Alices – Vincennes (IN) Lincoln

Kind of like “A Boy Named Sue,” eh? I mean these guys (and gals) are going to have to be pretty tough, right?

Vincennes is the oldest city in Indiana. Founded by the French in 1713, it was the territorial capital back in the early 19^th Century. It’s on the Wabash River, right on the border with Illinois, and about halfway between Evansville and Terre Haute.

It’s also home to the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Rotunda

A town of 18,000+, Vincennes has three high schools. The oldest, Vincennes Lincoln, was formerly downtown, but was relocated in 1989 about three miles southeast of the city center. Alumni include a CNN anchor, one major league baseball player & several NFLers.

The high school has 700+ students, and features all the standard sports. They’ve won three state titles, in basketball and baseball, and ranging from 1923 to 2002.

And, yes, they are indeed the Alices. There are two theories as to the nickname’s origin.

One traces it back to a novel called Alice of Old Vincennes, originally published in 1900. It’s set in the town during the Revolutionary War, and features a patriotic orphan named Alice Roussillon and her romantic interest, the blue-blooded Virginian Lt. Fitzhugh Beverly. It was the national #1 bestseller for six whole months.

The town boosters used the book to draw tourists, going so far as to call Vincennes “Alicetown.” There were sites that claimed to be her birthplace (remember, she’s totally fictional), an Alice Hotel, an Alice Park, an Alice Movie Theater, an Alice Restaurant and an Alice Soda Shop.

The second story dates back to that 1923 championship. Seems the team came from nowhere to win the state basketball title, and folks commented that it was all like Alice in Wonderland. Hmm … don’t know if I’m buyin’ it.

Interestingly, they were once called the Buccaneers. Ironically, the girls’ teams are called the Lady Alices.

The mascot is a little hard to describe. According to one local reporter, it’s a “giant furry tick-looking creature known as the ‘Big A.’" Which, I think, pretty much nails it.