... Our official owl is the European Owl of Athena

Minor correction.

That is absolutely the owl on our seal, but our first athletics mascot I can find was a Great Horned Owl... Live and kept on campus... though I can't tell exactly when. It was 'Owl-napped' in 1917 and named Sammy.

So Sammy, the Great Horned Owl has been our mascot since AT LEAST 1917. I don't know if the Owl of Athena was merely an artistic choice or an intention... but the GHO certainly seems intentional as we have used that one single Owl for almost 100 years now.

Here's a photo of the "Sammy" that was "Owl-napped" by A&M students in 1917:



According to the Rice Centennial Timeline description, this Sammy was "a 6-foot, 191-pound, sawdust-stuffed owl."

It was certainly not a live owl ... and to me it does not look like a great-horned owl either.

The live owls that were kept between Baker and Lovett College when I was at Rice (late 1960s-early 1970s) absolutely included a great-horned owl. (I vaguely remember that at one time two or three owls were kept in that cage, and one of them may not have been a GHO.)

That's a great picture. I love the pure joy on everyone's face. (Except for Sammy. Sammy looks hardcore.)

Anybody know why 4 or 5 of those guys look like Johnny Manzeil? #creepy

(03-24-2014 03:22 PM)greyowl72 Wrote:  I remember there being several ( 3 sounds about right) owls in that cage around 1970 or so. I also remember them being tethered to a perch with a leather leash. I guess it was to prevent them from flying into the roof or walls. Which led to several episodes of a bird flying off his perch and becoming entangled in the leash.. And being found dangling upside down.

3 Great horned owls in one cage at Lovett, yes. At that particular time. Earlier, In 1965, when I arrived at Rice there was already a live mascot owl. I don't know where the owl was kept, who kept it, or what its name was (I know-Sammy!-but some subsequent owls were named after Rice Presidents, I vaguely recall.), but I sat about five feet from it at a basketball game that year and it turned its head around 180 degrees to take a look at me shortly after I had sat down. It kind of freaked me out and was funny at the same time. Seeing a head pivot 180 degrees was surprising and then they can really glare at you. It was kept on the arm of the same guy who sat with it at the football games (this part I'm not as sure about but I remember it being at FB games.)

It was a great horned owl of uncertain sex. It was rather large and intimidating. There was no Lovett College then so no Owl cage there (behind WRC Commons). I would have noticed a cage if it were anywhere obvious. I have always been fascinated by owls since my father brought home an injured Screech Owl when I was in High School. Somebody must know more about this particular bird. It seemed quite tame. I don't know or remember when the live owl quit making appearances at the basketball games.

You guys really need to bring back the live mascot Owl.

(03-24-2014 03:07 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  Mike... Other than the year, I don't know why we're arguing. It seems that I misinterpreted the story, but even the link you show only mentions Great Horned Owls and not any other breed of live Owl as a mascot. My point is merely that we've been 'Owls' represented by a Great Horned Owl (an actual owl... not an artistic interpretation) for longer than most of us have been alive... and I see no reference to a specific breed of Owl for Temple... yet in 2011, they adopted a GHO as a Mascot.

I'm merely wondering if they were ever represented by any other breed... as a mascot

How about THIS line from RiceFootball.net
In that context, five freshman nerds from Lovett College set out semi-incognito in a flesh-colored ‘66 Ford Galaxy, headed to College Station with a special guest accompanying them – a Great Horned Owl named Sammy the First... and this merely says that it was the first time our mascot made a trip to College Station, and not that he was necessarily 'new' that year (non-specific but looks like 1967? by inference?

So the late 60's... at the latest... and we have had no other live (actual) mascot that I can see than a Great Horned Owl.

(03-24-2014 07:24 PM)texd Wrote:  I think the live mascots were great horned owls largely by default though and not through any conscious decision to choose the Great Horned over any other species.

See the letter spanning the two pages shown here about the acquisition of the first:

http://issuu.com/riceuniversity/docs/rice_winter__07/7

Sorry, Hambone. I didn't intend to be perceived as arguing. With the "live" mascot specification, I agree that Great Horned Owls seem to have been the Rice Owl of choice, though possibly by default, as texd suggested.

As for first, the Rice archives has this photo of the 1916 (!!) football team posing with what is said to be a live owl ... and it certainly looks to be GHO.



This predates by a year the naming of "Sammy" as the Rice mascot.

Rice has apparently had other live owl mascots prior to the 1968 ones that Keith O'Gorman describes in the letter linked above by texd.

In the Dec. 9, 1965, Thresher, Cheerleader Kathy Childers ('67) describes her experiences with a Great Horned Owl mascot.

A page 1 article in the Jan 9, 1953, Thresher mentions one, though not the species. (Perhaps someone can find a photo in an old Campanile?):

Quote:Rice now has a live mascot. At its first meeting in 1953, the Rice Student Council accepted a live owl which was brought to the meeting by Keith Harvey. The new owl will replace Sammy, the stuffed owl which has been at Rice for a number of years.

The problem of caring for the owl has not yet been decided. Some council members suggested keeping it in the dorms (East Hall attic), while others offered the alternative of keeping the bird in the biology labs.

The first idea would necessitate an exception to the rule which does not allow pets to be kept in the dorm," and the other requires the permission of Dr. Davies. President John McClane promised that the problem would be attended to immediately.

And there's this odd item on Page 1 of the Dec. 7, 1923, Thresher:

Quote:If loyalty hadn't prevented, The Thresher would have predicted a T.C.U. victory last Tuesday. On that date "Chollie", the little good luck Owl captured by an A. & M. graduate and presented to Rice just before the A. & M. game, died.

Of course, there are also the "something of a mascot, Nellie the Elephant" adventures in 1924-30. But she's clearly not an owl. :-)

It's my fault Mike.

I just didn't understand what you were trying to tell me...

I get it now.

Let's fire all the owls except the GHO. Somebody make an application to the proper body of movers and shakers to adopt the GHO specifically.

(03-24-2014 08:41 PM)smackdaddy Wrote:  

(03-24-2014 07:37 PM)JOwl Wrote:  

(03-24-2014 02:12 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  

(03-24-2014 01:29 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(03-23-2014 07:33 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  Uh ... Our official owl is the European Owl of Athena

Minor correction.

That is absolutely the owl on our seal, but our first athletics mascot I can find was a Great Horned Owl... Live and kept on campus... though I can't tell exactly when. It was 'Owl-napped' in 1917 and named Sammy.

So Sammy, the Great Horned Owl has been our mascot since AT LEAST 1917. I don't know if the Owl of Athena was merely an artistic choice or an intention... but the GHO certainly seems intentional as we have used that one single Owl for almost 100 years now.

Here's a photo of the "Sammy" that was "Owl-napped" by A&M students in 1917:



According to the Rice Centennial Timeline description, this Sammy was "a 6-foot, 191-pound, sawdust-stuffed owl."

It was certainly not a live owl ... and to me it does not look like a great-horned owl either.

The live owls that were kept between Baker and Lovett College when I was at Rice (late 1960s-early 1970s) absolutely included a great-horned owl. (I vaguely remember that at one time two or three owls were kept in that cage, and one of them may not have been a GHO.)

That's a great picture. I love the pure joy on everyone's face. (Except for Sammy. Sammy looks hardcore.)

Anybody know why 4 or 5 of those guys look like Johnny Manzeil? #creepy

It's a shame we can't give rep for posts anymore.

Yikes... I hope it was live. Or maybe I don't. I'm kinda torn on this one. But nothing like that owl.

(03-25-2014 01:09 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  As for first, the Rice archives has this photo of the 1916 (!!) football team posing with what is said to be a live owl ... and it certainly looks to be GHO.

One way or the other, I hope it was in the same state after the picture that it was before the picture.

(03-25-2014 04:18 PM)texd Wrote:  Yikes... I hope it was live. Or maybe I don't. I'm kinda torn on this one. But nothing like that owl.

(03-25-2014 01:09 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  As for first, the Rice archives has this photo of the 1916 (!!) football team posing with what is said to be a live owl ... and it certainly looks to be GHO.