Why A Boiler For The Boilermakers, Purdue’S Mascot?

Purdue University, founded in 1869, is known as the Boilermakers due to its unique nickname derived from its teaching of working-class skills and being considered lowbrow at the time. The university’s athletic teams have been known as the Boilermakers since a single football game in the late 19th century. The official mascot of Purdue is a replica of a Victorian-era locomotive called the “Boilermaker Special”, created by a student in the 1930s to represent the “agrarian heritage” of the university.

The Boilermakers are nicknamed because they were large men who worked on steam locomotives in the late 1890s. Purdue’s athletic teams wear a combination of old-gold, black, and gold, and their mascot is the Boilermaker Special VIII, which is acclaimed as the “world’s largest, fastest, heaviest, and loudest collegiate mascot”.

In the early days of Purdue, a boilermaker was someone who shoveled coal to keep steam heaters and locomotives in operation. Purdue teams had been called grangers, pumpkin-shuckers, railsplitters, cornfield sailors, blacksmiths, foundry hands, and finally, boilermakers. The Boilermaker Special VIII is now acclaimed as the “world’s largest, fastest, heaviest, and loudest collegiate mascot”.

Purdue University’s athletic tradition is deeply rooted in its industrial heritage, with the nickname “Boilermakers” originating from the association with workers from nearby Monon railroad yards. The Boilermakers take pride in their name and their perennially talented and competitive sports teams.