Email This StoryNew mascot 'Ginny' will make Diadeloso debut
April 9, 1996By Lisa M. Zapata
Reporter for The Lariat
Weighing in at 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and having a thick coat of cinnamon-colored fur, Judge Virginia 'Ginny' Crump, will make her debut April 18 during the Diadeloso celebrations.
Named after Virginia Crump, a former student life administrator who retired in 1982 following 36 years of service to Baylor, 'Ginny,' a North American black bear, will replace Judge R.E.B. 'Bobby' Baylor as the next Baylor mascot.
'Ginny' is the first female mascot in more than 20 years and the first mascot to arrive on campus since President Robert B. Sloan Jr. took office.
'Ginny' will be available for pictures and will be playing ball at Diadeloso.
'Because she's only seven pounds, it's like raising a child,' said Brandon Adley, 'Bobby's' trainer and a Royse City senior. 'She's still drinking out of a bottle.'
Training is all about how you treat them and how much you care for them, Adley said.
Trey Ingram, a Diboll junior, will be her trainer and she will live with him for the next three to four months.
He said there is no 'technical' training involved at present
'Right now I'm just playing with her and letting her get to know me,' Ingram said.
In the summer, a professional trainer will use a positive reinforcement training method to instruct 'Ginny' on how to drink a Dr Pepper, do a Sic'em sign, slide down a slide and ride a scooter, Adley said.
'Ginny' will be ready for freshman send-off parties and high school showings by this summer.
'Trey is really on the ball with it [training],' Adley said.
He said she will remain at Baylor for two years and then Ingram will decide whether to move her to the Austin facility, which will house 'Bobby,' or keep her at Baylor as the mascot for a few more years.
'Bobby' will be transferred to an Austin zoo on May 25, where Baylor is helping the zoo prepare a facility for him and any future Baylor mascots, Adley said.
The facilities will have two levels. An upper level will contain a 9-foot long, 1-foot deep pool and a waterfall will flow into a 25 foot pool on the bottom level of the facility. Two houses will be built for 'Bobby.' The 100-foot by 70-foot facility will be equipped with trees, grass and a tire swing, Adley said.
'The people were the reason we chose it [Austin zoo],' he said. 'It's a small zoo so that they [zookeepers] can give each animal personal and close attention.'
Baylor received its first mascot in 1932 and since then has had close to 50 bear mascots, Adley said. The mascots are always named Judge in honor of the school's namesake, Judge Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor.
Although the bears are pampered, Baylor mascots have been at the receiving end of practical jokes. According to an October 1950 issue of the Lariat , two of the cubs were stolen from the Hudson Memorial Bear Plaza. The twin cubs were found missing at approximately 2 a.m. One of the bears, 'Bailey,' was found near the Baylor Bear Pits at approximately 6 a.m.
After being gone a full day, the other cub, 'Barney,' was found tied to a telephone pole approximately ten miles outside of Waco at approximately 10 p.m. Neither of the cubs were harmed, but the theft showed how even mascots can be jeopardized by pranks.
This summer, Chamber is publishing a book about Baylor and its mascots. The book will contain a chronological history of each mascot, anecdotes of the mascot and the history of Baylor at that time. The book still needs a title. Chamber is hosting a contest for the student body to come up with a title. The competition will be on Diadeloso and the winner will receive a free book along with the proper credit. Proceeds from the book will benefit the Bill Boyd Endowed Mascot Fund, which is used to aid in proper caretaking of the mascots.
Copyright © 1996 The Lariat
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