University of Oregon Mascots: A Brief History

While many fans may be familiar with the fact that the University of Oregon’s sports teams were known as the the Webfoots before they were simply the Ducks, that name wasn’t in general use until the 1920s and only became official in 1932. Even so, there was a mascot of a web footed man as far back as the 1890s. The term referred to a group that lived in a rainy river valley in Massachusetts during the US Revolutionary War whose descendants headed west to Oregon. The term didn’t accuse them of cross-breeding with water fowl, but insinuated they spent so much time in the water their own feet became webbed. I was unable to find an image of this mascot, but I would imagine it could have looked a bit like the West Virginia Mountaineer with orange flippers instead of leather boots…

Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Even though the team went by Webfoots for decades, ducks themselves soon became associated with UO pageantry. Members of a local fraternity house began escorting “Puddles” from the nearby Millrace watershed to football games in the 1920s. Puddles’ progeny continued to serve in the same capacity until the 1940s, when concerns from the local Humane Society led to a cessation of the practice.

With ducks now being conflated with the official Webfoot name, many began associating the most famous duck in the world with Oregon athletics. In 1947 athletic director Leo Harris made an informal “hand shake” agreement with Walt himself to allow Donald to be used, and Disney studios made several versions to be displayed. This eventually evolved into the “block-O” logo and various iterations of the character suit worn by students at sporting events.

The likeness of Donald has not gone unchallenged. The lack of a written contract regarding the university’s use of Donald’s likeness in Walt’s lifetime has caused legal complications at times. In the 1990s Donald’s image was only allowed to be sold on paraphernalia in Eugene and Portland. This was part of the reason the stylized “O” replaced the old block “UO” logo before the year 2000 as part of a general rebranding for more national exposure.

Former football coach Jerry Frei wanted a redesign with bared teeth at one point. In 1978 a student cartoonist for the student paper, the Emerald, proposed that his own own character of Mallard Drake as a successor to Donald.

A campus-wide vote went 2-1 in favor of the incumbent. The status of Donald (though he goes by simply “The Duck” in his official capacity at athletic events) as Oregon’s true duck was reinforced in 1984 when he was named an honorary alumnus by the university for his 50th birthday. He received his official discharge papers from the US Army that same year.

Then there was Mandrake, the official name of the character usually referred to as “Roboduck.” The “modernized” mascot debuted during the 2002 football season as a “companion” mascot to Donald. It is commonly thought of as the University of Oregon Athletic Department’s equivalent of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars Christmas Special or Atari’s ET video game: a mistake best forgotten by history. If you have sanity points to spare you can still find recordings of the eldritch abomination.

So remember, whenever a talking head on TV calls our mascot “Puddles,” they are besmirching the true Puddles’ memory and dishonoring a military veteran. Donald is our duck, but at the game he is there for the team, not as a celebrity. When wearing green and yellow he is simply “The Duck,” and long may his presence grace our games!

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images