Old Blue

Boarding "Old Blue," 1976. University of Kentucky general photographic prints. 2001ua025.

A 1982 article in a men's basketball program proclaimed "A little bit of the United Kingdom has come to the University of Kentucky." The author was referring to "Old Blue," the 1953 double-decker tour bus purchased by the Alumni Association and presented to the university in 1974. Fixed up and given a fresh coat of (blue) paint, "Old Blue" made it's first run September 16, 1974. The bus could be found on the north side of the Administration building every Monday-Friday at 2 p.m., waiting to take visitors on a free 30 minute tour of north, central, and south campus. It was staffed by student tour guides and was a big hit, especially for kids on field trips or attending basketball camps at UK. According to one tour guide, "Kids really think it's fun to ride on the upper deck of 'Old Blue'."

Restoration work on "Old Blue," circa 1974. University of Kentucky general prints. 2001ua025.

Having seen photographs of "Old Blue" in the collections, we wondered what ever happened to the bus. An article by Don White in a local publication, The Chevy Chaser, provided the missing pieces of the puzzle. The bus was bought at an auction for less than $3000 and stored at a towing company until Ed Nighbert agreed to store it at his A-127 storage business in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. There it sits for the moment, although Nighbert says they do have plans to get it back in shape and running again. Today, campus visitors are given a guided walking tour instead of a ride on "Old Blue." We are still unsure of the date of the last "Old Blue" tour, so would welcome comments from anyone who knows.

"Old Blue," 1984. University of Kentucky general prints. 2001ua025.

Your guess is as good as ours

Pictured above are two photos which came from the Ben Williams negatives. They depict two booths. The first is called the Case of the Curious Bride and has a peep hole cut in a sheet the other is called April Showers and appears to be two women holding guns and two holding candles. Some user generated feedback would be nice since both photos have us stumped.

Search, Explore, Connect: Special Collections and Digital Programs at the University of Kentucky

A truly wild Wildcat

" TNT," the second live mascot, circa 1922-1923. 1998ua002:2528.

Modern UK fans are used to seeing the Wildcat mascot at sports events: a man in a wildcat suit rallying the crowd, dancing, playing pranks. But the history of the wildcat mascot goes back to 1921, when the wildcat was not a man in a suit, but a live bobcat (Lynx rufus, referred to as a wildcat in Kentucky). The first live mascot, "Tom," was purchased by Dick Webb, an assistant football coach. Tom was lauded in the press and paraded out in his cage during games. The wildcat, a human-shy, mostly nocturnal and solitary mammal native to the state, does not take well to captivity, and Tom died in less than a year. He was replaced by "TNT" the next year, who died in a few months only to be succeeded by "Whiskers." There was a long line of live mascots up until just before World War II, the cats either dying or being released into the wild again.

In 1947, the school newspaper, The Kentucky Kernel, ran an article entitled "Live Wildcat Years Ago, Why Not Now?" The article sparked a flurry of alumni activity to set the plan for a new live mascot in order. A 20 pound female cat was captured from the wild in Whitley county and named "The Kentucky Colonel." The Colonel lasted longer than most -- seven years before being sent to the state wildlife farm, where she died of pneumonia. In the late 1950s, a stuffed wildcat was purchased from a taxidermist and trotted out at games for 10 years. The last live mascot was "Baby" in 1969. Athletic Director Harry Lancaster put an end to Baby's appearances after two games due to a fan's complaints about the cat's treatment.

"Tucky," a stuffed wildcat, at a game circa 1960. 2001ua025_0167.

Happily for wildcats and animal lovers, 1976 saw the beginning of the human-dressed-as-wildcat tradition at the University of Kentucky. Gary Tanner was the original mascot. Today, UK claims "Blue," the male wildcat at the Salato Wildlife Center as its official live mascot. Blue was born and bred in captivity and is never present at events.

"The Kentucky Colonel," live mascot for seven years. Photo originally from Kentucky Kernel, 1947. ukawcp1988_12_35_022.

Much of the information for this post was obtained from an article by Russell Rice in "The Cats' Pause" newsletter from August 27, 1988. Volume 12, number 35.

Blast from the past

From 1987 edition of The Cats' Pause newsletter

From 1987 edition of The Cats' Pause newsletter

Over the past three months, I have been scanning basketball programs and The Cats' Pause newsletters for an athletics website project in University Archives. Sometimes, what is most interesting (and also provides some diversion from the subject at hand) are the advertisements in these publications. Some remind me of long-forgotten businesses or events in Lexington, while others are a reminder of better-off-forgotten fashions and pop-culture.

What caught my eye with the military registration ad were the references to popular music at the time: "The Boss, New Edition, Rush." Even the reference to the "stereo" is dated, since 18 year olds are far more likely to be plugged into their iPods these days. In the Ashland Oil ad, it was the acid-wash jeans and big hair. And while the earliest ad is before my time, I do remember when the Welgo store was still around, and also appreciate the now kitschy qualities of the drawings.

From 1957 University of Kentucky basketball program

Women's basketball tradition at UK

University of Kentucky's (then Kentucky State College) first women's basketball team, 1903. University of Kentucky general photograph collection, 2001ua025.


University of Kentucky women's basketball team with trophy, circa 1920s. Louis Edward Nollau photographic print collection, 1998ua002.

The University of Kentucky women's basketball program was established in 1902 - one year earlier than the men's basketball team. The first women's game was played on February 21, 1903. For the first few years of its existence on UK's campus, the women's basketball team mostly played interclass scrimmages, only playing one or two intercollegiate games per season. All games were carefully monitored by Florence Offutt Stout, the women's physical education director and first Dean of Women, and no spectators were allowed. Stout was a proponent of "medical gymnastics," a more gentle form of physical exercise targeted at promoting physical health and eliminating obesity, and considered competitive sports at odds with this program.

In 1909, the women's basketball team complained via a petition to the faculty senate stating that Stout did not support the development of the sport and asked that the athletic association take over the management of the team. This started a power struggle which stretched over almost two decades between Stout, women students in favor of the sport, and the athletic association. In 1924, bolstered by the support of Sarah Blanding -- the new Dean of Women -- Stout finally convinced the University Senate and UK President Frank McVey that basketball was "too strenuous for girls." McVey cited this "strenuousity" and the claim that road trips for the team were prohibitively expensive due to "the necessity of proper chaperonage" as reasons for banning women's basketball. This was in spite of the fact that the 1923-1924 women's team had won the Southern Intercollegiate Championship after an undefeated 10-0 season. All women's intercollegiate varsity sports were discontinued on November 13, 1924. Ironically, the 1924-1925 season marked the first season of men's basketball play in Alumni Gym and a rise of popularity in the game on campus.

In the next decades, women's basketball continued to be played in physical education classes, and later as an intramural sport, but organizing campus dances became the primary focus of the Women's Athletic Association. It was not until 1974 that women's basketball was reinstated as a varsity sport, with Sue Feamster serving as the first coach of a varsity team in fifty years.

Gregory Kent Stanley has written a fuller account of the early years of women's basketball and the campus politics affecting it in his book Before Big Blue. UK Athletics offers a historic timeline of women's basketball achievements on its website under "History and records."

The "Madness" Continues

Even though the Wildcats are out of the running for this year's NCAA Tournament, the University of Kentucky Archives has materials from more than 100 years worth of glory days to revel in! Test your knowledge of UK basketball history with these "fun facts."

1. Scotty Baesler, mayor of Lexington from 1982-1993 and 6th District U.S. Congressman from 1993-1999, is also a former UK basketball player (1959-1963). What was Rupp’s nickname for Baesler?
a. Cab
b. Garbage Collector
c. Frog

2. Which former UK basketball coach toured with the Harlem Globetrotters for a year?
a. Rick Pitino
b. Adolph Rupp
c. Joe B. Hall

3. Who was the first All-American named from the University of Kentucky basketball team?
a. Carey Spicer
b. Basil Hayden
c. Forest “Aggie” Sale

Answers: 1-b; 2-c; 3-b