Colonel Reb
Encyclopedia
Colonel Reb is the former sporting mascot
of Ole Miss Rebels
, the collegiate athletic teams of the University of Mississippi
("Ole Miss"). Designed in the 1930s, the figure served as the teams' official or near-official mascot from 1979 until 2003. He was replaced in 2010 with a new on-field mascot, the Rebel Black Bear
.
Noted Ole Miss historian David Sansing has stated that "Blind Jim (Ivy) may have been the model for Colonel Rebel." Sansing cites "the late Frank Everett" as the sole basis for this conclusion. "Blind Jim" Ivy was a campus fixture until his death in 1955, seven years before the school was integrated in 1962. He was affectionately known as "the dean of freshmen" for his many pep talks to incoming Ole Miss freshmen classes. Jim Ivy became an integral part of the University of Mississippi in 1896. Born in 1870 as the son of former slave Matilda Ivy, he moved from Alabama
to Mississippi
in 1890. Ivy was blinded in his early teens when coal tar paint got into his eyes while painting the Tallahatchie River Bridge. Ivy became a peanut
vendor in Oxford
and was considered the university's mascot for many years.
Ivy attended most Ole Miss athletic events and was fond of saying, "I've never seen Ole Miss lose." Ivy was very much a part of the Ole Miss scene in 1936 when the editor of the school newspaper
proposed a contest to produce a new nickname for Ole Miss teams, then known as The Flood. Rebels were the choice of 18 out of 21 sports writers. Rebels also won the contest sponsored by the Mississippian, with Ole Massas—a term used by slaves to refer to their masters—finishing a close second, and the university's sports teams have since been known as the Rebels. Two years later, Colonel Rebel appeared for the first time as an illustration in the university yearbook
. This illustration was perhaps drawn by the art editor for the yearbook that year, Billy Hix. Billy Hix often drew his depictions of the Colonel as a plantation owner in an ante-bellum plantation setting. It is also possible that Colonel Rebel was originally created by the "Rebel Club" a student group founded in 1937 shortly after the University had adopted the "Rebels" name and was responsible for the publication of "The Rebel" magazine which featured an image of the Colonel in its masthead that is identical to the one appearing on the 1937 Ole Miss yearbook. Others may have also had a hand in revising and modifying the image of Colonel Rebel in those early years, such as campus bookstore owner Carl Coers and famous New Orleans cartoonist John Chase. The image appearing on the 1947 Ole Miss yearbook is a result of this process and is the one that continues to be used to this day.
. In 1975, former National Football League
standout Ben Williams
became the first black student to be elected "Colonel Reb." "Gentle Ben", as he has been lovingly known by many in the Ole Miss community, was also the first black football player at Ole Miss. In 1989, star Ole Miss women's basketball player Kimsey O'Neal became the first black student to gain the title "Miss Ole Miss."
It was also during this time that one student each year at Ole Miss dressed in a Confederate
uniform and paraded down the sidelines exhorting the Rebel faithful to cheer for their team. Wielding a microphone and filled with hoopla, the student lead cheers for Ole Miss during their football "glory years" on into the late 1970s.
Joining a national trend at many colleges and universities, the university adopted a costumed mascot filled by a trained male cheerleader in the form of the longtime Ole Miss mascot and known as "Johnny Rebel." Colonel Reb as first known thus advanced from his 40 year paper history to a living caricature on the field in 1979. However, as Ole Miss school yearbooks and game programs from 1981 onward show, a human cheerleader was retained wearing an elaborately-lined coat as well as sash and dress pants and the string-tie often associated with planters from antebellum days. His dress later changed into a more tuxedo-like outfit. This figure, according to Ole Miss annuals and programs from the era, was known as "Colonel Rebel" for some years before being known simply as "mike man" and finally disappearing from the sidelines altogether in the early 1990s.
In 2003, the administration removed Colonel Reb from the sidelines at Ole Miss athletic events as the on-the-field mascot, though he was allowed at tailgating and other unofficial university functions. A contest was held in which fans were invited to design a replacement. The athletic department chose two finalists, Rebel Bruiser and Rowdy Rebel, and invited fans to vote on their favorite. The limited fan response as well as ridicule from fans of rival schools prompted the administration to cancel the poll. However, Colonel Reb remains very much alive in the public consciousness; he still wanders The Grove
on game day, and he was featured in "Colonel Reb Is Crying", a song produced by Memphis, Tennessee sports talk radio host Chris Vernon, about the Rebels' on-field woes in 2006. The Colonel Reb Foundation is a group founded to preserve the Colonel Reb image and sponsors the unofficial appearances of the mascot in The Grove.
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
of Ole Miss Rebels
Ole Miss Rebels
University of Mississippi sports teams, originally known as the "Mississippi Flood" , were re-named the Rebels in 1936 and compete in the twelve-member Southeastern Conference of the NCAA's Division I. The school's colors are cardinal red and navy blue , purposely chosen to mirror the school...
, the collegiate athletic teams of the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
("Ole Miss"). Designed in the 1930s, the figure served as the teams' official or near-official mascot from 1979 until 2003. He was replaced in 2010 with a new on-field mascot, the Rebel Black Bear
Rebel Black Bear
Rebel Black Bear is the official sporting mascot of the Ole Miss Rebels, the collegiate athletic teams of the University of Mississippi. The anthropomorphic black bear replaced Colonel Reb as the official mascot in 2010.-Mascot search:...
.
Origin
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
to Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
in 1890. Ivy was blinded in his early teens when coal tar paint got into his eyes while painting the Tallahatchie River Bridge. Ivy became a peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
vendor in Oxford
Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1835, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract....
and was considered the university's mascot for many years.
Ivy attended most Ole Miss athletic events and was fond of saying, "I've never seen Ole Miss lose." Ivy was very much a part of the Ole Miss scene in 1936 when the editor of the school newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
proposed a contest to produce a new nickname for Ole Miss teams, then known as The Flood. Rebels were the choice of 18 out of 21 sports writers. Rebels also won the contest sponsored by the Mississippian, with Ole Massas—a term used by slaves to refer to their masters—finishing a close second, and the university's sports teams have since been known as the Rebels. Two years later, Colonel Rebel appeared for the first time as an illustration in the university yearbook
Yearbook
A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a book to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school or a book published annually. Virtually all American, Australian and Canadian high schools, most colleges and many elementary and middle schools publish yearbooks...
. This illustration was perhaps drawn by the art editor for the yearbook that year, Billy Hix. Billy Hix often drew his depictions of the Colonel as a plantation owner in an ante-bellum plantation setting. It is also possible that Colonel Rebel was originally created by the "Rebel Club" a student group founded in 1937 shortly after the University had adopted the "Rebels" name and was responsible for the publication of "The Rebel" magazine which featured an image of the Colonel in its masthead that is identical to the one appearing on the 1937 Ole Miss yearbook. Others may have also had a hand in revising and modifying the image of Colonel Rebel in those early years, such as campus bookstore owner Carl Coers and famous New Orleans cartoonist John Chase. The image appearing on the 1947 Ole Miss yearbook is a result of this process and is the one that continues to be used to this day.
Colonel Reb on campus
In 1940, Ole Miss students began voting for "Colonel Reb" as the highest honorary position for campus males. He had previously been called "The Mardi Gras King" but this name was changed by the Associated Student Body's Executive Council in the fall of 1939. This was in addition to the female equivalent of "Miss Ole Miss" which had been bestowed on campus females for over a decade. These two positions are still voted on every fall by the student population, the winners nearly always being members of historically white fraternities and sororities. Several distinguished Ole Miss alumni have been elected to one of these two positions, including recently retired Ole Miss Chancellor Robert KhayatRobert Khayat
-External links:*...
. In 1975, former National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
standout Ben Williams
Ben Williams (American football)
Robert Jerry Williams is a retired American football defensive lineman who played in the National Football League between 1976 and 1985. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the third round of the 1976 NFL Draft out of the University of Mississippi...
became the first black student to be elected "Colonel Reb." "Gentle Ben", as he has been lovingly known by many in the Ole Miss community, was also the first black football player at Ole Miss. In 1989, star Ole Miss women's basketball player Kimsey O'Neal became the first black student to gain the title "Miss Ole Miss."
It was also during this time that one student each year at Ole Miss dressed in a Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
uniform and paraded down the sidelines exhorting the Rebel faithful to cheer for their team. Wielding a microphone and filled with hoopla, the student lead cheers for Ole Miss during their football "glory years" on into the late 1970s.
Joining a national trend at many colleges and universities, the university adopted a costumed mascot filled by a trained male cheerleader in the form of the longtime Ole Miss mascot and known as "Johnny Rebel." Colonel Reb as first known thus advanced from his 40 year paper history to a living caricature on the field in 1979. However, as Ole Miss school yearbooks and game programs from 1981 onward show, a human cheerleader was retained wearing an elaborately-lined coat as well as sash and dress pants and the string-tie often associated with planters from antebellum days. His dress later changed into a more tuxedo-like outfit. This figure, according to Ole Miss annuals and programs from the era, was known as "Colonel Rebel" for some years before being known simply as "mike man" and finally disappearing from the sidelines altogether in the early 1990s.
In 2003, the administration removed Colonel Reb from the sidelines at Ole Miss athletic events as the on-the-field mascot, though he was allowed at tailgating and other unofficial university functions. A contest was held in which fans were invited to design a replacement. The athletic department chose two finalists, Rebel Bruiser and Rowdy Rebel, and invited fans to vote on their favorite. The limited fan response as well as ridicule from fans of rival schools prompted the administration to cancel the poll. However, Colonel Reb remains very much alive in the public consciousness; he still wanders The Grove
The Grove (Ole Miss)
The Grove is the legendary tailgating area located at the center of the University of Mississippi campus. It is approximately in size and is shaded by oak, elm and magnolia trees hence the grove part of the name.-History:...
on game day, and he was featured in "Colonel Reb Is Crying", a song produced by Memphis, Tennessee sports talk radio host Chris Vernon, about the Rebels' on-field woes in 2006. The Colonel Reb Foundation is a group founded to preserve the Colonel Reb image and sponsors the unofficial appearances of the mascot in The Grove.