Jump to content

Origins Of The "mean" Green Defense....

FirefightnRick

By FirefightnRick
in Mean Green Football

 Share

Recommended Posts

MeanGreen61 Newbie

MeanGreen61

Posted
Posted (edited)

I believe that the team name came first, and then Joe picked it up from that.

I understand that Greene picked up his famous "Mean Joe" nickname as a member of the Pittsburgh Steeler "Steel Curtain" defense. He quickly developed the reputation of being a nasty, mean, in your face defensive lineman.

Edited by MeanGreen61
ADLER Grand Master

ADLER

Posted
Posted

I understand that Greene picked up hs famous "Mean Joe" nickname as a member of the Pittsburgh Steeler "Steel Curtain" defense. He was not a player that offensive blockers cared to see across the line.

OK guys, and now the facts.....

Joe Green was never called Mean Joe Greene while he was at North Texas.

When the Steelers selected him with their top pick (3rd overall) in the 1969 NFL Draft, a Pittsburg writer was confused by the team nickname and thought it was a reference to Joe Greene. The headline read Steelers Select "Mean" Joe Green with First Pick. The name stuck and gained noteriety as his dominance shocked the NFL .

ipEAGLE Newbie

ipEAGLE

Posted
Posted (edited)

In the late 1960's the Iowa Park Hawks (3a high school football team, in the 60's 2a) had the Mean Green nickname and put it to good use when they won the 1969 and 1970 2a State Championships... the nickname has somewhat stuck around. The car wash in town is called the 'Mean Green Car Wash' and the Iowa Park High School marching band is referred to as 'The Mean Green Marching Machine'.

Will we ever solve this mystery. :blink:

Also, does anyone have the stats for the 1968 defense?

Edited by ipEAGLE
Ibleedgreen Enthusiast

Ibleedgreen

Posted
Posted

I grew up in the Wichita Falls area and I am fairly certain that Iowa Park borrowed "Mean Green" from UNT, although I am not certain of this. I do know that I never heard the Iowa Park Hawks referred to as "Mean Green" until after I graduated high school in 1967, and my high school played them every year. My best guess is that UNT popularized "Mean Green," and the Hawks adopted it shortly thereafter.

Quoner Veteran

Quoner

Posted
Posted

I just told a New York-based reporter visiting to do a long series on a client all about our proud history of this nickname.

He asked me what I was talking about and calmly continued eating his sandwich. No one said this was going to be easy.

I did my damndest, but CNBC will not be covering the Mean Green this summer. I'm so jaded.

Quoner Veteran

Quoner

Posted
Posted

Can't you maybe get the CBC, then?

Worked with them last year. They hate the pro hockey team and really laughed when I told them about our bad ass club team. Damn Canucks.

I can try the BBC...

ADLER Grand Master

ADLER

Posted
Posted

I can try the BBC...

... and the FBI and the CIA and BB King And Doris Day

Hopefully this sounds familiar to some of you other old farts on this board, or at least it once did.

DeepGreen Grand Master

DeepGreen

Posted
Posted (edited)

To further compound the problem........

During my time ('64-'68) at North Texas State, er, UNT, when the team started tearing everyone up and our defense was something to behold, I seem to remember the DEFENSE being referred to as the MEAN GREEN DEFENSE. Whether the GREEN came from our school colors are because of our star defensive lineman Joe Greene, I can't remember. But, the rallying cry at the games was EAGLES.

Edited by DeepGreen
FirefightnRick Experienced

FirefightnRick

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

To further compound the problem........

During my time ('64-'68) at North Texas State, er, UNT, when the team started tearing everyone up and our defense was something to behold, I seem to remember the DEFENSE being referred to as the MEAN GREEN DEFENSE. Whether the GREEN came from our school colors are because of our star defensive lineman Joe Greene, I can't remember. But, the rallying cry at the games was EAGLES.

There is no compounding problem at all. We ARE the North Texas Mean Green Eagles, and clearly the nickname "MEAN GREEN" was first coined by Sidney Graham around 1966, used by a growing fanbase shortly after that and then later publicised by the Dallas Morning News in 1967 in reference to our defense and the rest is history. I have sent this information to the AD dept and have recieved a positive response about it. The original newspaper clipping is being requested to be placed on permanant display in the HOF some time in the future.

Rick

Edited by FirefightnRick
DeepGreen Grand Master

DeepGreen

Posted
Posted (edited)

There is no compounding problem at all. We ARE the North Texas Mean Green Eagles, and clearly the nickname "MEAN GREEN" was first coined by Sidney Graham around 1966, used by a growing fanbase shortly after that and then later publicised by the Dallas Morning News in 1967 in reference to our defense and the rest is history. I have sent this information to the AD dept and have recieved a positive response about it. The original newspaper clipping is being requested to be placed on permanant display in the HOF some time in the future.

Rick

Rick, it's been a long time since Denton was my home, so I could be smoking my shorts on this. Back then, the reference to the Mean Green was a reference to the Defensive Unit only. Not the whole team. We were the NTSU Eagles. And we had a bitchin' defensive unit called the Mean Green Defense. On the other hand, this is the first time I have laid eyes on the article.

NT can be called whatever the consensus wants us to be called; just build me a new stadium and win!

Edited by DeepGreen

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Tell a friend

    Love GoMeanGreen.com? Tell a friend!

  • What's going on Mean Green?

    1. 0

      Ranting about the AD, Students, Attendance and Fan Support

      I feel this needed it's own thread instead of intermixed on the FAU game thread and other threads... ........................................................................................................................................... I agree it all starts at the top for Athletics...as in AD and President of the University. I am on my 9th AD and 10th President by my count. Money is the u$ual determining and motivating factor for getting more out of our AD department. More students/fans > more tickets/donations/revenue > more facilities/staff > creates more interest > creates more fans ............................. Beyond other factors, I judge an AD's success by communication, and attendance in football and men's basketball. This is weighted by era, conference, and facilities. I would give Wren a C and Jared a D to date. The AD must do a much better job of spurring the students, alums, and locals. Find out why they don't come and fix it!! When they do come, the entertainment and production is not keeping them engaged. It all needs fixed!
      • 2
      • Lovely Take
      • Upvote
      NT80 in Mean Green Football
    2. 106

      Florida Atlantic (1/26/25)

      I agree it all starts at the top for Athletics...as in AD and President of the University. I am on my 9th AD and 10th President by my count. Money is the u$ual determining and motivating factor for getting more out of our AD department. More students/fans > more tickets/donations/revenue > more facilities/staff > creates more interest > creates more fans ............................. Beyond other factors, I judge an AD's success by communication, and attendance in football and men's basketball. This is weighted by era, conference, and facilities. I would give Wren a C and Jared a D to date. The AD must do a much better job of spurring the students, alums, and locals. Find out why they don't come and fix it!! When they do come, the entertainment and production is not keeping them engaged. It all needs fixed!
      NT80 in Mean Green Basketball
    3. 301

      Around the League / UNT Opponents

      Us vs. Memphis in the final would be the best chance Dickies has of looking respectable before the conference tourney gets moved somewhere else.
      Matt from A700 in Mean Green Basketball
    4. 301

      Around the League / UNT Opponents

      The other thing is #2 shouldn't play #1 until the Championship if all goes according to plan. That would help with not seeing Memphis until our revenge game.
      BigWillie in Mean Green Basketball
    5. 0

      Is it too early to start ?

      We play Washington State at DATCU (Sat) September 13. The time hasn’t been determined yet. Is it too early to starts push to “sell out”. That game ? It’s almost 2 weeks after Labor Day. It will still be warm/hot. Would people commit to buy tickets and be present at that game ? Could we get in front of family re-unions and weddings and birthday parties if we started this early ? Could we ? I’d love to replace Houston as the most attended game at DATCU. Could we ?
      greenjoe in Mean Green Football

  • Popular Contributors

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      15,508
    • Most Online
      1,865
    Jepper
    Newest Member
    Jepper
    Joined

  • Most Points

    1. 1
      El Paso Eagle
      El Paso Eagle
      171,559
    2. 2
      NT80
      NT80
      144,333
    3. 3
      KingDL1
      KingDL1
      134,895
    4. 4
      greenminer
      greenminer
      129,470
    5. 5
      TheReal_jayD
      TheReal_jayD
      109,919

  • Biggest Gamblers

    1. 1
      EdtheEagle
      EdtheEagle
      26,593,359
    2. 2
      UNTLifer
      UNTLifer
      4,709,549
    3. 3
      untphd
      untphd
      867,060
    4. 4
      MeanGreenFan94
      MeanGreenFan94
      672,680
    5. 5
      flyonthewall
      flyonthewall
      672,652
    6. 6
      3_n_out
      3_n_out
      578,480
    7. 7
      SteaminWillieBeamin
    8. 8
      UNT_FH_FR_YR
      UNT_FH_FR_YR
      471,139
    9. 9
      cousin oliver
      cousin oliver
      448,120
    10. 10
      meangreenfaninno

WE BELIEVE IN THE MEAN GREEN!

News

Recruiting

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Please review our full Privacy Policy before using our site.