[Griffins78]

The Griffin as a potential mascot first surfaced, I believe, in the spring of 1972. (It's possible I'm off by a year and it was 1973.) A University committee charged with coming up with some ideas on the mascot (it was heavily weighted toward athletes and other AD-associated people) had come up with the idea.

But before the committee could formally vote, the story leaked out to Don Tollefson, a Daily guy who also worked as a stringer for the Chronicle. The Chron ran a banner headline on its sports section: THE STANFORD GRIFFINS?. Campus reaction ranged from unenthusiastic to hostile, and the proposal went nowhere, though I guess the Griffin continued to hang around as a possibility for years to come.

Garvin - thanks for providing some more detail around the Griffin mascot idea. I don't recall that it was based just on the statues (don't really know where the idea originated) but I always kind of like it, as my username reflects.

[Griffins78]

The Griffin as a potential mascot first surfaced, I believe, in the spring of 1972. (It's possible I'm off by a year and it was 1973.) A University committee charged with coming up with some ideas on the mascot (it was heavily weighted toward athletes and other AD-associated people) had come up with the idea.

But before the committee could formally vote, the story leaked out to Don Tollefson, a Daily guy who also worked as a stringer for the Chronicle. The Chron ran a banner headline on its sports section: THE STANFORD GRIFFINS?. Campus reaction ranged from unenthusiastic to hostile, and the proposal went nowhere, though I guess the Griffin continued to hang around as a possibility for years to come.

Garvin - thanks for providing some more detail around the Griffin mascot idea. I don't recall that it was based just on the statues (don't really know where the idea originated) but I always kind of like it, as my username reflects.