Wednesday, October 31, 2007
When Amy Hurst was “hatched” as the first Baby Jay 36 years ago, she had no idea that the mascot she created would become a KU legend.
Baby Jay was introduced to the KU community during halftime of the homecoming victory against Kansas State on Oct. 9, 1971. Hurst rolled onto the field as a blue egg, and hatched out as Baby Jay.
“When the egg opened up and I stepped out, the sound that I heard was not cheering; it was a collective ‘gasp,’ ” Hurst said. “It was very exciting.”
Hurst created the idea of Baby Jay during her freshman year at the University of Kansas in 1970. At the time, she worked at Lum’s, a sports bar that used to be on 23rd Street, and her manager, Eldon Puett, was Big Jay.
“It began as a joke between us,” Hurst said. “I kept teasing him and telling him that he really needed a Baby Jay on the field with him at the sporting events.”
Hurst said she was also inspired by a bumper sticker with Big Jay and a line of little jayhawks running after him.
Puett eventually introduced Hurst and her idea of a baby mascot to the executive director of the Alumni Association, Dick Wintermote. Wintermote approved Hurst’s idea, but told her there was no funding for it.
“I said I would make it happen,” Hurst said. “But I wanted to be the one to wear the costume.”
When Hurst went home to Madeira, Ohio, that summer, she and her parents made the first Baby Jay costume out of chicken wire, fiberglass and fabric. They based their design on a notebook drawing Hurst had made of Big Jay. The costume cost them $53 to construct.
“My parents didn’t even know I was going to do this until I got home that summer,” Hurst said. “I lifeguarded during the day and made Baby Jay at night.”
After Hurst made her Baby Jay debut, she wore the Baby Jay costume to athletic events for her remaining three years at the University before graduating in 1974.
The Baby Jay costume was very heavy and often bruised Hurst, but for her it was “the funnest thing.” Her original costume is now on display on the first floor of the Kansas Union.
During her time at the University, Hurst was the only Baby Jay to perform at all the football and basketball games.
Today, Baby and Big Jay appear at a variety of sports events, including baseball, softball, volleyball and soccer games. There are four Baby Jays and four Big Jays that share the responsibilities of 600 to 700 games and appearances. This is a feat nearly impossible for one person to accomplish, said Kamille Ratzlass, Montezuma senior and one of the current Baby Jays.
“It would be possible if this was their job and they didn’t have classes,” Ratzlass said. “If we were a professional mascot, we could do that.”
In 2003, Hurst set up a mascot fund to help buy future mascot costumes. She said she would continue to donate to the fund in the future though she retired from real estate development in July. Hurst currently lives in Asheville, N.C., but she said she planned on traveling for the next year.
But wherever she goes, Hurst said she would remain a KU fan and continue to believe in the outreach of Baby Jay and Big Jay to the rest of the world.
“They are your constant image of KU,” Hurst said. “Nothing has to be said when they walk in the room. They say it all in the costume.”
— Edited by Amelia Freidline
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