•  Humble High School

    The Wildcat Name

    There have been many false rumors about how the Wildcat name was selected for Humble High School.  One rumor stated that the name was chosen because of the "wildcatters" who worked the oil fields in early Humble.  That is false.

    The real reason was researched by Don Wilkins, and published in his book "80 Years of Humble 'Wildcat' Football. As Mr. Wilkins wrote:

    "The first Humble football team was called the Tigers.  Each year at the beginning of the year, the team voted on its mascot.  Until 1923, the Tigers were chosen each year with different colors.

    After Roy Needham's first season, he decided that a permanent name and school colors should be chosen.  The student body chose the colors purple and white and the Wildcat was chosen as the mascot.  The Wildcat was chosen because it was perceived to be very ferocious as were the football team was perceived to be."

     NOTE: In our research archives, (1) White and Royal Purple is mentioned as the school official colors in the 1923-1924 Humble High School Yearbook; (2) the first time we see the name "Wildcats" mentioned is in the 1924-1925 Humble High School yearbook and also in the "Humble Hi Spotlight" newspaper, in the December 18, 1924 issue.

    BoDiddles

    (Also from Don Wilkins)

    "The name Bo Diddles was the nickname of the Humble Jr. High for many years.  The name first appears in 1932.  Pat Parker from Lufkin, Texas was substituting for AC Hopper while Hopper was recovering from an appendectomy.  When he first met with the team he said they looked like a bunch of 'No-Boddies,' because of their mismatch and scraggly dress.  Some remembered this as BoDiddles. 

    One of those 'No-Boddies' was Bevil Jarrel.  When he took over the Junior High Program, he named them BoDiddles because they looked like nobodies.  It was not until the late fifties that the Junior High was given equipment that was not hand-me-downs.  The name remained unofficially for many years.  Nobody seems to remember exactly what year the Junior High becamse the 'Wildcats' instead of the BoDiddles. You can still hear some old timers say their grandson is a 'BoDiddle.'"