Blind Jim Ivy

Noted University of Mississippi historian David Sansing has long pointed out that the model for the original Colonel Rebel emblem was a black man.  Blind Jim Ivy was a campus fixture until his death in 1955.  Jim Ivy became an integral part of the University of Mississippi in 1896. Born in 1870 as the son of African slave Matilda Ivy, he moved from Alabama to Mississippi in 1890. Ivy was blinded in his early teens when coal tar paint got into his eyes while painting the Tallahatchie River Bridge. Ivy became a peanut vendor in Oxford and was considered the university's mascot for many years.

Ivy attended most Ole Miss athletic events and was fond of saying, “I've never seen Ole Miss lose.”  Ivy was very much a part of the Ole Miss scene in 1936 when the editor of the school newspaper proposed a contest to produce a new nickname for Ole Miss teams, then known as The Flood. Rebels were the choice of 18 out of 21 sports writers and the university’s sports teams have forever been known as the Rebels. Two years later, Colonel Rebel appeared for the first time as an illustration in the university yearbook.

According to Sansing, “If you look at the photo of Blind Jim in the three-piece suit, with the hat, there's a striking resemblance. The original Colonel Rebel emblem is a spitting image of Blind Jim Ivy, except for white skin.”

Colonel Reb on Campus

Colonel Reb soon became an honor all over campus.  In the 1940’s the tradition of voting for Colonel Reb and Miss Ole Miss were the highest honors students could bestow on their fellow attendees.  Still elected every fall by the student population, many notables of the history of Ole Miss have earned this honor including Kayo Dottley and former NFL standout Ben Williams.  “Gentle Ben” was also the first black football player at Ole Miss.

It was also during this time that one student each year at Ole Miss dressed in a Confederate uniform and paraded down the sidelines exhorting the Rebel faithful to cheer for their winning team.  Wielding just a microphone and filled with hoopla, the student helped lead the Ole Miss football team to three national championships (1959, 1960 and 1962) and six Southeastern Conference titles (1947, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1962, and 1963).

Seeking to professionalize the sideline appearance, the student was exchanged for a trained cheerleader mascot in the form of the original 1938 emblem that was a campus staple on merchandise.  Colonel Reb finally graduated from his 40 year paper history to a living caricature on the field in 1979.  He has appeared at every sporting event since then, delighting both adults and children wherever he goes as our representative.

Jim Ivy would be proud we remember him today.