The Journal

Issue date: 10/5/06 Section: Sports

In past years, the Gorlok has been adorned in a number of ways - wearing glasses, a stethoscope or even a hula skirt. The athletic department felt it was time to have a look that was specifically designed for Webster sports - a fierce, intimidating logo that incorporated the vision of the entire department.

The athletic department revealed the Gorlok's new look Sept. 28, in front of student athletes and coaches. The banner, which nearly was unveiled upside down, hung over the old Gorlok in the trophy case by the gymnasium. After a brief pause, the crowd responded with a round of applause.

"This isn't the same athletic department of 1990," Athletic Director Tom Hart said. "One reason we wanted a change was to promote the Gorlok. It's an advantage. Nobody else is a Gorlok, and the new design gives us that capability."

The idea first came to Hart when he was browsing through the Web site of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He noticed that Webster, Blackburn and Fontbonne had similar-looking logos. All three logos featured creatures standing with their upper-appendages placed on their hips.

Jim Ward, a local graphic artist, contacted Hart. Ward, who had redone the Missouri Tiger logo, wanted to show Hart some of his work.

At that time, there weren't any financial resources to redo the Gorlok. After the new fiscal year, Hart contacted Ward. Ward had just redone Maryville's logo and was in the process of redoing Washington University's logo. They discussed some ideas and then Ward started to put some designs on paper.

Ward came up with three distinct looks. After viewing Ward's designs, Hart decided to combine certain features of each and incorporate all three into one design.

Hart also wanted to make sure "WU" was a part of the new logo. In his remarks to the crowd Sept. 28, Hart said getting the "WU" involved was important because he wanted people to realize it was Webster University playing. Hart described the tradition and pride that Webster University has, and he wanted those characteristics to remain a part of the athletic department and its new look.

The idea was Hart's, but everyone in the athletic department was involved in some way. All of the coaches had a chance to look at the new design and give input. The coaches said they're excited to incorporate the new look into their respective sports.(It won't take long either; the new uniforms can be seen this fall.)

"The new Gorlok represents the department well; fresh and moving forward," Head Softball Coach Brett Swip said. "The old Gorlok has a lot of tradition, and we wanted to try to incorporate that tradition with the new one."

Timing turned out to play a big role in this decision. In the October issue of Playboy, the Webster University Gorloks are listed as one of the top fourteen least intimidating mascots - right between the Washburn University Icabods and the University of Central Arkansas Sugar Bears.

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