School nicknames (state by state)

When were the Palatka High School teams called the Azaleas?

Palatka Panthers. At least in my lifetime.

Beat the crap out of us three years straight in high school football back in the 80s (and not just on the scoreboard; buncha thugs and punks). We had three straight second-place finishes behind them in the district back when only the district champions made the playoffs.

 

Azaleas was the Florida State League team it had until the early 1960s

 

Ah. Doesn't even come up on a Google search.

Other old-school Florida State League names, and a couple that aren't so old ...

Tampa Smokers
Gainesville G-men
DeLand Red Hats
Tampa Tarpons
St. Petersburg Saints
St. Augustine Saints
Daytona Beach Islanders
Brevard County Manatees
Leesburg Anglers
Charlotte Stone Crabs

 

And then there also the
Coffeyville-Field Kindley Golden Tornado (sometimes called just the Nado)
Chaparral Roadrunners
Bucklin Red Aces
Chanute Blue Comets
Chapman Fighting Irish
South Central Timberwolves (yeah, Timberwolves in barren Southwest Kansas...suuuuuure)
Ellis Railroaders
Fowler Goldbugs
Garden Plain Owls
Wheatland-Grinnell Thunderhawks
Herington Railers
Jackson Heights Cobras
Iola's girls are the Fillies. They tried to get them to change to Mustangs like the boys a few years ago, but everyone protested.
Sumner Academy Sabres
LaCrosse Leopards
Lincoln Leopards
Free State Firebirds (Lawrence)
Bishop Seabury Seahawks (punny!)
St. James Academy Thunder
Lyons Lions
South Gray Rebels
Jayhawk-Linn Jayhawks. (The logo is the KU Jayhawk...in a cowboy hat. Also they are the only high school in Kansas known as the Jayhawks)
Neodesha Bluestreaks
Newton Railers
Perry-Lecompton Kaws
Pratt Greenbacks (frogs)
Bishop Miege Stags (and the girls are the "Lady Stags")
Solomon Gorillas
Sublette Larks
Highland Park Scots
Washburn Rural Junior Blues
Wakefield Bombers
Word of Life Fire
One of Wichita's home school teams calls itself the Angels

An odd one: Cedar Vale...the boys are listed as the Broncos. The girls used to be the Fillies but the KSHSAA book says "Broncos & Spartans" now.

There are also some misspelled nicknames such as:
Chase Kats
Pleasanton Blu-Jays

And the award for failing to capitalize on town history goes to the
Dodge City Red Demons

 

For the record, I could have put SO many of the Washington schools. I wanted to make the list short enough that folks would actually read it ...

 

New Jersey

Belvidere County Seaters
Bordentown Scotties
Brick Green Dragons
CREATE Charter Crushers
Don Bosco Ironmen
Dunellen Destroyers
(Paterson) Eastside Ghosts
Fair Lawn Cutters
Florence Flashes
Fort Lee Bridgemen
Haddonfield Bulldawgs
High Tech Lasercats
Kearny Kardinals
Lakewood Piners
Lawrenceville School Big Red
Mahwah Thunderbirds
Mater Dei Seraphs
Millville Thunderbolts
Montclair Mounties
Morrow Maroon Raiders
Neptune Scarlet Fliers
New Brunswick Zebras
Northern Valley Regional Norsemen
Phillipsburg Stateliners
Point Pleasant Beach Garnet Gulls
Queen of Peace Golden Griffins
Rutgers Prep Argonauts
St. Augustine Prep Hermits
St. Rose Purple Roses (not an all-girls school)
Sterling Silver Knights
Teaneck Highwaymen (and Highwaywomen)
Union Farmers
Verona Hillbillies
Vineland Fighting Clan
Warren Hills Blue Streak
(Newark) West Side Roughriders
Willingboro Chimeras

 

Two more from Illinois:

Piasa (PEA-a-saw) Southwestern Piasa Birds
Roxana Shells (I think Shell oil/gas started there... or they just wanted to infringe or something. It's the same logo.

 

No doubt. Dodge City's had so many gun-slinging characters pass through over the years. They could do so much better.

The Earps? (Wyatt Earp)
The Docs? (Doc Holliday)
The Dodgers? (Tommy Lasorda)

Of course, these days, they'd probably be the Dodge City Cowpies. Ahhh ... the smell of the meatpacking industry.

 

From Louisiana:
Southern Lab Kittens
Kentwood Kangaroos

 

The last one deserves an, "Oops! You did it again!"

 

Fortunately (perhaps unfortunately), she went to Parklane Academy across the state line in McComb. Go figure.

More from Lousiana:
South Cameron Tarpons
Sarah Reed Olympians
Newman Greenies (I thought those were a banned substance!)
McDonogh 35 Roneagles
Lawless Pythians
Leesville Wampus Cats
Farmerville Farmers

 

And the long-gone Newport News Typhoon (JV teams were known as the Breeze)