Lucky Wycombe Comanche
Encyclopedia
The Lucky Wycombe Comanche was the lucky mascot
for Wycombe Wanderers Football Club for a number of years in the early 2000s.
On the final game of the 1999-2000 season the team faced a tricky game away at Lincoln City
. Earlier in the season when Lawrie Sanchez
took over after the departure Neil Smilie, the team has been destined to be relegated. However, back to back wins against Manchester City and Wigan Athletic meant a win at Lincoln would ensure an unlikely survival in Division 2
.
, Sanchez’s assistant was entrusted with locating the figure and bringing him to the club. On the first day of training for the new season Gibson arrived at the training ground with the statue to howls of laughter.
The name ‘Comanche
’ was given to the figure in honour of Terry Evans
, one of the clubs long serving coaches who often used the term ‘Comanche trick’ in training. Beating Lincoln was the biggest ‘Comanche trick’ of them all.
The figure appeared in the centre of the squad photo that year, a story which made the back page of a nation tabloid newspaper. He was given the number 31 squad number that year. Before matches the Comanche was placed on the centre circle for luck. The seasons that followed, with the Comanche as a lucky mascot, were some of the most successful in the club's history-the team reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup
after beating Leicester City and Wimbledon FC on the route to a famous show down against Liverpool
at Villa Park
. The team went down 2-1 thanks to goals from Robbie Fowler
and Emile Heskey
.
The 2002-2003 season started badly for the Wanderers from Wycombe, and eventually Sanchez and Gibson were relived of their duties, to be replaced with Tony Adams
.
No one knew what had happened to the Comanche after this time, but it is believed he left the club with Terry Gibson, and was put into storage.
In July 2008 the local paper, the Bucks Free Press
ran a story claiming that the Comanche was for sale on eBay
. The article, dated 12/07/08 suggested that “The seller, who is based in Buckhurst Hill, Essex has posted it with a starting price of £99 and fans have until July 19 to make their bids”. The Comanche was removed from eBay before this date leading to many suggesting that it either wasn’t the real Comanche, or that the club had bough him back for a shock return to Adams Park
.
However, neither of these rumours transpired to be true, and the Comanche was believed to have been bought by a fan of Wycombe Wanderers and moved to somewhere in Scotland. Prior to this the Comanche was in storage. The new current owner of the Comanche updates his Facebook
page regularly, offering predictions for forthcoming matches. He is known for being accurate with his predictions.
On the 10th August it was reported the Comanche had moved back to Buckinghamshire. It is unclear whether he lives in a teepee, wigwam or a house.
Whilst this was the case, the Comanche now lives in a small village on Staffordshire. He was present at the final game of the 2010-2011 game, where Wycombe Wanderers clinched promotion to League 1-proving he hadn't lost his luckiness!
On the 18th August 2010 The Comanche launched his twitter
page, @wycombecomanche.
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
for Wycombe Wanderers Football Club for a number of years in the early 2000s.
On the final game of the 1999-2000 season the team faced a tricky game away at Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....
. Earlier in the season when Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrence Philip "Lawrie" Sanchez is a former Northern Irish football manager, and a former player. He is currently the manager of League Two side Barnet...
took over after the departure Neil Smilie, the team has been destined to be relegated. However, back to back wins against Manchester City and Wigan Athletic meant a win at Lincoln would ensure an unlikely survival in Division 2
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
.
History
On the way to the ground the team coach passed a second hand shop and in the window was a 5 ft wooden statue of a Red Indian. The team decided that if they won the game and survived relegation they would go back and purchase the figure. Thanks to an 83rd minute winner from Paul Emblen, and roared on by 3000 travelling fans (using 50 coaches laid on by the club) the team won 1-0 and stayed up.At Wycombe Wanderers
During that summer Terry GibsonTerry Gibson
Terence Bradley "Terry" Gibson is an English former footballer who played as a forward for several clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, Coventry City, Manchester United and Wimbledon.-Playing career:...
, Sanchez’s assistant was entrusted with locating the figure and bringing him to the club. On the first day of training for the new season Gibson arrived at the training ground with the statue to howls of laughter.
The name ‘Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
’ was given to the figure in honour of Terry Evans
Terry Evans
Michael Terry Evans is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball.Evans was traded from the St...
, one of the clubs long serving coaches who often used the term ‘Comanche trick’ in training. Beating Lincoln was the biggest ‘Comanche trick’ of them all.
The figure appeared in the centre of the squad photo that year, a story which made the back page of a nation tabloid newspaper. He was given the number 31 squad number that year. Before matches the Comanche was placed on the centre circle for luck. The seasons that followed, with the Comanche as a lucky mascot, were some of the most successful in the club's history-the team reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
after beating Leicester City and Wimbledon FC on the route to a famous show down against Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
at Villa Park
Villa Park
Villa Park may mean:United Kingdom* Villa Park, an association football stadium in Birmingham, EnglandUnited States* Villa Park, California, a small city in Orange County* Villa Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County...
. The team went down 2-1 thanks to goals from Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....
and Emile Heskey
Emile Heskey
Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey is an English footballer who plays for Aston Villa as a striker.Born in Leicester, Heskey started his career with hometown club Leicester City after progressing through their youth system, making his first team debut in 1995...
.
After Wycombe Wanderers
Tony Adams (footballer)
Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player.Adams spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club's own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends...
.
No one knew what had happened to the Comanche after this time, but it is believed he left the club with Terry Gibson, and was put into storage.
In July 2008 the local paper, the Bucks Free Press
Bucks Free Press
The Bucks Free Press is a weekly local newspaper, published every Friday and covering the area surrounding High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. It was first published on 19 December 1856. Despite its title, it covers local news for the High Wycombe region only.The paper covers local news,...
ran a story claiming that the Comanche was for sale on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
. The article, dated 12/07/08 suggested that “The seller, who is based in Buckhurst Hill, Essex has posted it with a starting price of £99 and fans have until July 19 to make their bids”. The Comanche was removed from eBay before this date leading to many suggesting that it either wasn’t the real Comanche, or that the club had bough him back for a shock return to Adams Park
Adams Park
Adams Park is a football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. It is the home ground of Wycombe Wanderers F.C. and the Aviva Premiership Rugby Union club London Wasps...
.
However, neither of these rumours transpired to be true, and the Comanche was believed to have been bought by a fan of Wycombe Wanderers and moved to somewhere in Scotland. Prior to this the Comanche was in storage. The new current owner of the Comanche updates his Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page regularly, offering predictions for forthcoming matches. He is known for being accurate with his predictions.
On the 10th August it was reported the Comanche had moved back to Buckinghamshire. It is unclear whether he lives in a teepee, wigwam or a house.
Whilst this was the case, the Comanche now lives in a small village on Staffordshire. He was present at the final game of the 2010-2011 game, where Wycombe Wanderers clinched promotion to League 1-proving he hadn't lost his luckiness!
On the 18th August 2010 The Comanche launched his twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
page, @wycombecomanche.