Queen's Golden Gaels - Name

Name

The "Golden Gaels" name was coined in 1947 by Kingston Whig-Standard sports reporter Cliff Bowering, after the football team traded its traditional uniform of red, gold, and blue bands for gold jerseys, gold helmets, and red pants. The name caught on and became the familiar term for Queen's teams by the 1950s. "Gaels" is a reference to Queen's Scottish heritage (Queen's University was established in 1841 by the Presbyterian church). Before 1947, Queen's teams were commonly known as "The Tricolour."

In September 2008, Queen's Athletics & Recreation Department began referring to the school's teams as "Queen's Gaels." Along with this change, the website was changed from goldengaels.com to gogaelsgo.com. The change was reportedly made to highlight the university's name in promoting the team, however some have criticised the move as "change for the sake of change." Under media scrutiny, the department claimed it had not in fact officially changed the name of the team; thus, major media sources like the Kingston Whig-Standard and CKWS-TV continue to refer to the team as the "Golden Gaels".