Razorback - Fayetteville, Ar
Posted by: 
fatcat161
N 36° 04.224 W 094° 10.473
15S E 394232 N 3992395
"Il Porcellino" is a replica of a 385-year-old bronze statue by Italian artist Pietro Tacca. He was installed as a fountain outside University House, 1002 Maple Street.
Waymark Code: WM7JXN
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 11/02/2009
Views: 6
Arkansas’ athletic teams have not always been called the Razorbacks. During the early years of its athletic history, the Cardinal served as the University nickname.
A lot of things changed in 1909, however, when Arkansas football coach Hugo Bezdek called his players “a wild band of Razorback hogs,” after guiding his team to a 16-0 victory over Louisiana State on October 30, 1909.
Alluding to the Razorback, characterized by a ridge back and tenacious, wild fighting ability, Bezdek never forgot this idea and often called his team “a fighting band of Razorbacks.” This new nickname became increasingly popular and the student body voted to change the official University mascot from the Cardinal to the Razorbacks in 1910.
In the 1920s, “Wooo, Pig, Sooie” was added as the school yell, referred to more commonly as the “Hog Call.”
There are dozens of Lions, Tigers and Bears, but in all of college athletics there is only one Razorback. The distinctive logo of the Arkansas teams is officially known as the Profile Hog, but is known to many fans as the Helmet Hog -- a fixture of the football team’s helmet for almost half a century.
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The bronze statue was a gift to the University of Arkansas. original Tacca bronze was designed as an outdoor fountain and is currently located in a market place in Florence, Italy. The Florence statue was cast circa 1612. The gift to the University of Arkansas was made from a cast of the original and weighs 4,000 pounds and there are approximately 11 replicas in the world today.