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=== Pre-YoUDee === In 1911, the University of Delaware adopted the Blue Hen as its official mascot.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|url=https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/14999|title=Blue Hens make worst mascot list|last=Stock|first=Susan|date=September 12, 1997|website=UDSpace|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907231434/https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/14999|archive-date=September 7, 2015|access-date=November 13, 2019}}</ref> In the 1930s, the initial physical mascot was a [[Life|live]] blue chicken that was tended to by members of the cheerleading team.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www1.udel.edu/Archives/archivesprogrammain.html|title=Collections|date=2018|website=University Archives and Records Management|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208162615/https://www1.udel.edu/Archives/archivesprogrammain.html|archive-date=February 8, 2018|access-date=November 21, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://delawareonline.newspapers.com/image/161828063/|title=The Man About Town|date=November 18, 1947|website=The News Journal at Newspapers.com|location=Wilmington, DE|page=6|url-access=subscription|access-date=November 6, 2019}}</ref> It is unclear if it was a blue hen, or a chicken with blue feathers, as it is believed there are no true descendants of "fighting blue hens of Revolutionary War times."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://delawareonline.newspapers.com/image/159818210/|title=Does our state bird, the blue hen, really exist?|last=White|first=Jim|date=August 13, 1987|website=13 Aug 1987, Page 108 - The Morning News at Newspapers.com|location=Wilmington, DE|url-access=subscription|access-date=November 6, 2019}}</ref> Starting in 1950, several [[Costumed character|costumed]] "Fightin' Blue Hen" mascots existed. Little is known about them besides the fact that they were "a variety of light and dark blue suits."<ref name=":6" /> Few photographs of them can be found.<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/5688|title=Blue Hen Yearbook 1991, Organizations|date=1991|website=UDSpace|page=198|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907223117/https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/5688|archive-date=September 7, 2015|access-date=November 22, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www1.udel.edu/Archives/exhibitions/becoming/spirit.html|title="The Spirit of Homecoming"|date=2018|website=University Archives and Records Management|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822174814/http://www1.udel.edu/Archives/exhibitions/becoming/spirit.html|archive-date=August 22, 2016|access-date=November 21, 2019}}</ref> All of the costumes were presumably retired before YoUDee appeared.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://delawareonline.newspapers.com/image/159498597/|title=21 Aug 1986, Page 88 - The Morning News at Newspapers.com|last=McKelvey|first=Judith|date=August 21, 1986|location=Wilmington, DE|url-access=subscription|access-date=November 6, 2019}}</ref> One reader of ''[[The News Journal]]'' in Wilmington requested that one of the old mascot's costume should be displayed in the nearby [[Bob Carpenter Center]]. This reader was not alone, as a [[petition]] with over 1,000 signatures circulated the state of Delaware, demanding the same. The Athletics Department responded and objected to the petition on the grounds that there was no room for it, and that "it would be inappropriate."<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|title=Our Readers' Views: UD's first Blue Hen mascot deserves showcase in Bob|last=Tarrant|first=Shirley|date=January 28, 2003|work=News Journal|location=Wilmington, DE|page=A8}}</ref> Articles from the time indicated that at [[American football|football]] games, the old mascots were ridiculed and pelted with items such as "marshmallows" and "batteries" by students on a frequent basis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://delawareonline.newspapers.com/image/164532982/|title=1 Feb 2006, Page 58 - The News Journal at Newspapers.com|website=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, DE|language=en|url-access=subscription|access-date=2019-11-06}}</ref> It is unclear if this was a recurring [[Sketch comedy|skit]] coordinated by the mascot team, or represented student emotions at the time.<gallery mode="nolines" class="center" caption="Costumed University of Delaware mascots before YoUDee"> File:UDSpace - Blue Hen Yearbook, 1966 - 1966 01 Student Life, page 17.png|Blue Hen Yearbook, 1966 File:UDSpace - Blue Hen Yearbook, 1970 - 1970 01 Dedication, page 11.png|Blue Hen Yearbook, 1970 File:UDSpace - Blue Hen Yearbook, 1991 - 1991 04 Organizations, page 198.png|alt=Blue Hen mascot standing in front of crowd.|Blue Hen Yearbook, 1991 File:UDSpace - Blue Hen Yearbook, 1992 - 1992 01 A Multititude of Faces, page 19.png|alt=Blue Hen mascot walking and waving on crosswalk.|Blue Hen Yearbook, 1992 File:January 28, 2003 - News Journal - A8 - The original Fightin' Blue Hen.jpg|alt=Blue Hen mascot standing in front of a fire truck.|''News Journal'', published in 2003 </gallery>A successor mascot would take its place. When the University of Delaware President [[David Roselle]] was questioned as to why there would be a new mascot, he said "[well], the obvious answer is, the old one wore out."<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://delawareonline.newspapers.com/image/158560670/|title=05 Sep 1993, Page 41 - The News Journal at Newspapers.com|last=Graham|first=Jim|date=September 5, 1993|location=Wilmington, DE|url-access=subscription|access-date=November 6, 2019}}</ref>
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