Cy is perhaps the most recognizable face around campus… but how much do you really know about Iowa State’s beloved mascot?
Cy’s Best Memories
- First being introduced to Cyclone fans at the Homecoming football game in 1954.
- Eloping with Susie Snapper Hawk from the University of Iowa. (Even though the marital bliss was short lived and Susie has been seen since!)
- Meeting his spawn Clone at Hilton Coliseum in January 1989 and working in tandem with him for several years.
- Being awarded CBS Sportsline.com’s 2007 “Most Dominant College Mascot on Earth.” Booyah!
- Making over 200 appearances each year.
- Recieving a swag-ified mascot make-over this past fall. What mascot doesn’t want to look tougher and stronger? Keep an eye out for the new and improved, rough and ripped Cy to appear on Iowa State apparel and products.
- Helping pedestrians navigate the Morrill Road construction zone this past Summer 2010 and into the early Fall. Life-size, two-dimensional replicas of everyone’s favorite cardinal provided pedestrians with helpful safety pointers and detour instructions amid the campus construction chaos.
Cy’s Not-So-Fond Memories
- The inevitable doom of falling for Susie Snapper Hawk from University of Iowa. She was a Hawkeye… should’ve known.
- Being plucked by University of Missouri students in 1961. Ouch!
- A car accident in 1972 while heading to the Liberty Bowl.
- Being kidnapped several times in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Birth of Cy
It’s hard to believe that there hasn’t always been a Cy. As you can guess, the name Cy stems from “Cyclones.” But how did we come to be known as the Cyclones? On September 28, 1895 the Iowa State football team played Northwestern University. The Iowa State team, who later admitted that they were really just hoping to score at all, ended up scoring 36 points. Northwestern scored nothing. The next day a writer of The Chicago Tribune wrote, “Struck by a Cyclone… Northwestern might as well have tried to play football with an Iowa cyclone as with the Iowa team it met yesterday.”
The Iowa State team immediately became known as the Cyclones. And the name has stuck for over 100 years. However, in 1954 there was one man who wanted this name un-stuck. Chev Adams, president of Collegiate Manufacturing, wanted to create a mascot for Iowa State. At that time, Adams’ Ames-based company was the leading suppplier of college mascot products in the country. Adams wanted Iowa State to change the mascot because it was difficult to create a costume for a tornado-like mascot. (Ever heard the expression, “You can’t stuff a Cyclone”?) Luckily Harry Burrell, sports information director at Iowa State, was not keen on changing such a longstanding and beloved tradition. So instead of picking a new mascot, the Iowa State Pep Council held a contest to determine what exactly the mascot should be. A cardinal was chosen (inspired by the school’s cardinal and gold colors) and Collegiate Manufacturing produced the 8-foot bird at a cost of $200. The costume debuted at Homecoming on October 16, 1954.
The cardinal waited for a name while a national “Name-the-Bird” contest was helded. Wilma Beckman Ohlsen of Ames was the first of seventeen others to suggest the name “Cy.”
Cy’s Car Accident
In December of 1972, Cy and his traveling buddies were on their way to the Liberty Bowl when their vehicle was involved in an accident near St. Louis, Missouri. Robert John (that year’s Cy) suffered only bruises and scratches. Cy was not so lucky—his frame had been bent, plus he’d been splattered with oil and battery acid in the accident. John and Cy didn’t arrive in Memphis until early in the morning on December 18—game day! Friends and alumni at the Memphis Sheraton-Peabody Hotel put out a bowl for donations. Meanwhile, Cy’s body was separated from the frame. Staff at the hotel worked hard to get the hotel back into good shape. A costumer and her assistants spent the entire day putting Cy back together with matching fabric. Aside from the costumer charging a minimum amount to pay her staff members, nobody involved charged for any of the work involved in getting Cy back on his feet. The collected money was then used for more permanent revamping once Cy got back to Ames. At the Liberty Bowl pre-game rally later that evening, fans went wild at Cy’s arrival.
So now that you know a little bit more about our beloved Cy… maybe you’ll have something interesting talk about next time you see him around on campus. A compliment on his new look will surely be appreciated, too!
Sources:
Inside Iowa State