Linfield Wildcats

I was hoping to get to the Birmingham Barons new logo or the Lancaster Jethawks new logos tonight, but I ran out of time. So, instead, here's a quick look at Linfield College's classic Wildcats logo. I visited McMinnville, Oregon over the weekend and had the pleasure of checking out the Linfield campus. It's a very nice place and I was especially impressed with their facilities and was surprised to find an extensive selection of Wildcats merchandise at their bookstore. Not too shaby for a small Division III school.

Linfield's Sports Information Director, Kelly Bird, was kind enough to send me a full sized version of their logo and this quick history lesson...

"As competitive athletics increased in popularity and prominence during the 1920s, the Linfield student body voted that the college’s athletic mascot would be a “Wildcat” because Linfield was “a small school with a lot of fight and scratch.”

Before the 1924 vote, spectators at Linfield athletic events cheered variously for the “Baptists”, owing to Linfield’s early heritage, or the “Cardinal and Purple,” a reference to the school colors.

The current Linfield athletic logo, showing a scowling Wildcat wearing a jauntily cocked sailor's cap, first became a fixture in 1963 under Hall of Fame coach Paul Durham. It remains a recognizable symbol of all Linfield varsity athletic teams."

Thanks again, Kelly. I love the logo and I loved the campus. I don't know if we'll be moving to McMinnville (that was our reason we visited), but if we do, you can be sure that you'll find me cheering on or working for the Wildcats.


School: Linfield College Wildcats
Conference: Northwest Conference
Location: McMinnville, Oregon
Facilities: Beautiful facilities. Check out Maxwell Field.
Merchandise: Even the online store is better than most