Harry the Husky

Harry the Husky
Harry the Husky
	Previous version of Harry the Husky inside Hec Ed Pavilion
University	University of Washington
Conference	Pac-12
Description	Anthropomorphic Dog
First seen	1995
Related mascot(s)	Hendrix the Husky and [6] Dubs

Harry the Husky is a body-suit mascot for the University of Washington, one of two mascots the University's athletic program currently uses. Hendrix the Husky is Harry's brother that lives at UW Tacoma.^[1]

History

The University's first mascot was Sunny Boy, a 3-foot-tall (0.91 m), gold-painted statuette representing an illustration frequently appearing in Columns, which - at the time - was a student-published campus humor magazine (presently Columns is the title of the University of Washington Alumni Magazine). The mascot was introduced in 1921 and retired three years later when it got lost in Bush Auditorium and the University adopted the nickname "Huskies." ^[2]

In 1922, the University began using live sled dogs as its mascots, first a non-hereditary line of Siberian Huskies and, beginning in 1961, a hereditary line of Alaskan Malamutes, which are a different breed of dog from the husky. This makes the University of Washington the only university to have an NCAA team that uses live animal mascots that are different from its official mascot.^[3] Due to the size of the animals, difficulties of travel, logistics, and handler schedules, the mascots generally only appear at home football games.

In 1995, officials in the University's athletic department commissioned a costume and held tryouts for the new live mascot. Three student performers were chosen (Lee Harris, Evelyn Ho and Chris MacDonald) and rotated duties to appear as a secondary mascot for use at events at which the live mascot was unable to attend. A contest and public vote two years later named the new mascot "Harry the Husky." ^[4] Coincidentally, the mascot had already been referred to by that name during a scene in The 6th Man, a film starring Marlon Wayans about the University of Washington basketball team, that had been released prior to the vote.

In 2010, the University unveiled a new Harry the Husky costume and retired the old one. The new husky made his debut on October 9, 2010.^[5]

Additionally, the University has also hosted a long line of Alaskan Malamutes as mascots.^[6] The dogs were originally cared for by the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity; this arrangement was followed by a 49-year tradition (1959–2008) of care by the Cross family (a UW professor, followed by his son). The 13 dogs thus far are as follows:

Frosty I (1922–30)
Frosty II (1930–36)
Wasky (1946–47)
Wasky II (1947–53)
Ski (1954–57)
Denali (1958)
King Chinook (1959–68)
Regent Denali (1969–80)
Sundodger Denali (1981–92)
King Redoubt (1992–97)
Prince Redoubt (1998)
Spirit (1999–2008)
Dubs (2009–2018)
Dubs II (2018– )

References

^ UW news article of Hendrix [1], Accessed March 14, 2012.
^ Cloud Of Mystery Shades Sunny Boy [2], Seattle Times, June 7, 1994, Accessed March 20, 2009.
^ Dubs [3], GoHuskies.com, Accessed October 12, 2010.
^ Our Back Pages: A Dog is Born [4], Columns, September, 2006, Accessed March 20, 2009.
^ Here Comes Harry the Husky [5], YouTube, Accessed October 12, 2010.
^ "Washington Huskies". Washington Huskies. Retrieved 2021-02-18.

[xj7-1] UW news article of Hendrix [1], Accessed March 14, 2012.

[xj8-2] Cloud Of Mystery Shades Sunny Boy [2], Seattle Times, June 7, 1994, Accessed March 20, 2009.

[xj9-3] Dubs [3], GoHuskies.com, Accessed October 12, 2010.

[xj10-4] Our Back Pages: A Dog is Born [4], Columns, September, 2006, Accessed March 20, 2009.

[xj11-5] Here Comes Harry the Husky [5], YouTube, Accessed October 12, 2010.

[6] "Washington Huskies". Washington Huskies. Retrieved 2021-02-18.

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v t e Washington Huskies football
Venues	Various (1889–1894) Denny Field (1895–1920) CenturyLink Field (2011–2012) Husky Stadium (1920–2011, 2013–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Oregon Washington State: Apple Cup Northwest Championship
Culture & lore	Dubs Harry the Husky "Bow Down to Washington" Husky Marching Band Quarterback U The Wave 1985 Oregon State game Whammy in Miami
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Annual awards
Seasons	1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Washington Huskies men's basketball
Venues	Hec Edmundson Pavilion (1927–present)
Rivalries	Gonzaga Washington State
Culture & lore	Harry the Husky "Bow Down to Washington" The 6th Man
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1895–96 1896–98 1898–99 1899–1901 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

v t e Washington Huskies women's basketball
Venues	Hec Edmundson Pavilion (1975–present)
Culture & lore	History Harry the Husky "Bow Down to Washington"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics