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Out of the Blue: How EHS Became the Maroon and Black
The beloved phrase “Go Maroon!” has not always been in the EHS vernacular. In fact, for its early years, Episcopal did not have any school colors, much less the well-known Maroon and Black we celebrate today.
In 1888, students formed a committee to select school colors. With an eye toward practicality, the committee sought colors that were readily available for caps, blazers, and uniforms for football and baseball. The committee also looked for colors that were not susceptible to staining and were colorfast, since fading or running colors would not convey the strength and endurance Episcopal’s athletes sought to project on the playing field. With these criteria in mind, the committee unanimously chose light blue and black. The decision was announced to the community in the November 1888 edition of The Chronicle, where it was declared: “Blue and black, then, will hereafter be the School colors.”
After a few short years of enduring taunts from opponents and threats of being “beaten black and blue,” EHS students decided it was time for a change. A new committee of five was formed to change the School’s official colors. William Old, EHS Class of 1891, recounted the process in a 1951 letter.
Old recalled, “We obtained samples of a large number of colors from merchants, and, after many conferences decided that Maroon and Black were the most satisfactory; not only because they were well matched, but because they were characteristic of the dignity and high standing, both collegiate and otherwise, of this school.”
Reflecting on the decision, Old declared, “The colors were adopted. They waved for nearly sixty years. May they wave ever more.” This time, the choice endured. For over one hundred years and counting, EHS fans have cheered on the Maroon, just as Syracuse University has cheered on the Orange and Harvard has cheered for the Crimson. Go Maroon!
