A friend once said as a joke between collegiate rivals that the only good thing to come out of Tucson was Interstate 10. They weren't the University of Arizona graduate.
The UA opened its doors as a land-grant
university in 1885, but it didn't acquire the Wildcat name until after a football game on Nov. 7, 1914. A Los Angeles Times columnist said the UA team "showed the fight of Wildcats."
The original mascot was a live bobcat bought by the freshman football team for $9.41 in 1915. It was named Rufus Arizona after then-UA President Rufus B. von KleinSmid.
The costumed human mascot "Wilbur the Wildcat" appeared for the first time on Nov. 7, 1959, during a UA vs. Texas Tech football game after two roommates, Richard Heller and John Paquette, came up with the Wilbur costume.
Wilbur's better half, Wilma the Wildcat, made her first appearance on March 1, 1986, on a blind date with Wilbur. She and Wilbur were married Nov. 21, 1986, before a UA vs. ASU game. A Wildcat would do nothing less.
Wilbur the Wildcat is pushing 70, but his rival to the north, whose name will not be mentioned here, is even older at 80. Let's see who can really do the most push-ups.
A Tucson native and UA graduate whose family spent summers in the White Mountains, Rebecca “Becca” Dyer lives in the Valley, is a copy editor/online producer for The Arizona Republic/azcentral.com and follows the Arizona Diamondbacks. Send tips on Arizona history items to rebecca.dyer@arizonarepublic.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: UA opened its doors in 1885. But Wilbur the Wildcat came along decades later
