First Post- McCook Bison
Since there has to be a first post this will be it.
One of my favorite Class B helmets is McCook. The Bison have a great logo that is quickly identifiable as them alone, yet it is still very clean and simple in design. I was surprised how hard it was to find that logo on the Internet. It doesn’t seem that McCook uses it as a school or district wide logo, rather it seems reserved for football. Is that true?
The school web site doesn’t seem to use it. They use a stylized buffalo head that I’ve seen elsewhere, I think. I thought it was the University of Buffalo, but couldn’t find it when I searched there. In the location bar on my Firefox browser when I visit the school page, the Buffalo Bills logo (with blue changed to McCook black) appears. I know they, like many Bison/Buffalo schools have used that logo in the past.
I wonder if there is some objection to the football helmet logo locally because it uses the “MC” initials even though McCook is one word. I don’t have my copy of _Nebraska Place Names_ handy, but I assume the town name has Irish roots. Their great stadium has cement “M” on the incline beyond the west end zone, not an “MC”. Still it’s a great use of text, in a simple but interesting font, to create a great signature.
McCook also spent a lot of money to display their helmet in their pre-game festivities as the team enters the field through a giant blow-up version of this helmet. There is an interesting bit of McCook football history up for sale on eBay right now. Check out this auction for a banner celebrating (I think) the 2002-2004 seasons. Wonder where this came from and why it’s for sale? And how it made its way to Minneapolis?
McCook’s recent football sucess (five finals and two championships in the last seven years) fits nicely in a long history of gridiron success. McCook claims to be the winningest team in Class B history, though I’m not sure how much documentation their is to back that up. They’ve had a run of great players but I would say that World War II-era all-stater Leo McKillip would still go down as their best athlete ever. Another good nominee for best Bison would be Nebraska football hero Jeff Kinney, who played quarterback McCook in 1967 (hope I have that year right).
Tags: best athlete, Class B, interlocking letters, McCook, red, unique logos
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January 20, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I saw WAY too much of this helmet as an assistant football coach at Ogallala in the 90s. We had a few successes against the Bison, including an incredible come-from-behind win in Ogallala, sparked by a strip-and-return by Jared Plucknett.
McCook’s field is one of the best to watch a game in Nebraska. It sits down in a small bowl and has the one end enclosed behind the scoreboard. The logo is prominately displayed behind the scoreboard.
And now, from what I’ve heard, the Bison take the field through a huge, blow-up version of their helmet. Pretty cool, especially from Nebraska Class B football.
This is a great site, by the way. I hope you get help from people and can get all the helmets in the state in the near future.
Keep up the good work!
Bear