Citation: McKelvey, Dorothy M.
THE YELLOW JACKET - MASCOT
BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE
The first mention of the Yellow Jacket was in 1927 when a newspaper account referred to the football team as "Yellow Jackets." This was probably a reference to their uniforms which were yellow and brown. At the time the teams were called the
"Brown and Gold." In the spring of 1930, the baseball team was called the Baldwin-Wallace Yellow Jackets in the yearbook. In the fall of 1930, the football team was called the Yellow Jackets in the yearbook write-up. Since that time, the Yellow Jacket has been the accepted mascot.
No official documentation has been found regarding the origin of the "nick-name," but at one time it was said that B-W's Coach Ray Watts remarked during an exciting football game in the early 30's that his team was "swarming like a bunch of yellow jackets."
This story has been repeated many times over the years.
SCHOOL COLORS
The school colors are : Brown and Gold.
They were suggested by Philura Gould Baldwin, Class of 1886, and granddaughter of B-W's founder, John Baldwin.
At the time Baldwin University and German Wallace College were separate institutions.
They were merged and became Baldwin-Wallace College in 1913. It was decided that Brown and Gold would / remain the official colors.
- Dorothy M. McKelvey
College Historian
