Posted by John in “Wilbur the Wildcat,” the mascot for the University of Arizona’s sports teams made his first appearance in November 1959 during a U of A vs.. Texas game. Wilbur’s was originally designed to look like a cowboy, wearing a cowboy hat, holster and carrying two guns. In recent years he lost some of the the cowboy image and guns were removed.
Arizona State’s Mascot “Sparky” first appeared in 1948. Sparky was designed by a former Walt Disney illustrator. According to some sources, Sparky’s face was drawn to resemble Walt Disney, who had fired the illustrator.
