Recently I wrote about how the University of Hawaii team got its Rainbow nickname. Janel Horiuchi, a teacher and alumna of Waipahu High School, wrote to me recently. She told me the history of the school’s Marauder nickname and inspired me to write a column on how some of Hawaii’s schools got their nicknames.
You might wonder whether nicknames or mascots are interchangeable terms. Usually they are. Mascots are often costumed characters or animals, while nicknames might not take a physical form.
Horiuchi came across an article from Waipahu’s Cane Tassel school publication, dated Oct. 19, 1944.
It credits eighth-grader Richard Mark, who came up with the first nickname, Golden Marauders.
Mark said, "I was thinking of the names of airplanes, and I hit upon the Martin Marauder (B-26), which, I believe, has lots in common with our athletes. ‘Maraud’ means to attack, raid and plunder. ‘Marauder’ suggests courage, power, fearlessness and audacity.
"Since our school colors are blue and gold, what could be better than Golden Marauders?"
The Martin B-26 Marauder bomber served during World War II, and many flew over Waipahu High School.
The newspaper goes on to say that "over the years, ‘golden’ has been dropped. Today we refer to ourselves as the Marauders." And today most think of Marauders as pirates.
Waipahu High School is celebrating its Diamond Anniversary on April 5 with a gala from 4 to 8 p.m. The public is invited.
Waipahu High was the first public high school in the Leeward area. Until Waipahu, Farrington and Roosevelt opened in the 1930s, Leeward students had to take the train and then a streetcar to town to attend McKinley High School.
MCKINLEY TIGERS
McKinley High School’s nickname is the Tigers. School administrators believe that came about because many McKinley graduates continued their education at Princeton University in New Jersey. The Tigers nickname was possibly derived from the close association with Princeton.
SAINT LOUIS CRUSADERS
Saint Louis school was named for King Louis IX of France, who died leading his second crusade, hence the nickname Crusaders.
PUNAHOU BUFFANBLU
According to the school’s 1900 yearbook, Buffanblu was adopted as the school’s nickname and colors in 1891 to represent "the golden isles in the midst of the blue Pacific."
ROOSEVELT ROUGH RIDERS
Roosevelt High School was named for President Theodore Roosevelt, who served in the U.S. Volunteer Calvary in Cuba in 1898. They were called the Rough Riders. That’s better than the previous name, Wood’s Weary Walkers, named for the commander Col. Leonard Wood.
The Rough Rider name probably came from the famous traveling Western show "Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World."
An interesting Hawaii connection is that Roosevelt’s Rough Riders served under the leadership of Maj. Gen. William Shafter, who led the Spanish-American war effort in Cuba.
‘IOLANI RAIDERS
‘Iolani had several nicknames before 1936, when it joined the ILH: Nuuanuans, Iolanians, and Blue and Whites.
Legendary football head coach the Rev. Kenneth Bray saw that many other teams in the league wore blue uniforms and switched the school’s colors to red, black and white.
The new nickname: Crimson Tide.
In 1953, when they moved to their current location from Nuuanu, they took the name Crimson Tide Red Raiders.
Alumnus John Tamanaha says that "in the early 1990s the school officially dropped the ‘Red’ and has since used the nickname Raiders."
KAHUKU RED RAIDERS
Kahuku’s original nickname was the Kahuku Ramblers. When ‘Iolani dropped Red Raiders, Bray donated its old uniforms to Kahuku, which took on the Red Raiders name.
LEILEHUA MULES
It’s no coincidence that the U.S. Army and Leilehua High School share the same mascot: mules. Leilehua began in 1924 on base as Schofield High and Grammar School.
Some other Hawaii schools have interesting names, such as the Lanai High School Pine Lads/Lasses. Lanai was the Pineapple Isle. The Maui Prep Pueo, for the Hawaiian owls that have been seen sitting on the school fence.
I’d be curious to know how other Hawaii schools got their nicknames.
For instance, why did Pahoa High pick Daggers? Why did Kaimuki pick Bulldogs? Or when and why did Hilo High pick Vikings?
Drop me a line if you have an interesting story about Hawaii school nicknames and mascots.
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Bob Sigall is Hawaii’s business historian and author of the “Companies We Keep” books, available at www.CompaniesWeKeep.com. Email him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.
