Harry the Husky is a body-suit
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
for the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
, one of two mascots the University's athletic program currently uses.
Hendrix the Husky is Harry's brother that lives at
UW Tacoma
The University of Washington Tacoma (UW Tacoma) is a campus of University of Washington in Tacoma, Washington. The UW Tacoma campus opened in leased space in 1990 and opened its permanent campus in 1997.
History
Following the establishment of T ...
.
[UW news article of Hendri]
Accessed March 14, 2012.
History
The University's first mascot was Sunny Boy, a , gold-painted statuette representing an illustration frequently appearing in ''Columns'', which - at the time - was a student-published campus humor magazine (presently ''Columns'' is the title of the University of Washington Alumni Magazine). The mascot was introduced in 1921 and retired three years later when it got lost in Bush Auditorium and the University adopted the nickname "Huskies."
[Cloud Of Mystery Shades Sunny Bo]
''Seattle Times'', June 7, 1994, Accessed March 20, 2009.
In 1922, the University began using live sled dogs as its mascots, first a non-hereditary line of
Siberian Husky, Siberian Huskies and, beginning in 1961, a hereditary line of
Alaskan Malamute
The Alaskan Malamute () is a large breed of dog that was originally bred for its strength and endurance to haul heavy freight as a sled dog and hound. It is similar to other arctic breeds such as the husky, the spitz, the Greenland Dog, Canad ...
s, which are a different breed of dog from the husky. This makes the University of Washington the only university to have an NCAA team that uses live animal mascots that are different from its official mascot.
[Dub]
GoHuskies.com, Accessed October 12, 2010. Due to the size of the animals, difficulties of travel, logistics, and handler schedules, the mascots generally only appear at home football games.
In 1995, officials in the University's athletic department commissioned a costume and held tryouts for the new live mascot. Three student performers were chosen (Lee Harris, Evelyn Ho and Chris MacDonald) and rotated duties to appear as a secondary mascot for use at events at which the live mascot was unable to attend. A contest and public vote two years later named the new mascot "Harry the Husky."
[Our Back Pages: A Dog is Bor]
''Columns'', September, 2006, Accessed March 20, 2009.
Coincidentally, the mascot had already been referred to by that name during a scene in ''
The 6th Man
''The 6th Man'', sometimes titled ''The Sixth Man'', is a 1997 American sports comedy film directed by Randall Miller, and starring Marlon Wayans and Kadeem Hardison. The film features real National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) schools ...
'', a film starring
Marlon Wayans
Marlon Lamont Wayans (born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Wayans began his career portraying a pedestrian in ''I'm Gonna Git You Sucka'' (1988). He went on to regularly collaborate with his brother Shawn Wa ...
about the University of Washington basketball team, that had been released prior to the vote.
In 2010, the University unveiled a new Harry the Husky costume and retired the old one. The new husky made his debut on October 9, 2010.
[Here Comes Harry the Husk]
YouTube, Accessed October 12, 2010.
Additionally, the University has also hosted a long line of Alaskan Malamutes as mascots.
The dogs were originally cared for by the
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...
fraternity; this arrangement was followed by a 49-year tradition (1959–2008) of care by the Cross family (a UW professor, followed by his son). The 13 dogs thus far are as follows:
* Frosty I (1922–30)
* Frosty II (1930–36)
* Wasky (1946–47)
* Wasky II (1947–53)
* Ski (1954–57)
* Denali (1958)
* King Chinook (1959–68)
* Regent Denali (1969–80)
* Sundodger Denali (1981–92)
* King Redoubt (1992–97)
* Prince Redoubt (1998)
* Spirit (1999–2008)
* Dubs (2009–2018)
* Dubs II (2018– )
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harry The Husky
Washington Huskies
Pac-12 Conference mascots