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Purple Aces & Ace Purple
10/24/2007
Why Aces?
"Aces" became Evansville College's nickname in the mid-20s thanks in large part to the University of Louisville basketball coach.
In the fourth game of the 1924-25 season, Evansville beat Louisville 59-39. After the game, Louisville's coach told Evansville coach John Harmon, "You didn't have four Aces up your sleeve, you had five!"
Harmon related the quote to Evansville Courier sports editor Dan Scism, and both Harmon and Scism decided they liked the sound of "Aces" better than "Pioneers," the Evansville College nickname at that time. Scism also had a selfish reason for promoting the use of "Aces." Those four letters fit into his headlines much easier than the longer "Pioneers."
The Evansville College colors were purple and white, and by 1926 "Purple Aces" became the unique nickname that is now well known all over the country.
Ace Purple
In the late 1960s, Evansville Press artist Larry Hill created Ace Purple, UE's mascot. Ace Purple was created in the image of a turn-of-the-century riverboat gambler, representing Evansville's location on the banks of the Ohio River. But Ace Purple also brandished a club with a spike through one end and carried a gun, and his sneer made him a less than likable character. The University was not pleased overall, so Ace Purple soon vanished. In 1977, when Evansville moved to Division I, first-year sports information director Greg Knipping saw the need for a team mascot. He contacted Keith Butz, who had recently revamped Purdue's Boilermaker Pete. Butz turned Ace Purple into the more likable character we know today, and Knipping convinced the administration that despite the gambling image portrayed by Ace Purple, his qualities of cunning, daring, quick wit and shrewd judgment made him an outstanding representative of the Purple Aces. Knipping, responsible in large part for the Ace Purple we know today, was killed along with the University of Evansville basketball team in the Dec. 13, 1977 plane crash.
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