Peglegs – Stuyvesant (NY) High School

Wonder why they weren’t just called the Pirates?

Well, it turns out they’re not named after swashbuckling buccaneers at all, but after the Dutch governor of New York, Peter Stuyvesant. And, yes, he did lose a leg (in a battle with the Spanish), getting it replaced with a real, honest-to-goodness peg leg. He is, in fact, the original “Peg Leg Pete.”

Could they have been the Hollanders then, or the Dutchmen? Heck, how about the Bulldogs, or Eagles, or Tigers? Peglegs is just too … weird.

Stuyvesant is one of NYC’s highly competitive specialized high schools. In particular, Stuy is devoted to science and math. Their alumni include four Nobel laureates.

It’s just not nerds though. Other alumni include Eric Holder, Lucy Liu, Thelonius Monk, James Cagney, Tim Robbins, Phil Donahue, and more.

But not Farrah Fawcett

USNWR actually ranks the school 26th in the country. Dating back to 1904, it currently has about 3,300 students. It’s located in downtown Manhattan, about a half a mile from the World Trade Center.

In addition to the math, chess, and debate teams, the school also has 32 sports team. In addition to the usual suspects, they also feature bowling, fencing, cricket, handball, and ultimate frisbee.

The Petrides?

Actually, this just in ... Sounds like it might be a little bit more complicated:

"Only the football, cheerleading, badminton, girls ping pong, baseball, girls handball, girls bowling, and boys’ lacrosse teams retain the traditional Pegleg moniker; other teams have their own unique names, such as the Runnin’ Rebels (boys’ basketball), Vixens (girls’ volleyball), Lemurs (boys’ gymnastics), Phoenix (girls’ basketball), Renegades (girls’ softball), Felines (girls’ gymnastics), Birdies (girls’ golf), Eagles (boys’ golf), Hookers (boys’ bowling), Huskies (girls’ lacrosse), Penguins (girls’ swimming), Pirates (boys’ swimming), Centaurs (boys’ soccer), Mimbas (girls’ soccer), Dragons (boys’ handball), Smokin’ Aces (boys’ tennis), Sticky Fingers (boys’ and girls’ Ultimate), Lobsters (girls’ tennis), Vipers (girls’ fencing), Flying Dutchmen (hockey), Greyducks (track), Tigers (cricket) and Spartans (wrestling and roller hockey)."

Given all that, I've changed my mind - Peglegs is just fine.