MaxPreps Mascot Mondays: New York 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 New York, there are 1,075 schools with mascots listed in the MaxPreps database. Listed below are the Top 15 most popular mascot names in New York, the mascot names that only one school owns and other mascot facts/stats.

NO CLOWNING - HERE'S THE NOTRE DAME STORY
The athletes at Notre Dame (Utica) might be the best ballhandlers in their respective sports, or may just be good at multitasking. But the mascot name of Jugglers (the only one in the nation) comes from a much different story. The school's website tells the story of how the French Medieval story of "Le Jongleur de Notre Dame" became the motivation for the mascot name in the 1950s. Le Jongleur decided to become a monk, but after he started, he felt he could not do anything worthwhile or appropriate to honor The Blessed Mother, as all monks do. Eventually he did his tricks in front of Our Lady and as other superior monks rushed to stop him (thinking it was sacrilege), the statue came to life and wiped sweat off the juggler's brow. The page states that the lesson is: "If you do the best you can, God will be pleased."

NOT COMMEMORATING GUYS NAMED LARRY
Though it can't be ruled out, we find it unlikely that a school would choose multiple guys named Larry for its mascot name. Instead, St. Lawrence Central (Brasher Falls) makes a play on words with the school's county of residence. St. Lawrence County is the largest county in New York in terms of land area, and it's named for the St. Lawrence River, which is the border between the United States and Canada. You definitely won't find any other Larries in the country, and men with the name Larry all over the world can claim that a high school named its mascot after them.

THUNDER CHICKEN? IT'S FOR THE KIDS
You've got to give the younger students a reason to cheer at a school like Doane Stuart (Albany), which caters to all ages. The way to get the younger students stoked? Choose a mascot that is somewhat silly. At Doane they are the Thunder Chickens, and that is certainly a reason to cheer, no matter your age. The origins of the mascot name aren't listed on the school's website, and you're going to have a hard time finding clues in most online searches. One of the reasons could be that a Marine Corps squadron based out of North Carolina is known by that name. The school's headmaster, Dr. Richard Enemark, was quoted in a 2011 ESPN the Magazine edition as saying "With such a wide array of ages it is important that we have a mascot for which everyone can cheer. There are few things that can bring your heart as much joy as a group of Lower School students cheering on our sports teams with a strong 'Go Thunder Chickens, Go!'" Fans of any age can agree that Thunder Chickens is one of the nation's most unique names.

ST. ANN'S TO STANNERS
It all started with St. Ann's. Now Archbishop Molloy (Queens) has evolved into the only Stanners in the nation. The story goes back to when St. Ann's Academy started in 1892 in Queens. When the school simply had too many students, and antiquated buildings, Archbishop Thomas Edmund Molloy donated land for a new school, and he became the namesake. But the new school didn't want to forget its history, so the mascot name became the Stanners, or "St. Ann-ers" in other words. The school newspaper is also known as The Stanner.

TWO TIMES THE ADJECTIVE IN NAPLES
It's one thing to be a green machine. It's another to be a BIG Green Machine, and that's the idea at Naples: They aren't just fearful, they're big as well. Schools putting "Big" in their mascot names isn't uncommon, as there are 31 American schools with two-word mascot names starting with Big. But this one goes to the next step, with two adjectives. The school's logo found on a school website shows some type of creature driving a big machine while wearing a mohawk-like haircut, maybe something to do with a spartan or trojan. The only other clue to the origin is the town's reputation as a winemaking hub.

TOP 15 MOST POPULAR MASCOT NAMES
# Eagles 50 (There are 6 Golden Eagles, 2 Screaming Eagles and 1 Purple Eagles)
# Panthers 50
# Tigers 40 (There is 1 Purple Tigers)
# Indians 39
# Warriors 35 (There is 1 Silver Warriors)
# Bulldogs 31
# Wildcats 30
# Falcons 28 (There is 1 Golden Falcons)
Blue Devils 28 (There are 8 Red Devils, 1 Devils and 1 Purple Devils)
# Lions 26
# Knights 25 (There are 7 Golden Knights, 6 Black Knights, 1 Blue Knights, 1 Emerald Knights, 1 Gaelic Knights, 1 Lady Knights, 1 Maroon Knights and 1 The Knights)
# Cougars 23 (There is 1 Central Cougars)
Spartans 22
# Vikings 19
Rams 18
# Denotes mascot name is in America's Top 15

MASCOT NAMES USED BY ONLY 1 SCHOOL

Admirals Ambassadors Angels Athletics Atoms Barons *Bayhawks Bearcats Bengals *Big Green Machines Billies *Bills Bison Blackbirds Blackhawks Blaze Blue Angels Blue Demons Blue Dragons Blue Hawks Blue Jays Blue Knights *Blue Steel Blue Streaks Blue Waves Broncos Bruins Buccaneers Bucs *Burgers *Bushmen *C-F Indians *Cannoneers Cats Centaurs *Central Cougars Challengers Cobras Colonials Commodores Conquerors *Courage *Dalers Demons Devils Dolphins Ducks Dukes Dynamos

*Elephants *Emerald Knights *Eskimos Express Fighting Irish Flames *Flippers *Flying Dutchman *Flying Forts *Flying Horses *Fordians Foxes Friars Frogs *Frontiers *Gaelic Knights Ganders Garnets *Goldbacks *Golden Bombers Golden Falcons Golden Flashes Golden Gophers Golden Horde Golden Tornadoes Governors Green Dragons Green Hornets *Hale Hawks *Hambletonians *Harlem Hellfighters Highlanders Hillbillies Horsemen *Horses Hurricanes Huskers *Ice Cats *Immigrants Irish J-Hawks Jayhawks Jesters Jets *Jewels Judges *Jugglers   *Jurists Kangaroos

Kats *Killer Bees Kings Koalas *Lady Bears Lady Knights *Lakemen *Larries *Little Irish *Little Red Macks *Mad Dogs Magic Magicians Mariners Marines Maroon Knights Maroons Mavericks *Middie Bears *Mohicans Mules Musketeers Nighthawks Northstars Olympians *Orange *Orange Wave *Orientals *Panda Bears Phantoms *Pistons Plainsmen Porters Pride Purple Devils *Purple Eagles *Purple Ghosts Purple Tigers Railroaders Railsplitters Red Dragons Red Hawks *Red Rams Red Tail Hawks Redhawks *Redjackets Reds

Redwings Riders Rocks *Royal Comets Sabres *Sandstoners *Sawyers Scots *Scotsmen Scotties Seagulls Seahorses Senecas Sentinels *Settlers Shamrocks Silver Hawks *Silver Warriors *Sparks Stags *Stanners Statesmen Steamers Steelers Sting Storm T-Birds Tanagers Tartans Terriers *The Knights *The Pilots Thunder *Thunder Chicken Timberwolves Tomahawks Trailblazers *Tuckers *Tuskers Unicorns *Unis Utes *Vee Bees *Violets Whalers *Wings Witches Wizards Yellow Jackets

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

MASCOT STATS
Most popular mascot name is used by 4.6 percent of schools.
There are 299 different mascot names for 1,075 schools.
67 schools have mascot names that no other American school has.
New York's Top 15 features 12 of America's Top 15 mascot names.