UMF Beaver mascot with library book, 2007
Although Farmington State Normal School had baseball and basketball teams as early as the late 1890s and early 1900s, there was no official school mascot until the 1940s. The first team "mascots" were often a young child rather than an animal. The Normal School's 1898 baseball team had a young boy as mascot.
The 1928 baseball team had the first nickname, the Teachers. The name “Big Red” appeared in the sports section of the 1942 yearbook and the college's teams were referred to as “the Maroon and White” in the late 1940s.
The idea of choosing a mascot was not proposed until several years after the Normal School became Farmington State Teachers College in 1945.
Selecting a school mascot was the topic of the “Around the Campus” column of the February 4, 1948 issue of the F.S.T.C. Mirror. A number of animals were considered, with some strong student support for designating the stray cat that lurked around Merrill Hall as the official representative of the school. However, President Dearborn and other administrators vetoed the idea of “Professor Pussycat” and the beaver was chosen for its reputation as being hard working and ambitious. The name “Buzzy Beaver” appeared in the May 7, 1948 issue of the school’s newspaper.
Effesteco beaver drawing, 1952
The men’s sports teams were referred to as Beavers and Junior Varsity players as “Beaver pups” in the 1950 yearbook. A beaver illustration appeared in the campus newspaper masthead in the 1950s and student Frank Beaudoin's beaver drawings illustrated the introductory pages of each section of the 1952 yearbook.
The Farmington State Teachers College varsity cheerleaders posed with a stuffed beaver for their 1964 yearbook photo. This may be the earliest version of a beaver mascot seen at the college's basketball games.
FSTC Varsity Cheerleaders with Mascot, 1964
Mantor Library at UMF
An unofficial mascot costume was used in the 1970s, but it was not a very good likeness of a beaver.
A beaver costume used in the 1990s was popular with students, who always managed to rescue it from attempts to discard it.
UMF Athletics Department purchased its first official mascot costume in 2005 and it made its debut at the start of basketball season that fall. Affectionately called Chompers, the UMF beaver is a mainstay at athletics games and attends major campus events, such as New Student Orientation in the fall and graduation in the spring.
Sources: Mirror, 1933; F.S.T.C. Mirror (Feb. 4, 1948, April 2, 1948, and May 7, 1948); Effesseness, 1928; Effesteco, 1950, 1952 and 1964; “Mascot Entertains UMF Fans, Athletes”, Sun Journal, Jan 27, 2006.
