Best high school mascot in Michigan: Top 10 candidates

From Battling Bathers to Doughboys to Nimrods, meet the best high school mascots in Michigan

If you hitched a ride on a Flivver with a couple of Modeltowners, you're probably heading to a high school sporting event in Michigan.

And if you run into some Nimrods and Battling Bathers, then it's a definite.

SBLive Sports' love for unique mascots with interesting back stories has been well documented.

We've crowned Hodags and Imps the past couple of years in national high school mascot contests, and now we're taking a spin through every state.

Over the next couple of months we'll go from Alabama through Wyoming featuring each state's best high school mascots, and then give readers a chance to vote for their favorite. Our Michigan poll will post Oct. 26 on highschool.si.com and stay open through Nov. 2.

Vote: Which is the best high school mascot in Michigan?

Here are the top 10 high school mascots in Michigan:

Algonac Muskrats

A muskrat isn’t that different from a beaver, and there are a whole bunch of Beavers out there, so why is this the only high school in the country to be the Muskrats? Cheers to Algonac for showing so much “Muskrat Love.”

Colon Magi

Colon, Michigan, is the magic capital of the world, and Magi the Rabbit is Colon High School’s mascot (sometimes depicted as a rabbit in a hat). Magi also, of course, were noble pilgrims from the East who followed a miraculous guiding star to Bethlehem.

Goodrich Martians

From the Goodrich website: “When the ‘Martian' name was adopted in the 1930s, it had a dual significance because in Roman mythology, Mars was an agricultural deity as well as a warrior. Goodrich still has many small farms, and the Martian warriors have to be reckoned with on the playing field and in the classroom.” So no, it has nothing to do with Marvin from Looney Tunes.

Gwinn Modeltowners

Gwinn became known as a “Model Town” for miners in the early 1900s, so naturally the high school sports teams called themselves the Modeltowners.

Kingsford Flivvers

“Flivver” was a term for a beat-up car that was popular in the 1910s and 1920s, and Kingsford is a Ford town.

Midland Chemics

The first known use of the word “chemic” came in 1576, according to Merriam-Webster, short for “alchemic.” It also can be short for “chemical.” And at Midland High School, Vic — a stuffed lion — is the Chemics’ mascot. 

Mount Clemens Battling Bathers

Not to be confused with the Mount Clemens Bathers, a minor league baseball team in the early 1900s, the Battling Bathers of Mount Clemens still press on. Mount Clemens’ bath houses were a hot spot for the rich and famous in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the Detroit area.

Pershing Doughboys

Gen. John J. Pershing’s troops in World War I were known as “Doughboys,” a nickname that dated back to the Mexican War of 1846-48, when American infantrymen made long treks over dusty terrain, giving them the appearance of being covered in dough.

Watersmeet Nimrods

Per NFHS: "The Nimrod mascot represents an outdoorsman and has biblical roots. Nimrod was a mighty hunter and the son of Cush and great-grandson of Noah. The nickname is extremely popular in the community, and has been the subject of an eight-part documentary, Nimrod Nation, and an ESPN commercial.”

Zeeland East Chix

The town of Zeeland was once known for its chick hatcheries. The Zeeland East Chix celebrate that history, and the Chix crosstown rivals are the Dux of Zeeland West.

(Feature photo by Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA Today Network)

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-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports