is usually mentioned in the conversation but their athletic nickname is actually "The Dutch" and they do not have an official mascot, although the Holland High Marching Band is known for performing in wooden shoes during parades.
The only other team with this unique mascot was the Holland Wooden Shoes minor league baseball team, that played in the Michigan State League from 1911-1914. Teutopolis is the only high school in the world to have the Wooden Shoe as it's mascots. The name would recognize both the German heritage of the community and honor George Deyman who carved wooden shoes for a living for the farming community. Coach Griffin suggested that the shoes be painted - one gold and the other silver, and used as trophies for the annual homecoming games played by and at Teutopolis and Neoga.Įver since then, the Teutopolis High School athletic teams have been referred as the "Wooden Shoes". It was then, Albert "Penny" Hewing and Bert Hawickhorst, local fans and businessmen, gave Coach Griffin a pair of wooden shoes made out of lindenwood and carved by a local shoemaker, George Deymann.ĭeymann, in his 80s at the time, had spent most of his life making shoes for Teutopolis and area residents who wore them during the winter months. They sold for fifty cents apiece in the local grocery stores. This story dates to 1932, when boys basketball coach, John Harold Griffin, was hired and soon began to look for a "unique" name for the basketball team. According to Andrew Johnson, Teutopolis' athletic director, up until 1935 Teutopolis High School did not have a nickname. Although the shoe design may vary by culture, traditional clogs were often worn in heavy labor, such as agriculture and mining, due to its firmness and low cost.Īlthough the origin of wooden footwear in Europe is not precisely known, what is known is the origin of the mascot name in Teutopolis. For those not familiar with a wooden shoe, or clog, it's footwear made in part or completely from wood. Louis, MO and Terre Haute, IN, is not like any other. Route 40, is the uniqueness of its storied high school basketball programs and the mascot chosen for the town's German heritage, the "Wooden Shoes".Īlthough the establishment of the village put Teutopolis on the state map, its success on the hardwood put T-Town on the basketball map. Large and tiny dots span the entire state map, representing the few historic programs from a century's time, but that one minuscule dot, halfway between St. What you don't expect as you drive by the village of 1,530 alongside U.S. Having c elebrated their 175th anniversary a few years ago, the village located in the "Heartland of America" has a vast amount of history tied to it as one would expect. The village of Teutopolis, Ill, also known as "T-Town", is one-of-a-kind, literally.Įstablished in 1839, Teutopolis, "the city of the Teutons (or Germans)", is the only town in the Sign on the side of the Teutopolis High School That may be an understatement. But again, underestimating Teutopolis is something many don't do.
"You're absolutely right", my brother responded as he stood in the doorway looking into the adjoining gymnasium admiring the large shoe in the middle of the court, "there's not too many places like this". Teutopolis' athletic director, Andrew Johnson had just left us in the school's trophy room, turned cafeteria, as he had to get back to overseeing other duties. I asked anyone listening, "It's unique, isn't it?" Turning in circles while admiring the four walls covered in basketball trophies, team pictures and awards, my eyes fixated on a pair of clogs hanging above the large Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state championship trophy case.
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