Ranking Delaware's high school nicknames: Some of best were at these schools now closed
There are just 61 Delaware high schools with athletic teams and they go about their sporting business with determination and diligence while enjoying the fun and camaraderie.
Often, no matter what game they’re playing, athletes and the family, friends and alumni who follow them will refer to their teams not only by the school’s name but its nickname.
Whether they be Ravens or Raiders, Bulldogs or Buccaneers, Jaguars or Blue Jays, such monikers provide extra inspiration and motivation, instill pride, create character and become familiar reference points.
They also provide recognizable media-related identification and headline-writing verbage, whether it’s the Jaguars pouncing on the Cavaliers or the Hillers swatting the Hornets.
When a school has a costumed mascot, it adds to the sideline spirit that students and rooters enjoy.
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For a state as small as it is, Delaware does, however, suffer from a dearth of originality. Those 61 schools possess just 45 nicknames. Three nicknames are employed by three high schools each and 10 more by two apiece.
With all that in mind, Delaware Online/The News Journal has ranked those school nicknames from best to worst. We published one list of the top 30 and another with the bottom 31.
Now we have a bonus list of the many high schools that no longer exist due to court-ordered busing, desegregation, consolidation, district downsizing, population shifts or financial trouble but might still may stir fervor among alums.
What rates highest? Rarity and originality help, with alliteration and a connection with a school’s name also being beneficial. You may also notice a preference for one particular species when it comes to animal nicknames, though that may make a few readers snarl and hiss in return.
Ranking Delaware high school nicknames Vikings, Bulldogs, Raiders galore in bottom 31
Here is our ranking of nicknames for closed high schools:
27. Selbyville Rebels
Before consolidation sent its students to the new Indian River in 1969, Selbyville was a frequent victor in Henlopen Conference tussles.
26. Claymont Indians
The purple-and-gold-clad Indians exhibited frequent sports excellence and instilled exuberant community pride before the school’s sad 1990 closing by the Brandywine School District.
25. St. Peter’s Saints
William Penn and Saint Mark’s were happy to inherit many of the New Castle Catholic school’s athletes after it ceased to be a high school in 1970.
24. Corpus Christi Warriors
Another Catholic school that was a victim of early 1970s downsizing but once fielded some strong basketball teams.
23. Milton Warriors
Before merging with Lewes and Rehoboth Beach to become Cape Henlopen in 1969, Milton was a member of the Diamond State Conference, which also met its end that year.
22. St. Thomas More Ravens
The Catholic School in Magnolia was open for just 23 years when it closed in 2020, But not before producing state record-setting and eventual NCAA champ weight-thrower Christina Hillman and some good basketball teams. Sussex Tech had the nickname first though.
21. Pencader Charter Titans
Pencader Charter had a brief but athletically successful stint from 2006-13 including a 2009 Division II football semifinal appearance.
20. Holy Cross Crusaders
Soccer and basketball were sports in which Holy Cross made a mark before its 1987 closing.
19. Georgetown Knights
The school that became the Sussex Central Golden Knights had been the Georgetown Knights before consolidation added a shade to its armor.
18. Lord Baltimore Eagles
Ocean View’s Eagles were among the 10 maiden members in 1959 of the Henlopen Conference, which initially included only smaller Sussex County schools. Still exists as an elementary school.
17. Redding Eagles
Louis L. Redding Comprehensive was one of Delaware’s four all-Black high schools until 1964 and lives on as a Middletown middle school.
16. Millsboro Blue Devils
Before they merged with Georgetown to become Sussex Central, which kept Georgetown’s Golden Knights nickname, the Blue Devils were Henlopen Conference sports fiends.
15. Clayton Bears
Frankford’s Bears became extinct and turned into Indian River’s Indians when school consolidation occurred in 1969.
14. William Henry Rams
From 1952-66, this high school for Black students sometimes battled nearby Dover High for state capital sports supremacy.
13. Dover Air Falcons
Two years before being phased out as a high school in 1980 and then becoming a Caesar Rodney district middle school, Dover Air was Henlopen South champ in football.
12. Rehoboth Seahawks
Seagulls may seem more prominent in Delaware’s biggest beach town, but this is the more fitting school moniker.
11. Harrington Lions
Games against nearby rival Felton were especially ferocious before the two joined to become Lake Forest in 1969.
10. De La Warr Lions
With players from Wilmington and New Castle, De La Warr roared to the 1969 and 1970 state boys basketball championships, providing fond recollections before court-ordered busing in 1978 closed it along with Conrad and P.S. du Pont. The site later became McCullough Middle School.
9. Bridgeville Mustangs
Another ode to rural roots in pastoral Sussex County and some of its galloping denizens.
8. Jason Pioneers
William C. Jason Comprehensive High served African American students in Sussex County and graduated its last class in 1967 thanks to long overdue desegregation. The nickname honored the school’s pioneering namesake, who was the first Delaware State University president.
7. Wilmington Red Devils
Many may recall that before its 1999 closing at what is now the Charter School of Wilmington and Cab Calloway School of Arts, Wilmington was simply referred to as “high school” by many students, alums and city residents. That extended to athletic exploits performed by the “Highlets” in newspaper stories 100 years ago before Red Devils, which recognized the school colors of cherry and white, became more prevalent.
6. Gunning-Bedford Panthers
This proud nickname and orange and black school colors began at what was then Delaware City High, which was renamed Gunning-Bedford in 1961 and operated as a high school until 1971. They do live on at what is now a Colonial district middle school.
5. Felton Green Devils
Felton had a fond sports following and this colorfully diabolical nickname was also a winner.
4. Brown Vo-Tech Bears
Wilmington’s H. Fletcher Brown Vo-Tech teams were often referred to as not just the Bears but the Brown Bears, a doubly descriptive tribute to the school namesake and its furry mascot, during this school’s 1938-69 existence. Newspaper reports sometimes also referred to them as the Artisans, another fine sobriquet.
3. Greenwood Foresters
A fitting tribute to the abundant local woodlands bestowed upon sports teams.
2. Lewes Pirates
No better nickname for a seaside school than this, as Lewes was among the Kent and Sussex County schools that formed the Diamond State Conference in 1960 before Cape Henlopen replaced it after consolidation.
1. P.S. du Pont Dynamiters
This Brandywine district middle school needs to be transformed back into a high school again, simply because of the great nickname that adorned an early state basketball title team.
Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Ranking the nicknames of Delaware high schools that have since closed
