History of the Ramblers and Rams
The history of the Holt mascot remains somewhat unclear nearly 90 years on. Originally the Ramblers, the Holt Rams have had some form of this mascot since the 1930s. We start to see the Ramblers mascot appear around 1935 coinciding with the district championships won by the Holt football team. The State Journal newspaper refers to the Holt Ramblers for the first time in October 1936.
When Holt High School’s fight song was written in 1938, student composer Robert P. Baisel included the line “Ramblers don’t yield,” still sung by spirited fans today.
The earliest Holt High School yearbooks held various names like “The Lone Pine,” “Skool Daze,” “The Key,” and more. After no yearbook was compiled in 1950, the Class of 1951 put together the first ever “Ram Pages” yearbook. The Rampages is still published annually.
It is around 1951 that Ramblers begins to shorten to Rams, which comes along with a complicated history.
Mascots are most often associated with athletic teams. Thereby, when teams thrive, there is evolution in school spirit and mascots. As Holt baseball had standout years in the late 1940s, the State Journal refers to the Holt Rams for the first time - shortening Ramblers to Rams - in April 1948. It is unclear if the original Ramblers name referred to the animal in any way, or rather the idea of “rambling” from opponent to opponent. Years later coach and athletic director Walt Pawlowski was given credit for naming the Holt Rams. However, Pawlowski was coaching in Bath in 1948 and didn’t arrive in Holt until 1953, where he remained until his retirement in 1981.
The Ram iconography has evolved through the years and included costumed mascots and live ram mascots. A taxidermied ram still hangs in the Holt High School athletic office. The Rampages yearbook and Ramparts student newspaper feature the beloved mascot and the all-original fight song with its historic Ramblers line is still played by the Holt Ram Marching Band. Now as you sport your Rams apparel and cheer Holt students on the athletic field, you’ll know the origins of our beloved mascot.