"GO!!"..."HUSKIES!!"
With Husky football season approaching, these oh-so-familiar words begin echoing in the dreams of Husky fans far and wide. Dreams of tailgates with friends and family filled with games of corn hole and beersbee, awaiting Dubs' inaugural sprint across the field, leading out our boys. These dreams will shortly become a reality, but what would all of these husky traditions be without a husky?!
Without a husky you ask? It is difficult to imagine the University of Washington without picturing our beloved Dubs or Harry the Husky, but between the years of 1861 and 1920 there were two very different faces representing the University of Washington: first, the Indians, and later, the Vikings.
"GO!!"..."VIKINGS?!" Unless it is Chris Hemsworth running across Husky Stadium as a viking, I vote no.
Thankfully, neither mascot seemed to quite match up to the prestige of the University, so in 1921, the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW), said no more to this mascot dilemma. They let the public decide through general elections.
The vote landed the University with a new mascot: the "Sundodger." This was apparently taken as a stab at the rainy weather that is seen here most of the year, so this was quickly shot down. A new ASUW committee was tasked with finding the University a new identity. Several mascots later, at a basketball game in February of 1922, we were officially introduced as the HUSKIES!
Fun Fact: When the husky mascot was being decided, the official mascot that was denoted to be used was the Alaskan Malamute because it is the largest and strongest of all husky breeds. GO DAWGS!
After the birth of our new identity as Huskies, the UW chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity adopted the first line of huskies to represent the University: Frosty I. (Yes, this means that Dubs was not always the name of our beloved mascot. This came as a shock to me as well). That being said, Dubs comes from a long line of other great husky mascots:
1) Frosty I: 1922-1930
2) Frosty II: 1930-1936
3) Wasky: 1946-1951
4) Wasky II: 1947-1954
5) Ski: 1954-1958
6) Denali: 1958-1959
7) King Chinook: 1959-1968
8) Regent Denali: 1969-1981
9) Sundodger Denali: 1981-1992
10) King Redoubt: 1992-1998
11) Prince Redoubt: 1998-1999
12) Spirit: 1999-2008
And finally, the most recent, adorable face of UW, that we all know and love: Dubs I.
With the school year on its way and football season even closer, take a minute to appreciate the great history and tradition that we get to be a part of as University of Washington Huskies. And now, all that is left to say is, LET'S GO DAWGS!!!
