MYSTERIOUS MASCOT

Curious cats may be wondering about the origins of the Academy’s beloved mascot. How did the cat come to be? We’re here to investigate.

The Academy’s athletic teams seem to have first been called the Cats in 1950. The earliest available published reference of the nearly 70-year-old mascot’s name was printed in the New York Times in November of that year. The sports story reported on a homecoming game against Brown University. It notes, “[Coach] Harry Stolz led the Cats in their twelfth straight undefeated game.”

From this clue, it’s possible the use of Cats originated with coaches who used the term during interviews with sports reporters. Nonetheless, within a few years, Academy teams were consistently referred to as the Cats. In 1954, Academy yearbook editors began to call teams the “Cats,” using quotation marks to denote the unusual use of the word. By 1959, the name had become so well known, the quotation marks were dropped. Photos from the Junior School soccer team in the 1979 yearbook use a diminutive of Cats, calling the younger players “Kittens.”

No references have been located which detail why the Cats’ name was chosen as the mascot other than the obvious connection to the Cheshire Cat from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” which was published in 1865 and would have been well-known at the time. However, sports banners and pennants from the early 1960s display a cat which has a close resemblance to Tom Cat from the Tom and Jerry cartoons. While the show first aired in the 1940s, it didn’t gain popularity until the early sixties, right around the time Cheshire Academy’s mascot is depicted in similar form. The mascot received a brief makeover in the 1970s or 1980s; the pink panther-esque design survives on a dated letterman jacket available for viewing in the School Store.

Today, Cheshire Academy athletic teams are still referred to as the “Cats” and use an image of a paw. A proud student each year wears the Cat mascot costume at home games, spirit rallies, and other special events.

FACT OR FICTION?

The origins of the Cheshire cat may have more of an influence on the Cheshire Academy cat than we think. We explored the legends behind the infamous cat, and while the mysterious figure was made famous by Lewis Carroll’s novel in 1865, references predate that. The first documented reference to Cheshire cats and grinning dates back to the 1790s in the work of John Wolcot, who wrote under the pen name Peter Pindar. His Pair of Lyric Epistles included the line, “... Like a Cheshire cat our court will grin.” While the exact date of publish varies, some say that it was printed in 1794, the same year of the Academy’s founding.

But where exactly did the Cheshire cat come from? We found the legends. You be the judge.

HAPPY CATS OF CHESHIRE COUNTY

“Grinning like a Cheshire Cat,” may be a reference to the felines in Cheshire, a county in England. The British Shorthair cat comes from Cheshire, England, and many say they are the happiest cats in England due to their naturally smiling faces. But why are they happy? The free-flowing milk and cream from the county’s abundance of dairy farms and the many mice and rats that came over on nearby ships awaiting their cargo of Cheshire cheese. The rodents from the docked ships would come ashore, lured by the scent of the cheese.

CATS MADE OF CHESHIRE CHEESE

The inspiration for the cat whose body disappears, leaving behind only its smile, may actually have come from cheese. According to Brewer’s Dictionary, local cheeses in Cheshire County were shaped into animals, including a cat. The cheese was eaten starting at the tail, leaving the mouth for last. Carroll, who grew up in Cheshire county, may have drawn his inspiration for the disappearing feline, whose smile is the last feature seen in the story, from this cheesy tradition.

CAT CARVINGS

Another theory focuses on Carroll’s use of the happy cat. There is a church in the village of Grappenhall, Cheshire County, that dates back to the12th century. Carroll’s father reportedly used to preach at the church, the entrance to which is said to boast a carving of a grinning cat. That means as a young boy, Carroll likely saw the carving regularly.

A REGAL DEPICTION

An influential family in Cheshire County had a lion within its crest that was depicted on the signboards at many of the local inns. The painter, having never seen a lion before, ended up painting a figure that looked like a grinning cat. The Academy’s own crest (which, according to former Senior Master Bob Gardiner, was inspired by the Coat of Arms of theTudor Princes of Wales) depicts figures that could be considered lions. The images within Academy’s crest also resemble those from several other coats of arms from throughout England and Wales that contain images of lions and other feline-like figures, some of which feature what looks like the famous grin.

A CAT FOR A COURT JESTER

Legend attributes the famous grin not to a feline, but to a court jester. People wanted to be as happy as the court jester from Cheshire, known as Cat Kaitlin, which may have provided the inspiration for a smile as wide as the Cheshire Cat.