Before Johnny Thunderbird came to be, legend and several written records have it, Walter Bruce (’39) and Michael McNicholas (’31) thought up the original Redmen mascot while in front of a cigar store. He was drawn as a Native American man in a war bonnet dribbling a basketball.
The all-red illustration was dubbed “Chief Blackjack” and made his debut at a Redmen football game; Chief Blackjack’s entrance was highlighted with victory as he cheered the team on to a 22-0 win. In 2002 football would cease to exist at the University.
While the “Redmen” nickname was born in the 1920s — a play on the University’s colors made by a reporter — in broader culture, the name eventually morphed into a derogatory reference to Native Americans.