The Goblin mascot was created in 1926 by Tom Millard, a 1927 HHS graduate, to give
the school newspaper a name. The first Goblin paper was printed on
October 31, 1926 with the first big story being a minute-by-minute account of the
statewide tour the basketball team made with their coach, B. A. Redwine – never
losing a game! The first Goblin was a fascinating little creature with a
grinning face and pointed cap. It was accepted as a mascot by the
basketball team that year and later by the football team, which was organized in
1929.
For 40 years, the mascot was a smiling Goblin. In the fall of 1968, the
“Mean”Goblin first appeared. The coach of the football team, Hulen
Quattlebaum, wanted his team to be meaner Goblins. This was the first year
of the two platoon system of substituting in football and Coach Quattlebaum
wanted his defensive team to believe that they were the meanest! The
football team had just bought new blue helmets and Coach Quattlebaum wanted new
decals of the“Mean” Goblin for the helmets. The junior class, headed by
Mike (Thunder)Thorntonordered decals of an angry Goblin with
ragged hair to sell as a junior class project. This angry Goblin had a red
face and yellow hair so that he would show up on the blue helmets. The
basketball team chose to continue with the smiling, jester-like Goblin for
several years. They had dark blue blazer jackets with the “good” Goblin
patch on the pocket that they wore while traveling. Eventually the
so-called “mean” Goblin became the only one. Through the years, the
Goblin’s face has changed from red to blue, but the ragged hair and angry frown
still remain.
Some of the original depictions of the Goblin.