Traveler (mascot)

University of Southern California mascot

Traveler

Traveler logo

University| University of Southern California
Conference| Big 10
First seen| 1961
Traveler on the sidelines during a football game.

Traveler is a horse who is the mascot of the University of Southern California. Traveler appears at all USC home football games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as well as many other outdoor events, including numerous Rose Parades. The current horse is Traveler IX. Although the Traveler web site describes Traveler as "pure white," most of the horses who have served as Traveler are actually gray horses whose hair coats have become completely white. (Truly white horses are rare.) The rider, dressed as an idealized Trojan warrior, is often mistaken for Tommy Trojan, the Trojan portrayed in USC's famous Trojan Shrine statue; however, the rider is unnamed and simply designated as a Trojan warrior with the horse as the official mascot. On November 6, 2013, the costumed version of Tommy and Traveler were introduced for men's and women's basketball games.[1]

Traveler horse statue

## Introduction

[edit]

Traveler was introduced in the autumn of 1962, during the USC Trojans football team's home opener at the Coliseum, against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. To dress Saukko as a Trojan warrior, USC used its connections to the film industry to procure the costume worn by Charlton Heston in Ben Hur two years earlier. The costume proved to be too heavy for extended use, so Saukko made his own leather uniform for the 1962 season and the same costume has been used since. The name was believed to have been inspired by the gray horse Traveller, ridden by Civil War Confederate general Robert E. Lee,[2] In August 2017 concerns that the horse's name had a connection to Lee led to further research, which revealed that the first Traveler was acquired with his name, spelled with one L, in 1958 after he had become unreliable as a movie horse.[3] On Equinespot.com, Traveler is listed as one of the six most common horse names to begin with the letter T. [4]

## See also

[edit]

* List of historical horses

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Chris Foster, USC basketball has a new mascot ... named Traveler, Los Angeles Times, November 6, 2014
2. ^ "Origin of Traveler name". Los Angeles Times.
3. ^ Daily Trojan, [1], August 23, 2017
4. ^ Popular Horse named [2]

## External links

[edit]

* Traveler's official site at USC.

* v
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University of Southern California

Located in Los Angeles, California

Schools|

* Architecture
* Business
* Accounting
* Cinematic Arts
* Communication
* Dance
* Dentistry
* Physical Therapy
* Dramatic Arts
* Education
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Research|

* Alfred Mann Institute
* Andrus Gerontology Center
* Annenberg Center for Communication
* Brain and Creativity Institute
* Center for Biomimetic Microelectronic Systems
* Center for Visual Anthropology
* Center on Public Diplomacy
* Information Sciences Institute
* Institute for Creative Technologies
* Integrated Media Systems Center
* Jane Goodall Research Center
* Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute
* Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience
* Norman Lear Center
* ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives
* Southern California Earthquake Center
* Southern California Marine Institute
* Tomás Rivera Policy Institute
* Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies
* Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute

Athletics|

| Teams|

* Baseball
* Men's basketball
* Women's basketball
* Women's beach volleyball
* Football
* Rugby
* Women's soccer
* Track and field
* Men's volleyball
* Women's volleyball

|

Venues|

* Felix Field and Loker Stadium
* David X. Marks Tennis Stadium
* Dedeaux Field
* Galen Center
* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Lyon Center
* Merle Norman Stadium
* Physical Education Building
* Uytengsu Aquatics Center

Traditions|

* "Fight On"
* Spirit of Troy
* UCLA rivalry
* Crosstown Cup

Media|

* Annenberg TV News
* Daily Trojan
* KDFC
* KUSC
* KXSC
* Neon Tommy
* Southern California Law Review
* Trojan Vision

Others|

* Campus
* Libraries
* Trojan Shrine
* Traditions
* Faculty
* Trojan Family
* Trojan Knights
* USC Fisher Museum of Art
* USC Helenes
* USC Pacific Asia Museum
* USC Shoah Foundation
* Gamble House
* Pacific Philosophical Quarterly

* Founded: 1880
* Students: 42,469
* Endowment: 4.7 billion
* Category

* v
* t
* e

USC Trojans football

Venues|

* Athletic Park (1895–1898)
* Fiesta Park (1897–1898, 1901–1902, 1904–1906, 1916)
* Chutes Park (1900)
* Prager Park (1903)
* Bovard Field (1904–1910, 1914–1915, 1917–1923)
* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923–present)
* Jones Field/Kennedy Field (practice)

Bowls and rivalries|

* Bowl games
* California
* Notre Dame
* Stanford
* Pete Carroll–Jim Harbaugh rivalry
* UCLA: Victory Bell

Culture and lore|

* Traveler
* George Tirebiter
* Giles Pellerin
* "Fight On"
* Spirit of Troy
* Student Body Right
* Tommy Trojan
* Tribute to Troy
* Athletics scandal
* 1967 "Game of the Century"
* "Bush Push"
* 2007 Stanford game
* So This Is College

People|

* Head coaches
* Starting quarterbacks
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911–1913
* 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
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* 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
* 2025

National championship seasons in bold

* v
* t
* e

USC Trojans men's basketball

Venues|

* Shrine Auditorium (1926–1949)
* Pan-Pacific Auditorium (1949–1959)
* Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (1959–2006)
* Galen Center (2006–present)

Rivalries|

* UCLA (Crosstown Cup)

Culture & lore|

* George Tirebiter
* "Fight On"
* Traveler
* Athletics scandal
* 2017–18 corruption scandal

People|

* Head coaches
* NBA players
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* List of seasons
* 1906–07
* 1907–08
* 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

Helms national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

* v
* t
* e

USC Trojans women's basketball

Venues|

* Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (1976–2006)
* Galen Center (2006–present)

Rivalries|

* UCLA
* Crosstown Cup

Culture & lore|

* History
* "Fight On"
* Traveler
* Full Court Press

People|

* Head coaches

Seasons|

* 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 national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

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Mascots of the Big Ten Conference

* Oskee (Illinois)
* No mascot (Indiana)
* Herky the Hawk (Iowa)
* Testudo (Maryland)
* Maize (Michigan)
* Sparty (Michigan State)
* Goldy Gopher (Minnesota)
* Herbie Husker / Lil' Red (Nebraska)
* Willie the Wildcat (Northwestern)
* Brutus Buckeye (Ohio State)
* The Oregon Duck (Oregon)
* Nittany Lion (Penn State)
* Boilermaker Special / Purdue Pete (Purdue)
* Sir Henry, the Scarlet Knight (Rutgers)
* Joe and Josephine Bruin (UCLA)
* Traveler (USC)
* Harry the Husky (Washington)
* Bucky Badger (Wisconsin)

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Live animal mascots in college sports

The American|

* TOM (Memphis)
* Stella (Temple)

ACC|

* Osceola and Renegade (Florida State)
* Tuffy (NC State)
* Rameses (North Carolina)
* Peruna (SMU)

Big 12|

* Judge (Baylor)
* Ralphie the Buffalo (Colorado)
* Shasta (Houston)
* Bullet (Oklahoma State)
* The Masked Rider (Texas Tech)

Big East|

* Butler Blue (Butler)
* Jack the Bulldog (Georgetown)
* Jonathan (UConn)

Big Ten|

* Traveler (USC)
* Dubs (Washington)

Conference USA|

* Tech (Louisiana Tech)

Ivy League|

* Handsome Dan (Yale)

Missouri Valley|

* Racer One (Murray State)

Mountain West|

* Aurora (Air Force)
* CAM the Ram (Colorado State)

Patriot League|

* Army Mules (Army)
* Bill the Goat (Navy)

SEC|

* Tusk (Arkansas)
* War Eagle (Auburn)
* Uga (Georgia)
* Blue (Kentucky)
* Mike the Tiger (LSU)
* Bully (Mississippi State)
* Boomer and Sooner (Oklahoma)
* Sir Big Spur (South Carolina)
* Smokey (Tennessee)
* Bevo (Texas)
* Reveille (Texas A&M)

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