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Tar Heel mascot has Wythe County roots

By NATE HUBBARD/Staff

Deep beneath his woolly coat, the University of North Carolina’s ram mascot hides a secret.
He can’t bleed Tar Heel blue.
UNC’s renowned symbol, a Horned Dorset sheep known as Ramses, has patrolled the sidelines at football games in Chapel Hill since 1924. The current incarnation, the 17th in the dynasty, has been on duty since 2002.
With blue-painted horns, the ram radiates Tar Heel pride. But coursing through its veins is blood from Wytheville – Hokie country.
Leon and Barbara Cassell own the largest flock of registered Horned Dorsets in the nation, and likely all of North America, on their property just northeast of town on Pepper’s Ferry Road. The current Ramses is the son of a ram from the Cassell flock, and the third ram overall with ties to Wytheville to serve as UNC’s icon.
UNC’s live mascot tradition began when a cheerleader brought a ram from Texas to a game on Nov. 8, 1924, in honor of a bruising player nicknamed the “Battering Ram.”
The Tar Heel connection began for the Cassells back in 1994 when they sold their first ram to the Hogan family in North Carolina, the keeper of each of the 17 Ramses.
In a bizarre incident, though, the ram was brutally killed on the Hogan farm by an intoxicated passerby in late February 1996. 
Robert Hogan Jr., who took over the role of head ram keeper after his father died in 1995, said a necropsy revealed Ramses had 28 stab wounds and his entire left front quarter had been torn off.
“He just about decapitated him,” Hogan said.
Desperately needing a new ram with another football season coming up, Hogan turned back to Hokie land.
The Cassells were happy to be of help and after hearing about the tragedy, donated Ramses XVI free of charge from their flock.
“We felt we were doing something nice,” Barbara said.
The donated ram was a yearling (the term for a sheep between its first and second birthday) but the distinctive curled horns had begun to develop.
“We wanted him to go somewhere special,” Leon said.
The 16th Ramses served from 1996-2001 before giving way to his son. The Wytheville bloodline tradition will continue as the ram next in line to the mascot throne is the grandson of the Cassells’ 1996 donation.
Although Ramses is one of the country’s most famous mascots, the Horned Dorset breed has somewhat fallen out of popularity since the mid-1950s.
In a development that must have truly stung the Ramses of the time, one of UNC’s biggest rivals, North Carolina State University, produced from a gene mutation a new breed of Dorset rams in 1954 – one without horns.
Since their official recognition as a new breed in 1956, Polled Dorset sheep have far exceeded the time-honored horned variety. According to an N.C. State Web site, within 20 years of their development, Polled Dorsets made up 70 percent of all registered Dorsets.
UNC and the Cassells have both stuck to tradition, though. The Cassell family has raised Horned Dorsets on their property since Leon’s grandfather walked a flock from Burke’s Garden to the farm in 1906.
Including sheep belonging to their grown children, Leon and Barbara’s flock consists of about 400 Horned Dorset ewes and lambs. The number of rams fluctuates, but Leon estimated there were 11 herd rams currently on the farm.
“They are very majestic, a very beautiful breed,” Barbara said.
The family also has a smaller flock of Tunis sheep, characterized by their red faces.
But it’s the Horned Dorsets that often draw the most attention at shows and fairs the family regularly attends.
“You always have someone that says ‘that’s the UNC one!’” Barbara said.
Barbara said the breed is well-suited for mascot life. In addition to Ramses, the Cassell farm also has provided two rams to Winston-Salem State University for use at their football games.
The WSSU ram sports red-painted horns.
“These animals with their big horns may look mean, but they are babies,” she said.
Leon said the family hasn’t gotten any grief from Hokie supporters for supplying a rival with a mascot. Leon and Barbara have allegiances with a variety of colleges through both undergrad and masters degrees earned by themselves and family members.
“We like them all,” Leon said. “We find that’s safer.”
Hogan said Ramses could never be accused of disloyalty to his beloved Tar Heels.
But he said the ram can be suspiciously nice to visiting Hokie fans.
“He’s friendly to the Hokies when they come down to play,” Hogan said. “The Hokie fans are some of the best. They’re very friendly to him. They’re might be some connection there.”
Although Ramses XVIII has yet to take over, Hogan is already thinking about the 19th Ramses. Needing to keep the bloodlines clean, he said he’ll likely return to Wytheville for a non-relative Cassell ewe soon.
Both families seem poised to pass along their long-standing roles to their children, keeping the relationship intact.
The Cassells’ son, Paul, lives just down the road and is heavily involved with the business. Hogan and his wife, Ann, hope to pass along the ram-keeping job to one or more of their three young sons, Daniel, James and Henry, all of whom Hogan said already are helpful in caring for Ramses.
Leon said he will be happy to keep Wythe County blood flowing through Ramses for years to come.
“If he needs one, we’ll take care of him.”
Nate Hubbard can be reached at 228-6611 or .