History Behind the Devil

photo creds: Lodi Enterprise
April 28, 2023
As you may know, the Lodi School District’s colors are blue and white, but would it shock you to know they started as red and white? Prior to 1934, Lodi’s sports teams were represented by the colors red and white in their uniforms until coach John McDonald struck a good deal on new school uniforms for the basketball team, which happen to be blue and white. It wasn’t until 1964 that Joe Domershausen, a sports writer for the Wisconsin State Journal, wrote about the high school blue devil played by Bev Benish following a basketball game. It was shortly after that the official color scheme for the royal blue and white devil was decided on.
Mr. Dave Puls said, “Over time, the majority of our sports teams have moved away from red in the uniforms, except for the wrestling team, which proudly sports blue, red, and white.”
But why are school mascots so important? Many will say it provides a common label for students, alumni, and faculty.
Chris Persike would agree: “For me, it represents pride and tradition. I have a lot of pride as it was apart of my growing up to be a Lodi alumni.”
Clearly, our royal blue and white devil creates a sense of belonging for not only the members of our school body but also our community.