posted on: October 19, 2020
© 2020 Advance Local Media LLC. (Courtesy of UA), Big Al would keep this look for the better part of the early 1980s, including the circular black eyes before they'd add a little color to new designs. (Joe Songer / jsonger@al.com), Big Al greets Alabama fans on Government Street in Mobile during a Mardi Gras Parade on Feb. 12, 2002. Preparations for the Crimson Tide’s big game against Georgia continue. Strupper wrote: “At the end of the quarter, the Earth started to tremble. Reporters meeting the team at the Pasadena train station, so the story goes, concluded it was obvious an elephant was the team mascot, and was written as such in The Atlanta Journal newspaper by Hall of Fame sportswriter Grantland Rice. There are two conflicting stories of the latter, according to multiple published sources. You would think if coach Paul “Bear” Bryant refused to let an elephant mascot roam the sidelines, that would be the end of the story, and University of Alabama fans would have gone along. So a bit of a variation on Espey's take. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (each updated 1/1/20). But he allowed student, and later UA administrator, Mel Espey to don an elephant outfit with a large cumbersome head, with the warning “never to let that big rat get anywhere near me” on the sidelines, according to published reports. The costume would soon see a big change and become a permanent fixture at Alabama. Elephants are slow and clumsy, and if we had one, we would want it to be fierce, athletic and fast, like our team,’” Cramer said. We’ve probably already embraced the elephant mascot.’”. But keep that elephant off my field.’”. As Cramer recalled, “He always cared about the students’ opinions and valued them very highly.” But she said his approval came with the same warning he had given Espey.
(Courtesy of UA), The mascots managed to play nice for a photo op before the Sugar Bowl game, which Alabama won 13-6. "The shower created such great Another way to get Alabama NewsCenter content.
It will reach a length of 5.5 centimetres Yet.Also in 1959, a December CW story stated a costumed red elephant head was purchased to be worn by cheerleader Eddy Pettijohn.This was a year after Bear Bryant returned as Alabama's football coach. A student delegation met with Bryant to seek his approval. (Paul W. Bryant Museum / The University of Alabama), Cheerleaders and Melford Epsey, Jr. as an elephant mascot.
“The students asked him politely, ‘Sir, if that’s true, why are there red elephants on our tickets and why do you have an elephant lamp on your desk?’ He laughed and said, ‘Well, you’re right. But Big Al is on the football field this fall, as he has been for almost four decades. many American battles--between white settlers and Native Americans, and between the North and South in the Civil War.
Roughly two decades later, Bryant was again reticent when students in 1979 passed a Senate resolution calling for a mascot. accessed.
The oldest of which So a bit of a variation on Espey's take.
state flower is the Camellia. (Courtesy of UA), If nothing else, today's Big Al should honor Melford Espey Jr. by wearing similar shoes at football games. There are multiple Big Als at any given time.
(The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections), Two elephants, one wearing an Alabama drape, on the Quadrangle for Homecoming in 1947. of Commerce in the 1940s and 1950s, and put on state license plates. 1 revolves around Rosenberger’s Birmingham Trunk store, which closed in 2016. Alabama does not have an official nickname, but Student Hugh Dye debuted Big Al at Alabama’s win over Arkansas in the 1980 Sugar Bowl, which delivered Bryant’s last national championship. tree fruit, established in 2006. (Courtesy of UA), Late 1990s/Early 2000s (Coleman Coliseum), A slightly darker shade, Big Al sports some plaid pants (perhaps in honor of former coach Wimp Sanderson) during a basketball game in Coleman Coliseum in the late 1990s or early 2000s. is known as the "Heart of Dixie." (The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections), University of Alabama 1948 Corolla. Not only is it an intriguing story about why Bryant objected but eventually gave in, but just as interesting is how the school mascot evolved from live elephants to a costumed Big Al, and how an elephant became the mascot to begin with. But with some help from UA's Bryant Museum, we wanted to take a look back at how his look has changed since he came to become the mascot way back in the early 1970s, as well as a few elephant mascots that technically weren't Big Al, but set the foundation for who we'd all see on game days. When talk of a costumed mascot gained steam, officials convinced Dye to try out and he ended up being the first to don the new costume with the name “Big Al.”. one of the several rock formations where Native Americans lived long ago, or see the Natural Bridge Rock, the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies. (Courtesy of UA), Late 1990s/Early 2000s (Bryant-Denny Stadium), Sporting an eye-patch, a vest and some slacks, Big Al rocks a totally different look, likely for a theme of some sort in Bryant-Denny during the late 1990s or early 2000s. One often-reported story is the university owned and boarded an elephant named Alamite that was eventually sold because it cost too much to feed and carry on a train for away games. (Courtesy of UA), The Alabama student section passes Big Al around during the first quarter of the Tide's home game against Penn State in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sept. 11, 2010. The story of how Alabama became associated with the "elephant" goes back to the 1930 season when Coach Wallace Wade had assembled a great football team. Men and women have played the role but all have kept their identity secret – at least during their tenure. In addition to being made of a thick material and liner, the original costume included a heavy wool red sweater with a white “A” on the front. Dye had tried out for cheerleader the spring before and hurt his knee. It refers to the night of November 12, 1833, when a fantastic Rosenberger was a big Crimson Tide fan and provided each player a complimentary suitcase for the cross-country train trip to the Rose Bowl in California. excitement across the state that it became a part of Alabama folklore and for years was used to date events. “His response was, ‘Alabama doesn’t have a mascot.
(John David Mercer / Mobile Press-Register), Wearing a sparkly jersey, Big Al does a little dance in the middle of the Bryant-Denny Stadium field in 2003. Records are fuzzy and at times contradictory on how it unfolded. On October (Ben Flanagan/AL.com). (Alabama Media Group), With slightly less floppy ears, this Big Al pumped fans up at an Independence Bowl pep rally at Expo Hall in Shreveport, La., in 2001. Explanation No. (Paul W. Bryant Museum / The University of Alabama), Hugh Dye was the first to wear the Big Al costume as the Alabama Crimson Tide mascot. Dye said previous Big Als got together at the 25th anniversary of the mascot and he would like to see a reunion next year to mark the 40th anniversary. Students in Alabama can visit (Corutesy of UA), You had to admire the effort of Melford Espey Jr. to give Bama the mascot it needed, even if it would scare small children today. A man was injured crawling in the animals’ enclosure, according to rollbamaroll.com. Alabama entered the union (Photo by Vasha Hunt / vhunt@al.com), In the early 1960s, UA student Melford Espey Jr. became the first to wear an elephant head costume as the school's mascot, here leading the Tide at a home game, though he was not officially "Big Al." With blue eyes and sporting a jersey with a white 'A' on it, this became the Big Al everyone grew to know and love.
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