Corky the Hornet

Corky the Hornet
Corky the Hornet
	Corky the Hornet at an Emporia State football game.
University	Emporia State University
Conference	MIAA
Description	Hornet
First seen	February 15, 1933

Corky the Hornet is the mascot of the Emporia State Hornets, the athletic teams of Emporia State University. Paul Edwards created the mascot when he was a student at the school, which was then known as Kansas State Teachers College.

History

Creation of Corky

In 1923, the teams were known as the "Yaps", but it was not a popular name. Men's basketball coach Vic Trusler suggested the name "Yellow Jackets". This was later changed to "Hornets".^[1]

In 1933, the Kansas State Teachers College had a student contest where students and staff could design a mascot for the college. Sophomore Paul Edwards, who graduated in 1937, designed Corky. Many students sent in their drawings of a mascot, but they chose Edwards' Corky, a "human-like" hornet. Corky was published in The Bulletin, the student newspaper for Emporia State University. Edwards originally came in second in the contest, but the winner, a student named Richard Weller, withdrew when Edwards improved his design for Corky.^[2]

Paul Edwards

Paul Edwards was a member of the tennis team at Kansas State Teachers College. The team reached the state finals in 1937.^[3] He continued his tennis career after college, and enlisted in the United States Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. He served for three years, stationed at Naval Magazine Indian Island, where (among other duties) he trained gunnery crews in the recognition of enemy aircraft. After the war, he was an animation artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He worked on the design of Mr. Bluebird, featured in the song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" from the 1946 film Song of the South, as well as taking part in the creation of artwork for other films. Edwards lived in Santa Barbara, California, and designed a unique "Corky" for special events such as homecoming plays, until his death on March 9, 2018 at the age of 103.^[4]^[3]^[5]

Duties

Official Corky logo used by the university

The primary duty of Corky is to be an ambassador of ESU, roaming the sidelines at football and basketball games giving hugs to youngsters. Corky is often involved in entertaining children. Corky is also present at most major university events such as athletic competitions, like Tradition Night, Homecoming, parades, etc. Corky is also present at all Hornet Connections, where students enroll and learn more about Emporia State University.

References

^ "The Legend of Corky the Hornet". September 18, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
^ "Traditions". emporia.edu. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Carlson, Emily (October 23, 2012). "The Talented Mr. Edwards". The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
^ Bittle, Dustin (March 9, 2018). "Paul Edwards, creator of Corky, dies at 103". The Bulletin. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
^ "Summer 2009 Spotlight" (PDF). Emporia State University Alumni Association.

External links

About Corky the Hornet

[Corky-1] "The Legend of Corky the Hornet". September 18, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2017.

[2] "Traditions". emporia.edu. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.

[Edwards-3] Carlson, Emily (October 23, 2012). "The Talented Mr. Edwards". The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved July 22, 2017.

[4] Bittle, Dustin (March 9, 2018). "Paul Edwards, creator of Corky, dies at 103". The Bulletin. Retrieved April 24, 2018.

[5] "Summer 2009 Spotlight" (PDF). Emporia State University Alumni Association.

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v t e Emporia State Hornets football
Venues	Jones Field at Welch Stadium (1937–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Washburn
Culture & lore	Corky the Hornet Timeline of college football in Kansas
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1893 1894 1895 1896 1897–1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Emporia State Lady Hornets basketball
Venue	William L. White Auditorium (1974–present)
Culture & lore	Corky the Hornet
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
NCAA National Championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics