Sluggy's Lair

The following is an excerpt from an oral history presentation authored by Albert McGovney, PHS History Teacher and unofficial Parkersville Town Historian. Transcribed by Marion Wilkins.

Sluggy: History is Slimy

By Albert McGovney

We all know Sluggy as the feisty but lovable school mascot of Parkersville High. But the backstory and how we got to today is a fascinating tale.

We begin at the opening of the original Parkersville High School in 1921. Located several miles away from the current campus on what we now call Olde School Road. Back then it didn't even have a name, it was just the "road the school is on". The local population was less than 1500, so the school included grades 7 through 12. The additional students were just enough for the county to justify building a permanent facility. School records from the first year show it had 102 students.

While most of the attention was on starting up an academic program, almost as much time was spent deciding what the school wanted to be. People tried to compare the new Parkersville school with the older more established high school in Connor, which isn’t really a fair comparison as Connor had been open for over a decade. But being the closest school meant there would be the inevitable comparisons. Also a small number of students that originally were attending Connor were rezoned into Parkersville. And they were none too happy. Imagine being taken away from your friends, the familiar, and your traditions. So Parkersville High began creating its own traditions in earnest.

They needed a mascot. There was no shortage of suggestions. According to historical records they had narrowed it down to three options. They all had one thing in common, they were based on the most popular sport at the school; boxing.

This was the beginning of the Roaring 20’s. Boxing was all the rage. And young boys of the Mountain State were all too eager to wrestle and get into fisticuffs at the drop of a hat. Boxing was offered at most schools, but it excelled at Parkersville. It was also something that set them apart from Connor which preferred football. Parkersville’s second favorite sport was baseball, but it was a distant second.

The three mascot names were put to a town vote. Results being:

3rd Place: The Pugs, 87 votes 2nd Place: The Boxers, 122 votes 1st Place: The Sluggers, 463 votes

Thus, the Parkersville Sluggers were born. No records could be found as to why the colors Orange, Yellow and White were chosen. An interesting detail lost to time.

This decision was not without controversy. Many of the mothers in the town were not happy with a violent sport being chosen to represent their new school. Even Patrick Rivers, the mayor at the time, was quoted in the 1922 PMG stating that he would have “preferred less of a ruffian stigma associated with the town”. But there was no real opposition overall.

This was followed up with the need to have a logo. The task went to Jeffrey Pennington; Parkersville’s only printer. He wasn’t really a graphic artist, but he’d seen enough work go through his shope that the school believed he would be the best suited for the task. His final result was not what one would call inspired, but it was adopted and used for almost 20 years.

Parkersville High continued to grow over the next decade, in both size and reputation. In 1927 Parkersville sent two boys to the State Boxing Championship: Oliver Sagar - Class of ’28 and Walter Kursey - Class of ’27. Neither of the boys went to the final round, but they were the town heroes nonetheless. Upon their return they actually got a parade in their honor right down Main Street.

But just as the little school was beginning to make a name for itself…1929, the stock market crash, and the beginning of the Great Depression. The thirties was very had for small mountain towns. Enrollment at the school was down to almost half by 1934. Many of the families had left to go to the big cities looking for work, or a hand out, or both. For those who stayed in town the school became the center of the community. The cafeteria ran a Soup Kitchen 3 nights a week. Adult classes were offered on the weekends. Topics ranged from quilting to skinning. Some of the old ways were being forgotten, and at a time when self reliance was needed more than ever.

Most of the students that remained were girls, as most boys of working age were out trying to work. The girls…had a problem. They didn’t box. Boxing was never offered as a female sport. And they really didn’t have any desire to adopt it. So they dove headlong and headstrong into baseball. It was always Parkersville’s fallback sport. Everyone knew how to play, and many preferred it to being punched in the face by their peers. So for several years boxing took a back seat to baseball. And people began to notice. And notice how well the girls were doing. In 1938 the girls varsity team actually qualified for regionals. The town was thrilled, but the specter of a boxer on their school logo was beginning to come up against some serious opposition. It was so contentious that it ended up being on one of the mayoral candidates platforms. George Humphrey ran with the promise that he would remove the boxer if elected. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he won. Thus began the year long process to remake the logo. The problem was that ‘Sluggers’ was engrained into everything Parkersville. Saying Parkersville with Sluggers was like breathing. The two just went together. He was quoted later as saying “Changing the logo was much harder then winning the election”.

Eventually, and clear as day in hindsight, the solution was offered. The name Sluggers would remain, but instead of pertaining to boxers, it would represent baseball sluggers!

There remained one problem. All of the initial designs for a new logo had a male baseball player at the center. The girls felt that wasn’t fair and proceeded to make their views known. After all, it was the girls who had elevated the sport. They were the ones invited to Regionals, not the boys. So…in the end, and in Mayor Humphreys longest lasting impact, it was decided to have have neither a boy nor a girl as the new mascot, but to go with a cartoon baseball instead. And it would be named Sluggie.

Most people were frightened by the initial design, which made the mayor double down, thus the logo form 1941 to 1955.

Parkersville High had a surge in attendance in the 1940’s. The population of the town soared and so did the student body. There were over 500 students by the outbreak of World War II. Many of you already know the story of the munitions plant and the contribution that Parkersville made to the war effort. But you may not know about Glen Clement. Glen was the coach for both the Wrestling and Boxing teams. He volunteered up early in the conflict and was killed in action. Aside from being one of the dozens of men taken from us in the war, this also left a void at the school when we finally forced peace. The hole for a wrestling coach was quickly filled, but none of the existing coaches wanted to pickup boxing. So, for several years, there was no boxing program at PHS. Baseball was becoming more and more popular both at the school and in the country. As more and more schools began taking their baseball programs seriously, Parkersville began to slip down a tier or two. Many believed the Cinderella story was not to be. Parkersville is just too small and too out of the way. So, for the next several years nothing really happened. That is…until 1952.

Nothing puts a fire in your belly like a good local rivalry. Connor High School had not been sitting on its laurels this whole time. They had slowly been moving from football to baseball as their marque sport. And, had been doing rather well. Always a winning season and often a playoff birth. They had beaten Parkersville 11 of the last 12 meetups. And the one time they ‘lost’ was because they had to forfeit due to a technicality. So what a surprise when the Sluggers beat the Cougars 14-0. Parkersville was on fire, and Connor just fell apart. But that became the start of what we begrudgingly call ‘Slugfest’. From that point forward, anytime the Sluggers would play the Cougars (in any sport) it was called a Slugfest. Some love it. Some are over it. But regardless, the name was here to stay. Parkersville and Connor pretty much split the next few years of head to head competitions. And the annual baseball matchups are legendary and exciting.

In 1956 the students petitioned to have a new logo created. They believed the old one was dated and frightened small children, both of which were true. The administration agreed and a contest was held for a new logo. Dozens of submissions were entered, some from students, some from alumni, and some from actual designers. The new logo was unveiled at the beginning of the 1956 school year. On the whole it was well received. Sluggie had a new look, but the school wanted even more. The Pep Squad had requested something the school had never had before…a walk around mascot. The request was not taken seriously at first, but as soon as people found out that Connor had a new walk around Cougar character…well, you know where this is going.

The Sluggie walk around mascot made his debut at the first home game of the 1957 school year. And the fans loved him. The giant walk around baseball with a smiling face became an instant hit and a staple at all PHS games.

You could make the argument that the new logo didn’t look like a baseball, as much as just a giant head. This was a conscious decision to appeased the other PHS sports, as the school had a complete athletic program and not just a baseball team. But the new mascot made no such concession. It was a baseball, pure and simple. So, as you can imagine, the football, basketball, wrestling and volleyball teams took a little while to equally embrace the new Sluggie. But, in the end, everyone was onboard, and for the next decade Sluggie’s smiling face was unavoidable.

Calvin Rottwell was the first to don the mascot costume. He was a junior in ’57 and ‘performed’ as Sluggie for two years before he graduated. He came up with most of Sluggie’s signature moves; The One Footed Strike Out, The Tornado Home Run, The Butt Bump Taunt and the Sluggie Duggie. Calvin was said to actually be rather reserved and shy, but once inside the costume you’d never know it. There were many students who performed as Sluggie over the years.

The most memorable Sluggie incident occurred in 1963 at an away game against the Milford Miners. The Milford mascot - a Miner with a Pick Ax got into a physical fight with Sluggie, the reason for which was never fully disclosed, but that year was the first year that Sluggie was being performed by a female student; Maci Scarborough. The Miner had no idea he was being up a girl, but the Parkersville players did. They emptied the bench, as did Milford, and a melee ensued. Parkersville had to forfeit the game, but none of the players said they regretted their actions. Days later, when the Milford mascot realized he had attacked a girl - he was said to be beside himself. He apologize profusely, even showing up at a PHS Pep Rally to apologize in person. Marci took it in stride, she was known to be rather feisty, there were no hard feelings. Milford petitioned the athletics division to reverse the forfeit and the game was eventually reschedule and able to be played where it left off - a first for West Virginia high school athletics. In a surprise upset Milford ended up winning, but everyone agreed it was still a good game.

In 1966 there was a new event added to the Regional Playoffs: The Mascot Matchup. This was a series of games and challenges to be performed by the mascots of the various teams in attendance. These included pushups, kicking accuracy, tug-o-war, etc. All of the regional mascots participated: the Connor Cougar, Milford Miner, Sacton Stallion, Hawksburg Hawk, Dalton Demon, Fairgood Falcon, Braverton Pioneer, Hamilton Logger, Ashville Buck (before the school permanetly closed), and the Saw Creek Beaver. Unfortunately, Sluggie had no hands or arms. This put Parkersville at a distinct disadvantage. So much so that Sluggie was only able to participate in 3 of the 8 contests and, unsurprisingly, got last place. Obviously this did not go over well. The school administration protested that the contests weren't fair and that new challenges should be adopted. After several failed attempts to change the types of challenges going forward, it was decided that Sluggie needed an update. The next year introduced the 1967 mascot.

The 1967 Sluggie was met with mixed reviews. The biggest complaint was that it looked like so many other mascots. The “Ball Head” (as the original was nick named) was unique and no one mistook it for any other character. The new mascot, although more traditional, also looked a little boring. However, the initial hesitance was quickly dispelled by the shear energy level that that new Sluggie was able to display. He could RUN! Clap! Dance! And most importantly, compete in the annual Mascot Matchup. The new Sluggie won 3rd place that first year and no one, other than some vocal alumni, wanted the old Ball Head back.

Sluggie was given the number ‘9’ backwards. It was supposed to be a funny number that also looked like a ‘P’. Then backwards 9s started showing up everywhere. You never know what’s going to take off or become popular. The ‘Back 9’, as it ended up being called, was one of those things.

The early 70’s were very tumultuous across all of America. Faith and belief in large establishments were either wavering or shattered; Watergate, the Vietnam War, the Gas Crisis, the Pentagon Papers…innocence was dying. Parkersville was being encroached upon by the world down the hill. This spilled over into the generation gap between the Baby Boomers and the Greatest Generation. The kids of the 70’s were not smaller versions of their parents and they wanted to show their independence. They wanted to have an anti-war rally at the school but weren’t allowed. They wanted to have debates about the role of government but weren’t allowed. They wanted to have a demonstration march on Main St. but weren’t allowed. The students wanted to make a statement but most of the towns people simply wanted to look the other way. All of this fueled the passions of the students even more as they continued looking for an outlet to voice their opinions, and it would come…in the most unlikely of places.

Dennis Tiller was a sophomore in 1973. His father was a lawyer at the Parkersville branch of WV First bank. Dennis grew up hearing his dad talk about the importance of contracts, covenants, concordats, and any other legal instrument used to enforce ones desire upon another. As such he was inclined to actually read things throughly. Things like…the student handbook. Dennis had remembered a small, obscure footnote, recalled from the depths of his encyclopedic memory. For whatever reason, the school’s founders wanted to place certain specific decisions directly in the hands of the students. Faculty and administrators could ‘advise’, but the final decision was that of the students. What decisions you might ask. Well, the only one that’s germane to this conversions is: The choice of the school’s mascot.

The students could, at any time, with a majority of votes, change the school mascot. Dennis approached the Student Council and presented a plan. The idea would be to threaten to change the mascot if the students weren’t allowed to hold their anti-war rally. The council thought the idea was great and they prepared a formal declaration to present to the school administration. They wanted a mascot that would be universally hated so as to ‘help’ the administrators make the right decision. So they picked a Slug. The sticky, slimy, shrivel in the sun, point zero zero mile per hour…slug. Other teams had called Parkersville slugs for years. It’s an easy derivation from Sluggie and works well as a taunt. So everyone already hated slugs to start with. This, the Student Council thought, would be the perfect leverage to get the rally. Well…we know where this is going.

The students in the graphic arts class made the most ridiculous logo they could think of. It was awful, embarrassing, insulting, and all around just bad. They knew the administration would never want that associated with PHS and would give in to their demands. Well… Principal Vickers was a WWII vet who didn't like being given ultimatums, especially from students. He dug his heels in. The kids dug their heels in. And the new 1974 logo was unveiled.

---More to come.