Millionaires – Williamsport (PA) Area High School

NOTE:  We’re a little short of 100, so I’m adding a few more to get us to that magic number. 

Odd. I associate the town more with the Little League World Series.

That is indeed Williamsport’s main claim to fame. Turns out, though, that they were once famous for being one of the wealthier towns in the country.

Whence that wealth? Gold? Silver? Oil? Well, would you believe wood? Yup, Williamsport was “once known as the ‘Lumber Capital of the World.’”

That same source (Wikipedia) also goes on to say that the town “purportedly once had more millionaires per-capita than anywhere else in the world.” Indeed, Williamsport’s Millionaires’ Row has its very own Wikipedia article.

Founded in 1796, the town today has 28,000 people. Once again, according to that Wikipedia article, Williamsport is the “cultural, financial, and commercial center of North Central Pennsylvania.” 

It also lists 40+ “notable people.” I actually know one, baseball Hall of Famer Mike Mussina.

The high school has about 1500 students. They offer about 13 sports. 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any physical mascot. Luckily, though, the town’s minor league team, the Crosscutters, has two:

That’s Rusty on the left and Boomer on the right. At least Rusty, who’s a lumberjack, has something to do with logging. Boomer, on the other hand, seems very rando, and may have more to do with the Philly Fanatic than anything else (the team was once in the Phillie farm system).

Stingarees – Texas City (TX) High School

NOTE:  We’re a little short of 100, so I’m adding a few more to get us to that magic number.

Stinga-what?

Wouldn’t ya know … turns out it’s an old-timey word for a sting ray.

And, yes, Texas City, is on the water. In particular, it’s on the mainland, right across the bay from Galveston.

The city has 52,000 inhabitants, and is mostly known for petrochemicals. 

It was settled in the 1830s, and originally called Shoal Point. The name was later changed when the town was developed as a major port (it’s currently the 4th largest in the US).

Texas City seems to be mostly associated with disasters, including the:

• Galveston hurricane of 1900 (deadliest natural disaster in US history)
• 1947 explosion (580 killed, town leveled)

• BP explosion of 2005 (15 killed)
• Hurricane Ike, in 2008 (flooding, relocation)

Oh, it’s also an EPA superfund site.

On the positive side, Tc isalso the birthplace of the USAF. It also seems to have produced 15 “notable people,” including two I’ve actually heard of – broadcaster Stone Phillips and football player D’Onta Foreman.

Mr. Foreman

The high school dates back to 1952, and currently has 1800 students. It’s about half Latino, a quarter Black, and a quarter White. The school lists 14 “notable alumni,” including the aforementioned Foreman. They seem particularly proud of their parking lot:

TCHS supports 12 sports. They are typically know as the “Stings.”

And, yes, they do have a real, live, on-field mascot:

Ridiculous as it looks, it’s definitely better, though, than what it replaced:

 

The last two have been described as an "shaggy, old, orange carpet" and like "Casper the Friendly Ghost [falling] into a bucket of orange juice." 

Of course, the new one has been called a "shark with a cowboy hat." Guess there's just no pleasing some people. 

Maniacs – Orofino (ID) High School

NOTE:  We’re a little short of 100, so I’m adding a few more to get us to that magic number.

No, this has nothing to do whatsoever with the Idaho State Hospital, located right in town. Nothing to do at all. Why ever would you think that?

Instead – at least according to the Idaho Statesman – it seems that some opponents “decided the Orofino players played and looked like a bunch of maniacs [and the name stuck].” Further, it “is not intended to depict a hospital patient enduring shock treatment.” Nope, not at all.

In addition to the hospital, Orofino also has a prison! So, I guess they could have been something like the Convicts, or the Felons, or the Criminals as well (hey, didn’t Yuma already take that last one?).

I guess “Offenders” would work as well
(especially considering the alliteration)

Orofino, which means “fine gold,” is in the panhandle. It’s also in the very northeast corner of the Nez Perce Indian Reservation, and right on the Clearwater River. The town dates back to 1895, and today has about 2,700 inhabitants.

Some other areas of interest include a Lewis & Clark site, a big dam, and Boomershoot, an “annual precision rifle event.” The place looks genuinely beautiful.

The high school has about 240 students. They offer 8 sports, and have won 4 state titles, including 2 in basketball.

Luckily, there is a physical mascot:

Even more fortunately, he sure beats the last one they had: