The term "mascot" entered the English language in 1880 and was used to represent any animal, person or object that brings good luck.

According to the school, Southern Illinois students wanted a "more imaginative mascot" than Maroons in the late 1940s, so there was a student vote for the school's mascot in March 1951.

FREEBURG, Ill. (AP) — Athletes at a southern Illinois high school will keep the nickname Freeburg Midgets, despite the objections of a group representing people with dwarfism who find the name ...