MaxPreps Mascot Mondays: Missouri high school mascots

Just as important as a school's name and its location is its mascot. Options abound, and some teams go with the commonplace while others go with the truly unique.

In Missouri, there are 584 schools with mascots listed in the MaxPreps database. Listed below are the Top 16 most popular mascot names in Missouri, the mascot names that only one school owns and other mascot facts/stats.

ZIZZERS: MULTIPLE DEFINITIONS
Let's just get this part out of the way. What is a Zizzer? The school's website has the definition featured prominently on its home page, likely because that is the first question that anybody has about the West Plains mascot name. A Zizzer, according to the site, is this: 1. An expert in any activity. 2. A person of the highest caliber, ability or reputation. 3. One who is victorious; (syn) A WINNER! Because to be a Zizzer means to be the BEST at WHATEVER you do! So now you know what a Zizzer is.

KEWPIES SINCE 1914
The mascot name for Hickman (Columbia) is another one you won't find anywhere but Missouri. It has 97 years of tradition with it, and one possible explanation is offered on the school's Wikipedia page: "The name dates back to the basketball season of 1913 -1914 at what was known then as Columbia High School. Apparently, the school secretary owned a Kewpie doll, as they were popular figurines then, and she kept it on her desk. At one of the first basketball games in December 1913 she placed her Kewpie doll in the center of the court, and the entire game was played around it without it being broken. This was somewhat remarkable since the dolls were very fragile. Because it survived the game and brought a victory, it was thereafter considered the good luck mascot."

SPOOFHOUNDS IS NO SPOOF
The story behind this mascot name shows the power of repetition. According to the school's Wikipedia page, the Spoofhound name came when coach L.E. Ziegler angrily called his team Spoofhounds and the players decided to all call each other Spoofhounds, and so the name stuck. The name goes back to a plaster carnival toy from the 1920s. When you look at the word "spoof" in the dictionary it's a mocking imitation of someone or something, usually light and good-humored; lampoon or parody. It also can mean a hoax or prank.

DON'T KICK THESE HOUN DAWGS
Elvis Presley once sang "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog, cryin all the time". But he, nor anybody else, really knows what Houn Dawgs do. Actually, the people at Aurora know. They are the Houn Dawgs and are the only ones to have that name in the nation, so certainly all Houn Dawg questions should be directed their way. A logo found on the school's website also has a banner with "Don't kick our dog" scrawled across the bottom.

WORLD PERSPECTIVE
The city name of Bolivar (Mo.) is derived from Bolivar, Tenn. And Bolivar, Tenn., takes its name from the Venezuelan war and political hero Simon Bolivar. Therefore, Bolivar High in Missouri pays homage to one of world history's most prominent names with its mascot name: Liberators. Bolivar was known as "El Libertador" and the student body voted to adopt the Liberator mascot in 1951, according to the school's site. You won't find any other Liberators, but you will find three other schools with Bolivar in the name.

# Tigers 61 (There is 1 Blue Tigers and 1 Fightin' Tigers)
# Bulldogs 48
# Eagles 46 (There is 1 Blue Eagles and 1 Golden Eagles)
# Wildcats 33 (There is 1 Wildkats)
# Panthers 25
# Indians 22 (There is 1 Fighting Indians)
Cardinals 19
Hornets 16
Pirates 16
# Knights 13 (There is 1 Red Knights)
# Warriors 13
# Trojans 11
Bears 10
# Lions 10
# Mustangs 9
# Vikings 9
* There are also 7 Bluejays and 8 Blue Jays
# Denotes mascot name is in America's Top 1

MASCOT NAMES USED BY ONLY 1 SCHOOL

Angels Bison Blackhawks *Blockbusters *Blue Birds Blue Devils Blue Eagles *Blue Tigers Bluejackets Bombers Braves Bronchos Broncos Bruins Cadets Camels Celtics Celts Colts

Commanders Coyotes Dons Dutchmen Fightin' Tigers *Fighting Indians *Fighting Orioles Golden Eagles Golden Griffins Gophers Green Wave Gremlins Griffins Gryphons *Hall Markers *Hawklets *Houn Dawgs *Hunter Dragons Huskers Huskies

Jays *Junior Bills *Kewpies *Kougers Lakers Lazers *Liberators Marksmen Mavericks Midgets Minutemen Mountaineers Northmen *Pintos Rangers *Red Birds Red Devils Red Dragons Red Knights

Redbirds Redmen Redwings *Reindeer Rockets Roosters Roughriders Royals Savages *Spoofhounds Statesmen Storm *T-Wolves Thunderbirds *Vivettes War Hawks Whippets Whirlwinds Wildkats *Zizzers

* Denotes that no other school in America has that mascot name

MASCOT STATS
Most popular mascot name is used by 10.4 percent of schools.
There are 130 different mascot names for 584 schools.
20 schools have mascot names that no other American school has.
Missouri's Top 16 features 12 of America's Top 15 mascot names.