The Universal Seawolf

For current faculty, staff, and students, the Seawolf is as much ingrained into Tabor’s character as weekly Chapel meetings or a walk along Front Street. Sports teams are referred to as the Seawolves and a stylized Seawolf (orca) logo appears on jerseys, uniforms, and other Tabor apparel and merchandise. Sammy the Seawolf, the school’s beloved mascot, is often seen high-fiving students in the hallways and leading cheers from the sidelines.

Given the integral role of the Seawolf in Tabor’s identity and school spirit, it might come as a surprise to many that the Seawolf has only represented Tabor for a little more than 35 years—a fraction of the school’s 150-year history. For much of the school’s earlier history, nicknames were used for teams and for students but there was no official mascot or corresponding athletic logo. For decades, Tabor athletes competed as the Middies, “Taborites,” “Red and Black,” or other names that were unique to specific teams. However, Middies became the official name and by far the most prominent. This nickname was not accompanied by an official mascot in the way that Sammy represents the Seawolf in physical form today.

It is crucial to note the distinction between nickname, logo, and mascot. For example, Boston’s professional basketball team is named the Celtics, their logo is a shamrock, and their mascot is a leprechaun. Celtics, shamrocks, and leprechauns are certainly connected. Yet they are still distinct from one another—unlike Tabor’s Seawolf, which holds these three roles simultaneously. 

While it may have taken Tabor years to find a unifying symbol, the way that the Seawolf embodies so much of what it currently means to be a part of the school makes it likely that the Tabor community will remain Seawolves for years to come. 

Middies and Mascots

Tabor’s current tagline of the School by the Sea^® is an apt reflection of its history and identity. Beginning in 1916 under Headmaster Walter H. Lillard, the school began to develop a program that took advantage of its position on the shores of Sippican Harbor by exposing students to elements of basic nautical training. In 1917, school uniforms were introduced as part of this program. At first, due to a national focus on preparedness for World War I, students wore both forest green Army-style wool uniforms and white sailor suits. However, the following year these uniforms gave way to outfits akin to those worn by Navy midshipmen: blue middies and bell-bottom trousers during the winter and ‘whites’ during the spring. This choice of uniform proved to be a sensible one when, in 1920, Tabor partnered with the Seascouts (a nautical branch of the Boy Scouts) who also traditionally wore this practical “Navy suit.” 

The nautical uniform worn by Navy Midshipmen, Seascouts, and all Tabor students was commonly called a Middy or Middie, which is connected to the school’s historical nickname, the Middies. While it is a common (and understandable) misconception that this nickname was a shortened version of  “Midshipmen,” there is no documentation to support this claim. Tabor publications such as the catalog, school newspaper, and yearbook have no examples of Tabor students or teams being called Midshipmen, nor of the nickname Middies being short for Midshipmen. The name was just as likely a reference to the middie sailor shirts worn by Tabor students as it was to Navy Midshipmen. 

It appears that the idea of Middies being an abbreviation for Midshipmen was popularized by students in the 1980s who were seeking to rename Tabor’s sports teams, rather than based on any kind of historical fact. 

Beginning in the late 1920s, the nickname Middies was used at Tabor for both athletic teams and students. Athletic articles from the school newspaper, the Tabor Log, often used this name to refer to the teams and players. An article from 1929 shares: 

The black and red hoopsters won their third game on February 9th by defeating the Rivers School Basket-ball [sic] team on its own floor to the tune of 49–19. The first five had little difficulty running up the score as the Brookline boys were playing their first game. Incidentally, it was the Middies seventh; and the Rivers team deserves a considerable amount of credit…

While Middies was the most common nickname in the 1920s through 1940s, it was not the only one used during this period of the school’s history. “Black and Red” and “Taborites” were both used by the Log and the school yearbook to refer to sports teams and as a general term to describe the Tabor community. For example, a Log article from 1961 reports that “Taborites danced the night away” at a “dinner-dance” hosted by “the girls of the Lincoln school.” 

While these names are mostly obsolete today, they persisted for decades. Middies lasted until the late 1970s, although by the early 1960s the name’s meaning had shifted, serving exclusively as a shorthand for “middler” teams. The word middler is used to denote something or someone belonging to a lower tier or holding lesser status. In Tabor’s case, this term denoted freshman and junior varsity teams, distinguishing them from their varsity counterparts. 

While sports teams played as the Middies for decades, they were not supported by any Sammy Seawolf-like figure (although, perhaps, with so many students already dressed in “middie” attire the idea of a mascot would have been considered redundant). Tabor did, however, have some unofficial mascots, namely, animals that had managed to integrate themselves into student life. 

A 1932 Log article described how “a very small and very impudent little dog” named Wienie “summarily appointed himself mascot of the school.” Wienie was beloved by students for his antics, which included infiltrating buildings on campus and being an adorable “nuisance.” A somewhat more ominous Log article from 1944 relates how Dexter Hall’s mascot, a rat named Jim, was “murdered,” and an impromptu funeral service conducted. 

As amusing and cherished as informal mascots such as these may have been, they didn’t represent the whole school. A 1963 article of the Log bemoaned the fact that Tabor lacked “an official mascot that could symbolically represent the school on cheerleaders’ letter sweaters and even attend the big athletic events of the year.” It would be more than two decades before this hope was realized. 

Harriers, Falcons, and Seawolves

In 1981, Randy Souza ’81 wrote an article in the Log titled “Tabor ‘Midshipmen’ or ‘Tabor Buccaneers:’ Should the School Nickname be Changed?” Though Tabor teams had never officially played as the “Midshipmen,” the fact that the student body was unaware of this critical detail demonstrates just how far out of fashion the name “Middies” had fallen. This decreased relevance was largely due to two crucial factors. For one thing, the “middie” uniforms had been gradually phased out over the preceding decades. By the 1960s, these outfits were no longer worn daily, and were only required when participating in a select few activities such as sailing and the marching band. Finally, in 1967, the uniforms were completely abandoned. Additionally, a Log article written the following year by Alix B. Lopes ’83 pointed out that “Middies creat[ed] a mix up with the middler teams” and no one wanted to be confused with junior varsity, thirds, or freshman teams. 

Due to the frustration and confusion associated with Middies, some teams disregarded the nickname altogether and used their own unique names. Beginning in 1970, the riflery team competed as the “Tabor Falcons” and the cross-country team as both the “Harriers” and “Wolfpack.” In 1982, the varsity football team decided to call itself Seawolves. According to a Log article, the name had been chosen because Seawolves sounded more intimidating than the outdated Middies, but retained a connection to the sea. This new name stuck. From this point onward, the Log consistently referred to varsity football as the Seawolves, and team pictures from the mid 1980s show the coaching staff wearing hats with their new Seawolf logo.

Meanwhile, the demand for a new, universal name for sports teams intensified. Log articles throughout the 1980s repeatedly called for a new name, with some attempting to hold votes or competitions to pick one. The lack of a unifying name was having a negative effect on school spirit. Since Middies was not commonly used, many teams were “nameless,” making it difficult to cheer for them. The lack of a unifying name, and the resulting lack of school spirit, led Girls Lacrosse Captain Kelly Cunningham Schroth ’88 to state (as quoted in the Log) that “the teams here are so divided. People are reluctant to support other teams—especially girls teams.” 

Finally, a 1988 Log editorial by David Roderick ’88 took a forceful stand in support of a change, noting many reasons why a new name was necessary. First, Middies was rarely used. Varsity Baseball Coach Dick Duffy ’56, who had worn the uniform during his time as a student, was quoted as stating, “the Middies have no significance.” Duffy hoped that a new name might get people more involved and give them something to cheer for. Football Coach Mike Silipo agreed, and expressed a desire that “the Seawolf would become the school’s new identity.” 

The editorial concluded with a ballot offering students three different names to choose from: Midshipmen, Seawolves, and Wolfpack, with a fourth choice for a write-in option. The results of this election would then be approved by the student council and the headmaster, and, if all went well, Tabor would have a new team name and a “unifying mascot.” Roderick concluded his editorial by expressing his preference for the Seawolf, but stressed that: 

The purpose of this procedure is to promote school spirit on a large scale at Tabor … The issue is not whether we will become the Tabor Turtles, or remain as the Tabor Midshipmen. What matters is the unification that will follow. Once Tabor teams have something in common with one another, and the fans have something to cheer for enthusiastically, more support and spirit will follow. 

The Tabor Seawolves

While the official election results are lost to history, in 1989 Tabor sports teams were playing as the Seawolves. One Log article from 1989 refers to “Tabor’s seawolves of hockey” while another describes how “the [boys varsity lacrosse] seawolves were undefeated in [their] league.” Though the football team already had its own Seawolf logo, there was a desire for a new, unifying Seawolf that the whole community could use. 

In March of 1989, the Log initiated a “Mascot Drawing Contest” to select an image that would represent “Tabor and its paper.” It is important to note that while the word “mascot” was used here, the Log was seeking a logo, not a physical, costume-wearing mascot. The winners were selected a few months later, with Rick DaSilva ’89 claiming first (and second) prize. While the football team’s version of the Seawolf logo was initially the most prevalent, it was gradually overtaken by variations of DaSilva’s drawing, which came to adorn sports uniforms, jackets, banners, and the pages of the Log.

In 1993, the first Seawolf mascot costume was introduced. The “as-yet unnamed” mascot was a bit rough and ready, resembling a toothy clam more than an actual orca whale. Fortunately, by the early 2000s it had been replaced by a more streamlined Seawolf costume. By 2003,  this sideline denizen was being called “Tsunami the Seawolf.” However, in 2004 the name was officially changed to “Sammy.”

Since the early 2000’s, the costume has undergone a variety of changes. Minor adjustments, particularly to the headpiece, have been consistently made over the last two decades. In 2025, the greatest single change since the adoption of the updated Seawolf (as opposed to the toothy clam) occurred when a focus group of sports captains worked alongside Caroline Calista ’26 to discuss the possibility of redesigning Sammy. Through these meetings, a common desire for a mascot that was both more realistic and intimidating was expressed. Through work with the Strategic Marketing and Communications and Athletics departments, along with Bam! Mascots, a custom Sammy the Seawolf mascot costume was created for Tabor and was introduced in September 2025. The new costume has been fully embraced by the school, and the effort that went into the project is a testament to the Seawolf’s significance to the community. 

This example of dedication to the mascot is in no way unique. Since its schoolwide adoption in 1989, the Seawolf has become a permanent fixture at Tabor, unifying the Tabor community and fulfilling the underlying motivation that sparked the search for an official team name in the 1980s. Student signs and banners depict Seawolves and athletic jerseys often feature them. 

Tabor’s annual “Holderness Day” competition was a perfect demonstration of the way that the Seawolf had become intertwined with both school spirit and the Tabor community as a whole. Holderness Day featured a series of athletic competitions between the Seawolves and the Holderness Bulls, and was preceded by a spirit week with activities such as “Tabor Day,” “Class Day,” and an inter-dorm banner-designing competition. The winning school would bring home a trophy featuring both a Seawolf and a Bull, with the victorious school placing their mascot above the other on the trophy. While the 20-year rivalry with Holderness ended in 2016, the school’s annual Fall Tabor Day provides the community the chance to showcase their Seawolf Spirit.

A New Look

In 2019, an article was written for the Tabor yearbook Fore n’ Aft, describing an exciting change that had taken place at the school: the official redesigning of the Seawolf logo. It was written by none other than DaSilva. In his article, DaSilva describes how the Seawolf had gone through many different versions in the decades since he had drawn the first official logo, but none of them “seemed to capture the attitude and refined look of which our community had been searching.” 

In the years prior to this article, several Tabor students had discovered an orca-style logo drawn by a Texas artist, Rene Sanchez, which was used by some students as a Spotify badge. In 2018, at DaSilva’s urging, Sanchez was contracted to design an official new logo for the school. His work was revealed to the student body in 2019. The new logo, which features a sleek, stylized orca whale riding atop a gray slick of sea, superimposed underneath a large, red “TA,” can be found everywhere at Tabor—from documents and school publications to stickers, clothing, banners, and flags.

 In his 2019 article, DaSilva welcomed the idea of an updated design, citing a popular quote attributed to Prince Phillip of England: “Change does not challenge tradition, it strengthens it.” DaSilva claimed that the new logo “accurately represents what it means to be a Seawolf— tenaciousness, determination, and boldness”—all qualities which have long been ingrained into the school’s history, character, and traditions.

For over 100 years, generations of Tabor students and community members tested various nicknames and struggled with the lack of a true Tabor mascot. As the result of a collective grassroots effort in the 1980s and the creativity of the football team, the Seawolf came to represent every Tabor team and community member. An official logo was created by students, and a mascot soon followed. The confluence of Tabor’s team names, logo, and mascot has had the effect of uniting the school in a new, unique way: A place where every member of our community can call themselves a Seawolf.