What is a Zip, and who is Zippy? Meet the University of Akron's kangaroo mascot

If the University of Akron had a nickel for every time the question was asked, it could fill the Rubber Bowl with a shimmering mountain of shiny coins.

The Akron Zips' distinctive name has drawn puzzled looks from college freshmen, playful taunts from rival schools and raised eyebrows from national sportscasters.

Out-of-towners always want to know: What the heck is a Zip? Furthermore, what does a kangaroo have to do with it?

Well, pull up a chair, ye strangers of the Blue and Gold. It's time we discussed everything -- from Akron to Zippy.

Sportscasters have had a little fun with the Zips over the years. Imagine what would have happened if UA officials hadn't shortened the team's name in 1950. Akron originally was the home of the Zippers.

In 1925, the university held a student contest to select an official name for the school's athletic teams. Dozens of names were submitted and Akron will forever be thankful that some of the more eccentric suggestions were rejected.

Among the serious contenders were the Rubbernecks, Hillbillies, Tip Toppers, Cheveliers and Golden Blue Devils.

Surely, the Fighting Hillbillies of Akron would have struck terror in the hearts of college teams across America. However, UA students gave it the boot.

Freshman Margaret Hamlin was awarded $10 in January 1926 after the student body voted for her team suggestion -- the Zippers -- inspired by a B.F. Goodrich brand of rubber galoshes with metal fasteners.

The Akron Beacon Journal was quick to endorse the name. "It is easy to say," the newspaper decided. "It will work well into peppy songs. It is full of the old Zip needed in good songs and yells and on good teams. Get back of the Zippers."

Some readers weren't as pleased, though.

In a letter to the editor, Kenmore resident Gaston Felcher chastised the university for daring to name a team after women's overshoes.

"I think they had better try for another nickname and do a better job the

next time," he said.

Nevertheless, the Zippers stuck in Akron.

For about 25 years, UA teams played under that name. The novelty wore off, however, when more U.S. garments were made with zippers. Suddenly, UA athletes had an unwanted association with men's trousers and women's dresses.

In September 1950, Athletic Director Kenneth "Red" Cochran shortened the name to Zips.

While that settled one issue, it created another. Other colleges had mascots that could appear on posters, decals and souvenirs. No one could picture a Zip.

Zippy, the University of Akron's kangaroo mascot

UA's Student Council decided in October 1952 that Akron should have a mascot and appointed Bob Savoy as chairman of the search committee. Savoy was open to all ideas.

Dick Hansford, 84, UA vice president and dean emeritus of student services, was the council's adviser in those days. He made a suggestion that changed Akron Zips history.

"I said 'Let's go with something unique. There's just so many bulldogs and

lions and tigers and whatnot.' " Hansford recalled. "I said 'Why don't we try

a kangaroo?'"

He got the idea from a comic strip that featured a kangaroo in boxing gloves.

There are more than 60 kangaroo species. Some are passive and small, Hansford said, but others are large, powerful, agile and aggressive -- characteristics associated with sports teams.

"I think that would be very fitting," Hansford told Savoy.

Savoy liked the idea, too. He reported his findings to the council, and members adopted the mascot May 1, 1953.

The initial public reaction was not good. Many students worried that the university would change the team's name to the Kangaroos.

Harold Kullman, editor of The Buchtelite student newspaper, spoke against the mascot. "Granted, that the kangaroo is unique, but then so is the hippopotamus, ostrich, and the rhinoceros," he wrote.

Student debated Zippy in 1953

In a 1953 poll, UA students debated the kangaroo idea.

"It sounds like we would have a lot of pep and energy," freshman Jeanette Curia said.

"It seems to me that they could have at least picked an American animal,"

junior Larry Hawse said.

"I really don't know, but it's a step toward a new tradition," junior Mary Zigler said.

Buchtelite readers were asked to vote on three student drawings of kangaroos. They selected one by Ted Dick, who sketched a feisty-looking marsupial in a sweater, beanie and boxing gloves. The unnamed kangaroo had a zipper across its pouch.

Uniformed mascot

The mascot was added to UA posters and decals, but the character was missing from sporting events until the fall of 1955, when Akron cheerleaders recruited popular student Perry "Pete" Demming for a secret mission.

He would don a kangaroo outfit and perform at UA games. The first mascot -- then known as Mr. Zip -- debuted Oct. 1, 1955, before 25,000 football fans at the second annual Acme Zip Game in the Rubber Bowl.

"It looked more like a cow than a kangaroo," recalled Demming, 70, with a chuckle.

"It was a fake fur of some sort. We got it from a costume shop someplace. The head was papier-mache . . . and the feet stuck out in front like swim fins."

The crowd applauded as the odd beige creature made its way onto the field at halftime.

"People were cheering," Demming said. "They didn't know what they were cheering for, but . . . "

The costume was heavy and impractical. The mask bobbed up and down and there was no way to secure it. "It was hot and sweaty and smelly inside, and you had to look through the nose," Demming said.

But he wasn't complaining.

"It was an honor to be chosen as the school mascot," he said.

For two or three games, Demming's identity was kept a secret. He didn't even tell his fraternity brothers at Phi Delta Theta.

"I was sitting in the stands with my friends and fraternity brothers, and I just got up and left just before halftime," he said. "And nobody thought 'Where did Demming go?' They didn't care. Everybody was having a good time."

Mr. Zip would hop and dance around the field, careful not to lose his papier-mache head. He had a pogo stick but it just didn't work properly with that costume. Demming made a quick change in the locker room and returned to the stands.

"This was just when mascots were starting to become popular," he said. "Now every team in the world has got a mascot."

He maintained the character for a year before turning over the costume to UA pole vaulter Dick Sapronetti, who performed as the kangaroo from 1956-1957.

Mr. Zip made infrequent appearances over the next decade. The mascot returned full time in 1965 with a new name -- Zippy -- and a new, improved costume worn by Charles Huettner.

Demming has no idea what happened to the original outfit.

"I think if they were smart, they threw it in the trash," he said with a

laugh.

Note: This story was originally published in 2004.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: What is a Zip, and who is Zippy? Meet Akron's kangaroo mascot