Rampant superstitions may be the reason teams started the tradition of mascots. From the French word mascotte, with roots meaning witch, wizard or sorcerer, a mascot is a talisman or source of good luck.

TCU’s Horned Frog ties go back to 1897, when the yearbook and the football team adopted the name of the once-plentiful Texas lizard. But TCU mascots, the living embodiments, have varied in design and even species for nearly a century.

In 1921, the mascot of the Horned Frog football squad was a young boy – a tradition which continued through the 1960s. In the early 1920s, the baseball team had a dog with a purple body and a white head. In 1930, the TCU band received a goat named Samuel. And in 1941, the football team rallied behind a small black dog who attended practice daily.

In August 1949, every school in the athletic conference had a costumed mascot – except TCU. And while horned frogs were fairly plentiful, the idea of carrying one to a football game seemed rather silly. So, after repeated requests for a costumed mascot that could participate in football games and other campus events, TCU’s Student Government provided $50 for the University’s first mascot costume.

The Skiff, the school newspaper, held a contest to name the new mascot with three options: Tex, Addy, and Hormone. Although students could suggest other names, a winning title emerged: Addy the All-American Frog, in honor of Addison Clark Jr., whose efforts brought football to TCU in 1896 and who was instrumental in giving the school its Horned Frog nickname.

Since the mascot’s birth over a half century ago, the costume has been replaced numerous times. Early costumes didn’t last long. On February 27th 1979, the Student Government approved funding for a new mascot costume. The arrival of the costume warranted a new name, and John Grace, then director of sports promotion, deemed the creation “SuperFrog.”

The SuperFrog name continues today. Its current appearance was designed by TCU employee Gorland Mar in 1999. Despite small updates, such as the addition of human-sized tennis shoes and gloves and a more muscular physique, SuperFrog continues to serve as the primary representation of TCU’s athletics teams and school spirit.