History of the Gamecock

Ever wonder how the gamecock became our mascot?

There are many legends from around the world about the gamecock, or the fighting cock as it is also known. The Ancient Syrians worshiped the gamecock as a deity, and in China the gamecock is a symbol of honor and merit. In ancient Greece, the gamecock was sacred because of its skill, courage, and constancy. In Hungary and Germany, the gamecock is still thought of as a weather prophet.

Gamecocks can prove their strength and agility through “gamecocking”, a sport that originated with the Greeks, and then spread to Asia, Sicily, Rome, England, and then eventually to the United States, where it is now an illegal sport. Through “gamecocking”, gamecocks have to demonstrate ferocity and tenacity by fighting until the bitter end. This is another reason many cultures have admired the gamecock, and refer to it during warfare. It is so esteemed that military aircraft has been named in honor of it.

Some familiar phrases come from the gamecock. One way of saying people are ready for battle is to say that they are "cut out" for it. This saying refers to preparing a gamecock for battle by clipping its wings, making it "cut out" to do battle. Also, describing someone as “cocky” refers to the confidence that a person has in his/her abilities, just like the gamecock. Over time, many noble attributes have been associated with the gamecock, such as alertness, energy, diligence, and vigilance.

It is an honor for New Brockton High School that its mascot is the gamecock. The descriptions of the gamecock are fitting to our community, school, teachers, student body, and athletes, because we too are strong, diligent, courageous, and honorable.

New Brockton High did not have sports at all until Mr. Robinson was hired as principal. At this time basketball and baseball were organized and uniforms were bought. The players got together and decided the team needed a mascot. One student, Bill Brooks, wanted to call the team the bulldogs because he had a bulldog at home. Bill Sawyer told the team that was okay, but that if the team wanted to go somewhere after the game Bill Brooks could sit in the car with the bulldog. Bill Sawyer said the best thing to do was to be called gamecocks, because that way they could pick up a chicken each game day and then let it go, and then there would be nothing to interfere in the post-game fun.

*Information about the gamecock was adapted from www.sc.edu/usc/gamecock.html.