Which University’S Mascot Was Created By The Talented Disney Illustrator Anthony?

Arizona State University (ASU)’s mascot, Sparky, is a burgundy devil holding a trident, designed by former Disney illustrator Bert Anthony in the late 1940s. The team was not always known by this name, but it has undergone several changes over the years. In 1951, ASU alumnus and Disney illustrator Berk Anthony created the mascot, which includes a pitchfork. The original Sparky wore a silk jumpsuit and had a long tail.

Arizona State is the only school in the country to have the Sun Devil as a mascot. The school originally had the Owls and then the Bulldogs as mascots. Two years later, Stanford Alum and Disney illustrator Berk Anthony designed “Sparky”, a devil holding a trident (colloquially referred to as a pitchfork). Anthony is rumored to have designed the mascot as a logo, not a mascot.

ASU’s chief rival is the University of Arizona Wildcats, and both athletics departments compete against each other in the Territorial Cup Series. The Sun Devil mascot, Sparky, was designed by artist and former Disney employee Berk Anthony in the late 1940s. The problem of coming up with a face for the Sun Devil was handed over to the late Bert Anthony, an artist for Walt Disney.

Disney has teamed up with ASU to develop a new character design for Sparky the Sun Devil, an iconic university mascot created by a Disney artist in 1946. Arizona State alumnus and current Walt Disney illustrator Bert Anthony drew up the mascot to have similar facial features as his former boss.