MOLLY VANDENBERG
Staff Writer
Fredonia’s athletic department is referred to as the Fredonia Blue Devils, but how did this nickname actually come to be?
A lot of this information came to light during the school’s 175th anniversary celebration back in 2001. Joanne Schweik, a past archivist at the Reed Library, researched many of the old volumes of The Leader — these are available for anyone to look at in the Archives & Special Collections area of the Reed Library.
Schweik found that the Blue Devil name originates back to the 1930s. She wrote in depth about her findings.
According to Schweik’s research, Joseph Keyser was appointed Director of Physical Education at the Fredonia Normal School in Sept. 1935.
“He became THE sports department. He held the first school-wide basketball tryouts and was probably responsible for the acquisition of new blue and white uniforms,” wrote Schweik.
Keyser encouraged the addition of cheerleaders and school spirit among students in the 1936-1937 academic year. The only intercollegiate team at that time, the men’s basketball team, was unofficially referred to as Keyserians, Fredonians, Blue-and-White and Normalites.
The Jan. 27, 1936 Leader edition announced a contest to name the basketball team. The Feb. 3, 1936, edition gives the name suggestions, and the March 10, 1936, edition announced that two names were selected: Blue Devils and Blue Jackets.
Blue Jackets was put into use immediately, but was suddenly dropped without an explanation. For the first two games of the 1936-1937 season, neither name was used. With the third game of the season, the team was called Blue Devils. The nickname has stuck to this day.
Schweik also found the first illustration of a Blue Devil in a Sept. 1952 edition of The Leader.
“Whether there is now an official Blue Devil seems very much in doubt, as this particular demon seems to have assumed many forms throughout history and at whim,” wrote Schweik.
The athletic department introduced the college’s first official Blue Devil logo in 2007. The primary mark and a variety of secondary marks were drawn by Phoenix Design Works. This official logo was created in consultation with athletic department members and was approved by university administrators.
This information was provided with the help of Jerry Reilly, the sports information director in Fredonia’s athletic department.
In short, Fredonia has carried the Blue Devil nickname throughout the past 80 years.