The writing has been on the wall for some time.

The space on the Wakefield High School field house facade where the Wakefield Warrior logo was once proudly displayed has been conspicuously empty now for at least five years. Ever since an ill wind supposedly blew the Warrior off the building, the School Department has been in no hurry to replace it.

And now, unless normal people suddenly find the will to stand up to the woke mob, I fear that we will soon be bidding a permanent farewell to the Wakefield Warrior name and logo in all of its iterations.

At a recent meeting, the four surviving members of the Wakefield Human Rights Commission held a strategy session aimed at getting rid of the “racist” Warrior logo. You’d think that in light of its own indecorous recent history, the WHRC might want to keep a low profile for a bit. But for those tasked with defending human rights in suburbia, humility is a luxury they can ill afford.

In fact, recent events have emboldened the forces who would do away with all Native American imagery and names everywhere. Such images, when used as sports logos (or “mascots,” as some would have it) are at best disrespectful caricatures of native peoples, they tell us. At worst, they are blatantly racist.

That might be true in some places, although I doubt it. I know it’s not true of the Wakefield Warrior logo, as history will show.

There have been varying accounts of the origin of the Wakefield Warrior name and logo. Mostly, people repeat bits and pieces of stories they’ve heard. Many have some elements of the story correct and fill in the gaps with hearsay and rumor. But few know real story.

So, I went through the Wakefield High School yearbooks to figure out exactly when Wakefield sports teams became known as the Warriors.

It clearly began in 1947, which was the first year “Warriors” are mention in the WHS yearbook. Prior to that, you won’t find any reference to Warriors. From 1947 on, it’s all Warriors all the time.

There aren’t a lot of members of the Wakefield High School Class of 1947 still around, but as I thumbed through that yearbook, I did find one: Richard Bayrd. Mr. Bayrd also happens to be Wakefield’s most prominent Native American. His father, Leonard, once owned the fondly remembered Indian Trading Post at the head of the Lake. For nearly 50 years, Richard Bayrd has proudly marched in every Wakefield July 4th Parade, clad in full Native American garb.

So, last Saturday, I decided to give Mr. Bayrd a call. Did he know how Wakefield’s teams came to be known as the Warriors?

“My father named the Wakefield Warriors and the Saugus Sachems,” Bayrd said.

Imagine that. The “racist” Warrior name was actually supplied by a Native American.

That is what’s known as a primary source – the eyewitness account of someone who was there at the time. Richard Bayrd was a member of the WHS Class of 1947, the year they became the Warriors, and I have no reason to doubt his word.

Lending further credence to Bayrd’s account was something else that he volunteered during our phone conversation. His classmate and lifelong friend, Jack Galvin, designed the very first Warrior logo, a fact that I was able to independently verify.

The very first time the Warrior image was used to represent the Wakefield High School sports teams was in the 1947 WHS yearbook. At the start of that yearbook’s sports section is the nearly full-page illustration by Class Artist Jack Galvin. The very first Warrior logo is a forward-facing Native American in full headdress and warpaint. Surrounding the logo are smaller drawings of football, basketball, baseball and hockey players – all sporting Indian garb and feathers.

In large text under the illustrated logo are these words: “Here we found many happy warriors.”

In small letters in the lower left, the artist wrote his initials: JRG. John Rogers Galvin.

Does that name ring a bell? It should.

Starting in 1987 Gen. John Rogers “Jack” Galvin was Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces in Europe and the Commander of Chief of U.S. Army, Navy and Air Forces in Europe. Earlier in his military career, he served in the Vietnam War as staff officer and as commander of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry.

Following his retirement from the U.S. Army, Gen. Galvin enjoyed an impressive career in academia. He taught at his alma mater, West Point, and in 1995, he became the sixth dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

He also wrote a number of books, and yet all this doesn’t even scratch the surface of the man’s accomplishments.

No wonder they named the Galvin Middle School after him.

So, let’s review. Around 1947, a prominent local Native American family played a key role in providing the “Warrior” name. At about the same time, the future career soldier, Gen. John Rogers Galvin, drew the original Warrior logo.

It’s hard to imagine that the man who would go on to a distinguished career as a “warrior” viewed Indian warriors with anything but awe and respect. In addition, his WHS classmate and lifelong friend was Richard Bayrd, whose Native American father, Leonard, gave the Warriors their name.

But those who would eliminate the Warrior logo do so in the name of “human rights.” Where are Richard Bayrd’s human rights?

The human thing to do, the right thing to do, would be to go to Mr. Bayrd and explain to this proud man why you want to erase his family’s legacy. Explain to him why the Warrior logo originally designed by his good friend Jack Galvin is “racist.”

Finally, if you still believe that the Warrior logo is racist and has to go, then I suppose we’re going to have to change the name of the Galvin Middle School too. Isn’t that how this works?

If you think that sounds far-fetched, you haven’t been paying attention.

[This column originally appeared in the August 8, 2020 Wakefield Daily Item.]