Wake Forest

We discuss the stories and legends of how Wake Forest football got the name and mascot of the Demon Deacons in this episode.

One of the more interesting names in College Football is the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The words take you on a ride! All four terms are captivating in their own right but all together? There have to be some good origin stories and traditions buried in history about them. 

What is the origin of the name Wake Forest?

Wake Forest is the name of the area that the college suits in. Per some info I found on WakeForestNC.gov there was a county called Wake County formed in 1771 from parts of Johnston, Cumberland and Orange counties. This new region was named in honor of Margaret Wake Tryon, the wife of the then-royal governor, William Tryon. In 1805 this area was designated as the Forest District due to the dense woods and trees throughout.

The school's campus and town of Wake Forest was derived from the estate of Dr. Calvin Jones, who owned a 615-acre plantation, the land most of the town stands on today, was named the postmaster for the area in 1823 and began heading his letters as coming from Wake Forest. The Baptist State Convention, which bought the plantation in 1832, continued with his designation.

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The name starts to be acquainted with the school’s football team during the Roaring 1920’s. Per the official webpage of Wake Forest Athletics, they were the only college in the state at the time that didn’t have a mascot nickname. Perhaps this fact sent the student body on a mission to get one for their school. That may have been the basis for the origin shaky origin story associated with the name.

We went to the NCAA’s website to dig up the story on this one.

The school feels it got its Demon Deacons nickname from school newspaper writer Mayor Parkerin a write-up after a game against Trinity College. There is some controversy on this, though. In particular, the phrase that Parker used. He allegedly used the name in his write-up after Wake Forest kicked some butt over their rival (Trinity is now Duke University.) The year that the nickname came about may need to be corrected, or the whole story may be a wive's tale. Parker referred to Wake Forest's football team as the "Demon Deacons." as described in this quote on the Wake Forest website: "It goes back to the Roaring Twenties when a school reporter gave the football team the nickname 'Demon Deacons' after a 'devilish' win over the Trinity Blue Devils-now known as the Duke Blue Devils."
According to the NCAA 

a second Wake Forest website page "Wake Forest's website reads, "In 1922 the editor of the school newspaper, Mayor Parker '24, created the alliteration 'Demon Deacons' to describe a major defeat over Trinity (now Duke)."
However, Wake Forest's football media guide shows that the school played Duke (then Trinity) just once in 1922, which was the team's fourth loss in a row to Trinity."

The facts show that Trinity defeated Wake by the score of 3-0 that day, but as some experts have said, it is not out of the question that a team could have earned a nickname from a report of a loss, especially a close game. On the other hand, no one can find a copy of the article that allegedly named them. We may never know how they received this truly unique name.

As for the scary-looking mascot, well, there is a story behind that too. During the 1941 gridiron season, an underclassman named Jack R. Baldwin was dared by his frat brothers to wear a tuxedo complete with a top hat and carry a black umbrella to the game. The getup was a hit with the students and is the basis for the mascot we know today that symbolizes the Demon Deacons.

A Very Special thanks to information obtained from the following brilliant internet sites: GoDeacs.com, WakeForest.edu. NCAA.com, Newspapers.com and Wikimedia.

Banner photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons of the cover of an American football game of Trinity College (now known as Duke University) thanks to Trinity College