This Spirit of Portland U pennant (circa 1948 or 1949) is one item in the Student Life collection of the University Museum. Dr. Manuel Macias was the donor, a 1951 alumnus, long-time professor of Spanish (1958-1995), and faithful student scholarship donor — a true Pilot.
The colorful pennant design logo prominently features then-new University mascot, Spirit of Portland U (SPU) – a river pilot with rain gear and spyglass – created in 1948 by Nolan Drurey, class of 1949, winner of a Beacon-sponsored mascot design contest. One of the early items for sale in the University Bookstore with the new mascot design.
SPU’s image spread to spirit and campus swag and publications — 1948 Homecoming (napkins and coasters), student book covers, Pilot Student Guides, student body ID cards, t-shirts and more, as pictured in this photo from the University Bookstore.
The SPU rally-squad mascot (a student inside animating the heavy costume) evolved through the years and embraced a name change to become Wally Pilot in the 1970s. Our earlier post about Wally Pilot tells the backstory.
Additional References:
Spirit of Portland U (SPU): https://up.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16472coll10/id/414/rec/27
Wally Pilot:
https://sites.up.edu/museum/?s=wally+pilot
This is terrific. Thank you, Dr. Macias! “A true Pilot,” indeed.
Bring back SPU?