"At the end of the quarter, the earth started to tremble, there was a distant rumble that continued to grow. Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stamped this Alabama varsity.
"It was the first time that I had seen it and the size of the entire eleven nearly knocked me cold, men that I had seen play last year looking like they had nearly doubled in size."
Strupper and other writers continued to refer to the Alabama linemen as "Red Elephants," the color referring to the crimson jerseys.
https://rolltide.com/sports/2016/6/10/trads-elephant-html.aspx
Similar story with the University of Richmond mascot - the Spiders
Star pitcher Puss Ellyson's lanky arms and stretching kick confused batters to such an extent that Richmond Times-Dispatch writer Ragland Chesterman used the name of that clever creeping insect, the Spider, to fittingly describe the erudite members of the team. So was created perhaps the most unique school nickname in the nation. To this day, the University of Richmond is the only school in the country which sports the nickname "Spiders."
https://richmondspiders.com/sports/2015/5/21/205184175.aspx
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