100 Years Later
Towns across Texas have their own unique way of showing their pride by integrating their identity into the local school mascot. You can look out into West Texas and see Roughnecks and Plowboys. Down on the coast you have Sharks and Sandcrabs. East Texas has their Lumberjacks, Cardinals, and Owls. You also have the basic Eagles, Bulldogs and Tigers, but there is only one town in the world that can stake the claim to being an Armadillo! Being an Armadillo is not only unique and independent, but it also comes with a creative backstory derived from a teenage football player just wanting to encourage his teammates on to victory 100 years ago.
That teenage football players name was Mr. Tom Neal. Tom Neal was the third of six children born to Edgar and Maude Neal on February 27, 1903. Tom Neal was born in the county jail but not for reasons you might first suspect. His father Edgar Neal was the county sheriff, and the family lived on the 1st floor of the jail. A couple of years after graduating from SSHS in 1923, Tom Neal took a career path in law enforcement. His career started in Austin where he advanced to the rank of police captain, then he spent the next 18 years as a special agent to the F.B.I. San Saba VS Cherokee – October 7, 1922
It was a Saturday afternoon when the visiting team from Cherokee squared off against San Saba on its home turf of the county fairgrounds. The game was summarized in the local paper as “The spirited game last Saturday wound up in a tie 6-6. The game was well patronized and enjoyed by all.” Mr. Neal, a senior at that time, was confined to the sideline due to an illness but was nevertheless doing his part to encourage his teammates from the bench. As the score indicates, it was a tough fought game with neither team being able to take control. During the midst of the gridiron battle, Tom Neal yelled from the sidelines “Dig in there like a bunch of Armadillos and root them out!” Dig in like an armadillo? The four-legged animal with an armored shell for protection and claws when dug firmly into the ground are virtually impossible to shake loose? Maybe an armadillo is a perfect description of what every football team is looking for? The nickname seemed to stick, and as early as the 1923 season the “football 11” or “football squad” had started being referred to as Armadillos.
Much water has gone under the bridge of the San Saba River since that fall day in 1922. Athletes have come and gone, some leaving their footprints in the sands of time. Some leave San Saba forever, some come back, either way they have the distinct title of being the one and only Armadillos. So here is to you, Mr. Neal, and your enthusiasm from the sideline that spurred a one-of-a-kind mascot; here is to San Saba and another 100 years of being an Armadillo.
Editor's Note: San Saba News & Star is currently running a series about Mr. Neal's father, Edgar T. Neal. See part 8 of Neal’s article on page 3.