Northern's iconic, modern-era Wildcat Willy mascot was first conceived in 1984, when then-hockey coach and current athletic director Rick Comley tapped student Jay McQuillan to pioneer a design for a suited figure that would energize the environment at athletic events, increase school spirit and provide a unified look for all NMU teams. But an early incarnation of a mascot was actually a live female bobcat named … Bobby.
As detailed in a comprehensive “The Northern Tradition” blog post by Elijah Croschere, a student employee at the Central U.P. and NMU Archives, Northern had early nicknames—the Teachers, Normalites (it was founded as “Northern State Normal School” in 1899) and the Northerners—but none of them stuck. This changed in the mid-1930s, when Northern basketball coach Charles B. Hedgcock gave the following description of his defensive schemes in the North Wind student newspaper:
“In man-to-man, you have to be quicker and because the cubs are the natural offspring of wildcats, bobcats, any kind of cat when they're younger. The man-to-man unit will be known as a Cub, while members of the older, more methodical zone defense groups will be known as the Cats… the Wildcats.”
Moving ahead to the 1960s, the Chi Sigma Nu fraternity coined the name Wildcat Willy, and a mascot started appearing at basketball and football games. But Willy had no unified design; the version was radically different depending on which sport fans attended.
Bobby made her debut in October 1970. She was purchased for $500 (roughly $4,000 in today's dollars) from a Toronto resident and shipped to campus. She lived in an indoor-outdoor cage created behind the old steam plant attached to Spooner Hall. Most stories agree that Bobby was fully potty-trained, and would even accompany the team on various out-of-town sports trips. Her first game was apparently against Central Michigan's football team in 1971.
Keeping a live wildcat in a cage behind one of the residence halls and feeding it scraps raised ethical questions among students who criticized the bobcat's treatment vocally and in the pages of the student newspaper. The debate continued on what to do about Bobby until February of 1972, when she escaped from her cage.
Based on a tip that the bobcat was wandering near an ore dock, two NMU employees headed there and managed to wrestle her into a large sack; she was covered in porcupine quills. A veterinarian was called and the employees told him that it was the declawed university mascot that had gotten loose. The vet's examination revealed the animal had all of its claws; they had captured a wild bobcat.
While one article mentioned the real Bobby being found and swiftly returned to her Canadian owner, most sources agree that she was never actually located. Bobby simply vanished, never to be seen again. NMU wisely decided against ever having another live animal for a mascot.
Wildcat Willy – back after 1972 – would continue to lack a unified vision until McQuillan pioneered his modern iteration in 1984. He wrote at length about his experiences designing and wearing the suit in the Winter 2007 issue of Northern Horizons. Read it online here.
Read Croschere's full post and other “The Northern Tradition” blogs about the university's history here.