The Closest Thing Stanford has to a Live Mascot is El Palo Alto, a 1077-year-old Coast Redwood

El Palo AltoThis Sequioa Sempervirens is estimated to have sprouted in 940 AD, and is the 2nd historical landmark to be registered in the state of California. It was a frequent campsite for the local Ohlone, and marked the discovery by Gaspar de Portolà, who led Spain's first expedition from San Diego to San Francisco in 769, of the San Francisco Bay. At the time the tree was 135.7 feet tall. It grew to a maximum of 162.2 feet and is currently 110 feet.The local town of Palo Alto is named after this tree, and it features on both the Stanford Academic Seal and the City of Palo Alto logo. Seeds from El Palo Alto were flown on STS-51F, the penultimate successful Challenger mission in 1985, and have been planted into 6 trees in Challenger Memorial Grove near campus. The tree itself is just over a mile from Stanford Stadium, and while it can't quite be seen from the stadium, it can from nearby Hoover Tower.The history of the Stanford Tree as an unofficial mascot is that the old mascot, the Stanford Indian, and particularly the human mascot "Prince Lightfoot" were deemed behind the times, and so President Lyman officially got rid of the mascot and reverted to the 1930 team name, Stanford Cardinal. A 1975 student referendum for a new nickname was headlined by Robber Barons, Sequoias, Trees, Cardinals (plural), Railroaders, Spikes, and Huns. Robber Barons won the student vote, but was not accepted by administrators. In protest, LSJUMB (the Stanford Band) held a halftime parody show proposing three new mascots, the Steaming Manhole, the French Fry, and the Tree. While the first two were offhand jokes, the latter drew serious interest and support, and has been the unofficial mascot ever since. This past Spring both the band and the Tree have been pulled into more official university control, which may take away some of the charm of the position, but also adds a new layer of legitimacy.While live mascots are typically from the animal kingdom, our plant mascot has played an integral role in the history of the region extending far before Stanford, college football, the state of California, or the United States, and has shaped many aspects of university culture. via /r/CFB http://ift.tt/2vhpi0N