Photo Courtesy of MaxPreps
Last weekend marked the 25th anniversary of Choate’s official mascot, the wild boar. Adopted in October of 1995, the Wild Boars mascot was proposed by former Athletics Director and current HPRSS teacher Mr. Ned Gallagher.
For some fifteen years before, the School’s mascot had been the Judges, because William Gardner, the founder of The Choate School, had served as a United States District Judge. Eventually, both students and faculty felt that the mascot was not an accurate representation of the School. In an Opinions piece published in the September 29, 1995 issue of The Choate News, Mr. Gallagher wrote of his proposal, “This tenacious beast seems a much more suitable symbol for the athletic competition than a jurist. The wild boar is an authentic school tradition that reaches back to the nineteenth century; using it as a mascot would acknowledge the importance of athletics in our school’s heritage.”
Both The Choate School and Rosemary Hall have a history with the wild boar. A boar was featured on the crest of the Ruutz-Rees family, and Rosemary Hall’s official seal was the wild boar, which the School incorporated in Choate’s current seal. The boar was also used in the actual Choate logo from 1981-1987.
Mr. Gallagher’s proposal prompted widespread approval by both students and faculty around campus. Varsity team captains soon voted in favor of it, and the Athletics Department officially approved its adoption. Right before Deerfield Day in the fall of 1995, the Athletics Department unveiled the new Wild Boars mascot to the Choate community.
However, after the introduction of the Wild Boars mascot, there was no campus-wide consensus on the specific design of a new athletics logo.
Ms. Alison Cady, the School’s Director of Strategic Planning and Communications, said, “Although well-drawn, this image did not translate well to uniforms as it was practically impossible to embroider due to the details. Likewise, it was far too detailed to represent well when used at a small scale, especially on the website.”
It was not until the fall of 2014 that individuals from the School’s Alumni Relations, Archives, Athletics, and Communications Departments developed a standardized design of the Wild Boars mascot. According to Ms. Cady, “The current version is very stylized, with bold linework and areas of solid color that translate well to various methods of reproduction including embroidery and screen printing. Plus, the artwork retains legibility at a small size.”
In addition to the sleeker boar design, a “C” logotype was also developed to be imprinted along with the new logo onto all athletic items.
Since its development, the Wild Boars logo has remained a distinctive marker of Choate’s athletics teams, whether seen on campus buildings or athletic gear. Despite the recent cancelations of an interscholastic fall and winter season, the Wild Boar will continue to stand strong as a symbol of Choate’s fierce and competitive athletic spirit.
