Williamsport, PA - Dr. D. Frederick Wertz shakes hands with Yats Esool at at the train station. The mascot was created in 1948 by Lycoming students in an effort to help rally the College’s football team. Yats Esool, ‘Stay Loose’ spelled backwards, was a masked UCLA football player that traveled in his football uniform carrying a suitcase and a fish bowl. He was portrayed by Lycoming student Jim Marcinek, who is credited as the brains of the idea.
Yats Esool was to arrive at the Train Station by Park Hotel. Through a mix-up, he arrived at the wrong station, and students had to sneak him into the Park Hotel station so that he could be greeted properly. When he arrived, the band played the school song, and he was driven in a 1925 Model T to the pep rally. He participated in a mock practice with the football team. When the team finished the season with a 0-7 record, they brought him back.
The tradition continued through the 1950s and 1960s. On back of photo: ‘Pres. of the College greeting arrival of ‘Yats Esool’ spirit of football.’ A cropped version of this photo appears on page 129 of the 1957 Arrow Yearbook.
