Herbie's Finer Points
By Andrew Stewart ('08)
Photos by Craig Chandler
For generations, he has become the personification of pride and nostalgia. He is also a symbol of humility and good sportsmanship. He is Herbie Husker.
Debuting in 1974, Herbie Husker comes with a storied past that includes many different incarnations and redesigns, as well as a slew of predecessors dating back to the late 19th century.
“He’s not just a farm boy,” says UNL’s Spirit Squad Manager Marlon Lozano, who spent three years performing as Herbie in the early 1990s. “He’s in touch with the world, but he’s still a proud Husker fan — probably the No. 1 fan.”
During Nebraska’s inaugural football season in 1890, the team was known as the Old Gold Knights, which would continue to carry the banner for Nebraska football until 1899 when the University decided it needed to distinguish itself from the similarly gold-clad University of Iowa. The following year, Nebraska changed its colors to scarlet and cream, followed by an official rebranding as the Cornhuskers — a term devised by sports editor Charles (Cy) Sherman, who is commonly referred to by historians as the Father of the Cornhuskers, according to Deb Kleve White, a 1980 alumna and former Yell Squad member who is writing a book on game day traditions at the University of Nebraska.
“Back then, a football team already identified itself with a name and a color,” White explains. “Since the Old Gold Knights, they had been using Bug Eaters, Tree Planters, all of these strange names, but nothing gelled.”
It wasn’t until fall 1955 when Nebraska debuted its first official mascot, a half-ear of corn with tassels worn as a headpiece, complete with green overalls dubbed Corncob Man. In the early 1960s, it was decided that a truer representation of a Nebraskan was needed. Insert Huskie the Husker — a 10-foot-tall costumed person dressed in a plaid shirt, with jean-bib overalls and a straw bucket for a hat.
Huskie walked the sidelines until 1970 when ticket manager, Jim Pittenger, and sports information director, Don Bryant, acquired rights to an illustration of a cartoon by artist Bill Goggin depicting a Husker fan called Mr. Big Red (aka Harry Husker). That design, too, was short-lived as the costume’s massive fiber glass head was too large to fit on the team bus, according to White, measuring 5-feet, 8-inches-tall and weighing 70 pounds.
Nebraska officially retired Mr. Big Red in 1988, though not before introducing the world to Herbie Husker in 1974, resulting in a 14-year span during which both mascots co-existed.
Herbie underwent many different looks throughout the 1970s and 1980s — starting from a drawing by Dirk West at the Cotton Bowl that was the inspiration for the original 1974 Herbie Husker. The University then hired Bob Johnson a former Disney artist to design the first Herbie Husker mascot head. The current, brown-haired Herbie Husker, introduced in 2003, was spearheaded by former athletic director Steve Pederson. His red cowboy hat, red work shirt, blue jeans and work boots aimed to update the overall appearance of the state’s agricultural workers and general public, according to Lozano.
During that time, however, the need for a second mascot emerged as the three athletic teams that traditionally requested a mascot appearance — football, basketball and volleyball — increasingly played games simultaneously. Thus in 1993, Lil’ Red was born making Nebraska one of the few universities to feature two official mascots. Measuring in at 8-feet, 4-inches-tall, Lil’ Red marked the first inflatable mascot to be used in either college or professional sports. Described as someone with the personality of an 8-year-old boy, Lil’ Red is far more precocious than Herbie Husker, designed to appeal to younger fans.
“His primary goal is to make you laugh,” says Erynn Nicholson Butzke, head coach of the Spirit Squad.
Butzke, a 2003 graduate, says that while the two mascots are not meant to be related, they are considered best friends.
For anyone at UNL who works with the mascots directly, it is that kind of honest treatment of these characters — as if they were living, breathing entities — that has grounded them in a real sense of time and place, enriching the overall experience for fans throughout the years.
“I call it superhero syndrome,” Butzke says. “That little bit of magic hasn’t ever changed.”
For fans, watching Herbie and Lil’ Red in action is often a thrilling experience — and one that stays consistent from week to week, year to year. For those behind the mask, that’s purposeful. So much so that the identities of the players inside the costumes remain a secret for as long as possible. A 2017 graduate who spent his senior year as Herbie Husker and who has asked to stay anonymous for this article (here, we’ll simply call him Herbie17), describes his time on the squad “as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
I remember the first time I saw my reflection as Herbie,” Herbie17 says, “and I remember thinking to myself, ‘Wow, I’m really representing the whole state right now. This is amazing.’”
Herbie17 describes his group of fellow mascot players as “a pretty close-knit group,” often needing to work together choreographing similar moves in order to maintain consistency, regardless of who is in the costume.
Lozano agrees that consistency is one of the most important aspects of the job. In fact, Lozano says that when he was a performer, he had become so astute at mimicking one of his counterparts that during one game, Lozano unintentionally created trouble for his partner with his partner’s girlfriend.
“Herbie was flirting with the girl next to him,” Lozano recalls. “She thought it was her boyfriend (inside the suit), but really it was me.”
It’s that attention to detail — shoulders back, chin up — and an adherence to the character’s unique personality traits that helps color the overall experience, says Butzke. Along with being a bit of a ladies’ man, Lozano adds that Herbie is “cool, calm and collected” — characteristics that have been part of the mascot’s DNA from the very beginning.
Lil’ Red, on the other hand, allowed for much more freedom in developing his persona.
Lozano, who was one of the first two players ever to wear the inflatable suit, remembers his first encounter as Lil’ Red and describes the mascot as a true pioneer in the field: “We took it as a challenge,” he says. “We just started playing with it. I think we were ready for something new — to give him a personality of his own.”
Lozano says that in the beginning it took him and his partner six months to perfect Lil’ Red’s now famous headstand trick. “Now it can be done in less than 10 seconds,” he says.
Over the years, Lozano says he has met with a number of professional mascot performers — borrowing and trading tricks of the trade.
“The best ones exaggerate everything,” says Lozano. “You have to remember that you are the center of attention so everything you do has to be big. Whether you’re laughing, sad or upset — everything is exaggerated.”
As memorable as witnessing Herbie and Lil’ Red in action can be, the view from inside the suit is just as impactful. That’s because the function of the mascots has evolved over the years and mascots are no longer relegated to the sidelines on Husker game days – they have taken on a bigger role off the field.
“A lot of the most memorable times weren’t at games, but at appearances,” says Lozano. “We’ve had requests from people in their final days — and when you get a smile from them, you just can’t prepare for that.”
Lozano describes the time when Lil’ Red was asked to attend at a funeral. “We had done so many unique appearances. Yet surprisingly, knowing the Nebraska fans, the only thing we hadn’t done was a funeral,” Lozano says. “Then about three years ago, we got the request for Lil’ Red to be a pallbearer.”
Because of the bulk of the costume, Lozano says Lil’ Red was physically unable to hold the casket, “but he marched behind the whole procession.”
Lozano often compares Herbie to a character like Mickey Mouse with the ability to inspire and entertain at the same time.
There is also a celebrity element that comes into play, adds Butzke, who remembers the exact moment when Herbie appeared at her own wedding reception. (It’s tradition for Spirit Squad members to send Herbie a wedding invitation.)
“I remember being on the dance floor and wondering what was going on. Then in walks Herbie,” Butzke recalls. “It was so exciting. I mean, I see this character every day. I see the costumes hanging up. I see the backstage part of it all the time, but it didn’t matter. I was a fan again.”
On Husker game day, that same kind of excitement that Herbie brings is magnified tenfold, often feeding off the high-voltage electricity in the air.
“Honestly, probably the coolest part is the tunnel walk when Herbie goes out in the middle of the field and it’s just him and Lil’ Red standing side-by-side,” Herbie17 says. “That is one of the most surreal moments just because you’re right there in the middle of it all.”
“The stadium’s rocking and you get goosebumps,” he adds.
For Lozano, that surreal feeling was never so tangible than during the ’94 national championship football game. He recalls the historic event as an indescribable moment in time.
“As soon as the game ended, I just wanted to go get changed so I could celebrate as a fan,” he says.
It’s that pride for the university and the state as a whole that is so important for members of the Spirit Squad. It transcends the mere mechanics of the job, making Herbie a fully realized character — one that celebrates alongside the most diehard fans. He has become more than a symbol; he’s become one of us.
“It’s amazing that a mascot or character can make people so excited,” Butzke says. “It’s that little bit of magic that transforms Herbie into Herbie.”