Traveler (mascot)

This article is about the mascot of the University of Southern California. For the Quarter Horse foundation sire, see Traveler (horse). For General Robert E. Lee's horse, see Traveller (horse).

Traveler
Traveler logo
University	University of Southern California
Conference	Pac-12
First seen	1961

Traveler on the sidelines during a football game.

Traveler is a horse who is the mascot of the University of Southern California. Named after Traveller, the horse of Civil War Confederate general Robert E. Lee,^[1] Traveler appears at all USC home football games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as well as many other outdoor events, including numerous Rose Parades. The current horse is Traveler VII. Although the Traveler web site describes Traveler as "pure white," most of the horses who have served as Traveler are actually gray horses whose hair coats have become completely white. (Truly white horses are quite uncommon.) The rider, dressed as an idealized Trojan warrior, is often mistaken for Tommy Trojan, the Trojan portrayed in USC's famous Trojan Shrine statue; however, the rider is unnamed and simply designated as a Trojan warrior with the horse as the official mascot. On November 6, 2013, the costumed version of Tommy and Traveler were introduced for men's and women's basketball games.^[2]

Traveler horse statue

The Coliseum

Until it was renovated in the 1990s, the Coliseum included an Olympic running track going around the football field. This proved to be useful for Traveler, who would gallop around the track after every USC score and pump up the crowd. Once the track was removed, Traveler still made its way around the field but had to move cautiously to avoid people on the sidelines. The horse had a minor collision with a person in 2000, and afterwards had human spotters running in front to clear a path.

Previous mascots

Before Traveler, USC used another mascot, a series of canines known as George Tirebiter. There had also been several previous, unofficial horse mascots making appearances on USC sidelines since 1927, but none were permanent. The idea for the current mascot began during the 1961 Rose Parade, when a USC events director spotted Richard Saukko and his white horse, Traveler, marching in the parade. The university persuaded Saukko to ride his horse during USC football games.

Introduction

Traveler was introduced in the autumn of 1961, during the USC Trojans football team's home opener at the Coliseum, against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. To dress Saukko as a Trojan warrior, USC used its connections to the film industry to procure the costume worn by Charlton Heston in Ben Hur two years earlier. The costume proved to be too heavy for extended use, so Saukko made his own leather uniform for the 1962 season and the same costume has been used since.

Riders

After Saukko retired from riding the horse in 1988, his family continued to provide the successive horses acting as Traveler until 2002. All of Saukko's successors as rider have been USC alumni, including Cass Dabbs, Rick Oas, Tom Nolan, Ardeshir Radpour, Brent Dahlgren, and current riders Chuck O'Donnell and Hector Aguilar.

Different horses

Several horses have been "Traveler" over the years, of breeds ranging from Tennessee Walking horses, to Arabian horses and some crossbred animals. The current mascot, Traveler VII, is a purebred Andalusian horse, owned by Joanne Asman. An eighth Traveler was in training, but according to a post on the Spirit of Troy Facebook account, Traveler 8 died on or about October 8, 2013. "It is with Sadness that I let you all know that Traveler number 8 who many of you did not have the opportunity to meet passed away. He was only 14 years old. For those who had the opportunity to see this bold, arched neck, beautiful creature run on the field for some of the games last year, he will be missed. Most of the fans did not realize when we switched Traveler 7 & Traveler 8 out, but for those who did know, he will be missed. Traveler 7 continues forward for his 11th year as Traveler."

References

↑ "Origin of Traveler name". Los Angeles Times.
↑ Chris Foster, USC basketball has a new mascot ... named Traveler, Los Angeles Times, November 6, 2014

External links

Traveler's official site at USC.

University of Southern California

Schools and divisions	Accounting Architecture Business Cinematic Arts Communication & Journalism Dentistry Education Engineering Gerontology International Relations Law Medicine Music Physical Therapy Public Policy Dramatic Arts

Research	Alfred Mann Institute Andrus Gerontology Center Annenberg Center for Communication Brain and Creativity Institute Center for Biomimetic Microelectronic Systems Center for Visual Anthropology Center on Public Diplomacy Information Sciences Institute Institute for Creative Technologies Integrated Media Systems Center Jane Goodall Research Center Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute Norman Lear Center ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives Southern California Earthquake Center Southern California Marine Institute Tomás Rivera Policy Institute Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute

Athletics	USC Trojans Baseball Men's basketball Football Men's volleyball Women's volleyball Dedeaux Field Galen Center Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Uytengsu Aquatics Center "Fight On" Spirit of Troy Rivalries with Notre Dame (Jeweled Shillelagh) and UCLA (Victory Bell) Lexus Gauntlet

Media	Annenberg TV News Daily Trojan KUSC KXSC Neon Tommy Trojan Vision

Miscellaneous	Campus Libraries Trojan Shrine Traditions Faculty Trojan Family Trojan Knights USC Fisher Museum of Art USC Helenes USC Pacific Asia Museum USC Shoah Foundation Gamble House Pacific Philosophical Quarterly

Category Commons

USC Trojans football

Venues	Athletic Park (1895–98) Fiesta Park (1897–98, 1904–06, 1916) Chutes Park (1900) Prager Park (1903) Bovard Field (1904–10, 1914–15, 1917–22) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923–present) Howard Jones Field (practice)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Notre Dame (Jeweled Shillelagh) UCLA (Victory Bell) Stanford

Culture & lore	Traveler George Tirebiter Giles Pellerin "Fight On" Spirit of Troy Student Body Right Tommy Trojan Athletics scandal 1967 "Game of the Century" "Bush Push" 2007 Stanford game

People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

USC Trojans men's basketball

Venues	Shrine Auditorium (1926–1949) Pan-Pacific Auditorium (1949–1959) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (1959–2006) Galen Center (2006–present)

Rivalries	UCLA

Culture & lore	History George Tirebiter "Fight On" Traveler Athletics scandal

People	Head coaches Notable players

Seasons	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

Helms national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

USC Trojans women's basketball

Venues	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (1976–2006) Galen Center (2006–present)

Rivalries	UCLA

Culture & lore	History "Fight On" Traveler

People	Head coaches

Seasons	1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Mascots of the Pac-12 Conference

Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat (Arizona)
Sparky the Sun Devil (Arizona State)
Oski (California)
Ralphie the Buffalo / Chip (Colorado)
The Oregon Duck (Oregon)
Benny Beaver (Oregon State)
Stanford Tree (Stanford) (*unofficial)
Joe and Josephine Bruin (UCLA)
Traveler (Southern California)
Swoop (Utah)
Dubs I and Harry the Husky (Washington)
Butch T. Cougar (Washington State)

Live animal mascots in college sports

The American	Jonathan (Connecticut) Shasta (Houston) TOM (Memphis) Bill the Goat (Navy) Peruna (SMU) Stella (Temple)

ACC	Osceola and Renegade (Florida State) Tuffy (NC State) Rameses (North Carolina)

Big 12	Judge (Baylor) Boomer and Sooner (Oklahoma) Bullet (Oklahoma State) Bevo (Texas)

Big East	Butler Blue (Butler) Jack the Bulldog (Georgetown)

Conference USA	Tech (Louisiana Tech)

Ivy League	Handsome Dan (Yale)

Independent	Army Mules (Army)

Mountain West	Aurora (Air Force) CAM the Ram (Colorado State)

Pac-12	Ralphie the Buffalo (Colorado) Traveler (Southern California) Dubs (Washington)

SEC	Tusk (Arkansas) War Eagle (Auburn) Uga (Georgia) Blue (Kentucky) Mike the Tiger (LSU) Bully (Mississippi State) Sir Big Spur (South Carolina) Smokey (Tennessee) Reveille (Texas A&M)

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