Jump to content
NJDuck

Why is Oregon Called the Ducks? And Why are they Green and Yellow?

Recommended Posts

 

Find out why the lovable Oregon Ducks' mascot is who he is and why he dons green & yellow every Saturday in the fall.

 

Oregon's state flower is the wild grape which blooms beautiful yellow flowers every spring. In 1893, UO students voted to adopt the flower's yellow as their school color.

 

Believe it or not, with how often the team wears the color, green was never officially voted in as one of Oregon's school colors. However, it has been used so frequently alongside the yellow that it has nearly become the primary color for the Ducks.

 

AUTZENZOO.COM

Find out why the lovable Oregon Ducks' mascot is who he is and why he dons green & yellow every Saturday in the fall.

 

As sportswriters proliferated the name it became codified in both local and national consciousness as synonymous with Oregon’s teams.This de facto status as the University of Oregon’s mascot led athletic director Leo Harris to seek out an official representation of a duck for the school.

 

That desire led to the handshake deal in 1947 between Harris and Walt Disney which linked UO to Donald Duck. The informal arrangement allowed Oregon to use Donald’s likeness for its mascot for free as long as it was used in a reputable manner. The cartoon mogul’s studio produced several versions of Donald for the school over the next two decades, until Disney’s death in 1966 led his estate and the school to realize the lack of any formal contract. Over the next seven years, the two parties worked to create a written agreement outlining the terms of Donald’s continued use as Oregon’s official duck representative.

 

Donald would slowly evolve into the webfooted mascot that currently patrols Autzen Stadium, Hayward Field, and Matthew Knight Arena. After the agreement with Disney, early attempts were made to create a Donald costume to serve as the team’s mascot at games and university events.

 

Leo_Harris_and_Walt_Disney_1947-165tufe.

  • Applause 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I love revisiting UO history from time to time. Certainly the Disney story is as famous as it deserves to be and adds to our uniqueness in sports.

 

My favorite use of our colors came from alumni Bob and Beverly (of course their last name is now escaping me) who met at the UO. Successfully owning a So Cal Anheuser-Busch distributorship allowed them to get into raising thoroughbreds. 

 

I'm not sure how many years I tuned into the Kentucky Derby just to see that yellow and green represented. I don't think I've purposely watched it since unless a customer in our establishment requested it.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Good article, but the vine/shrub the Duck colors are derived from is popularly known as "Oregon Grape, or "holly leaved barberry", and the fruit is actually used in some alternative medicines.

 

I definitely prefer the Duck to Webfoots, especially when the webfoot uniform is so reminiscent of that worn by the Cal Bears...

 

The History Behind the Oregon Webfoots

 

 

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Proud Duck alums Bob & Beverly Lewis....worth reading

 

WWW.AMERICASBESTRACING.NET

Thoroughbred racing, like any other sport, has been home to the exploits of scamps, scallywags, and scoundrels. At the other end of the scale of human character and integrity, few people in the sport

 

 

WWW.PHARMACEUTICAL-TECHNOLOGY.COM

University of Oregon’s (UO) new Robert and Beverly Lewis Integrative Science Building (LISB) was opened in November 2012. Named after…

 

 

  • Applause 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Webfoots was officially adopted as the program nickname in 1926. Very quickly, however, the program became known as the Ducks — a nickname that has stuck despite challengers from nicknames such as the Timberwolves, Lumberjacks, Trappers, Pioneers, Yellowjackets, and Spearsmen.

 

https://www.uoalumni.com/s/1540/21/tabs.aspx?sid=1540&gid=3&pgid=11110&cid=27798&ecid=27798&crid=0&calpgid=10708&calcid=27658

 

  • Applause 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 3/7/2024 at 3:34 PM, HDuck said:

nickname that has stuck despite challengers from nicknames such as the Timberwolves, Lumberjacks, Trappers, Pioneers, Yellowjackets, and Spearsmen.

Thankfully we didn't go with lumberjacks, pioneers or spearsmen. 

 

But we'd fit in with the B1G with their array of terrifying human mascots. 

 

Human mascots are the worst! 

  • Haha 1
  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


×
×
  • Create New...
Top