opinion

Putnam: MSU Staters? How Greek immigrants inspired the nickname Spartans

LANSING – If not for the influence of a Greek immigrant family in Lansing, Michigan State University fans might be stuck with a clunker of a nickname: The Staters.

Imagine trying to fire up about a name that rhymes with “Taters.” Woo-hoo.

The issue dates back to 1925, when the college's name changed from Michigan Agricultural College to Michigan State College. A new nickname was needed to replace the “Aggies” and the public was asked to submit suggestions.

The winning entry was judged by a group on campus in March of 1926. Staters beat Bearcats, Statesmen, Bob Cats, Pioneers and, drumroll please, the Fawns.

The choice of Staters immediately ran into a stacked defense. George Alderton, the Lansing State Journal sports editor from 1923 to 1962, disliked the nickname and refused to use it in the sports pages of the Journal.

Alderton is frequently credited with replacing Michigan Staters with the Spartans. But he got the idea from his friend, Stephen Scofes, according to the Scofes family.

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Three generations

I first heard the story from Steve Scofes, 57, a Lansing-based lobbyist who heard the story from his father, George, now 89, of Okemos. It had been passed down from Steve Scofes' grandfather, Stephen Scofes, who died in 1972, and his brothers, Peter and Nick.

The Scofes brothers were all born near Sparta, Greece but immigrated to America. They ran a restaurant in Lansing called The Coffee Cup in the 1920s and were friends with Alderton.

In 1931, they opened the Famous Grill, a restaurant that became known for its fried chicken from a franchise called “Chicken in the Rough.” The restaurant became a hub for Spartan athletic banquets and events for a few decades. Two Spartan athletic awards are named for the Scofes family.

George Scofes said his father told him that Alderton came in for breakfast one day to discuss the name for the Michigan State teams.

“He showed him all the names. One of the names people wanted was the Staters. That didn’t go very well," George Scofes said.

Stephen Scofes had already suggested a better name: The Spartans.

“My dad said to him, ‘George (Alderton) I sent you a letter to name them the Spartans. The Spartans were warriors,’” George Scofes said.

Alderton soon launched the idea for the Spartans but didn’t credit Scofes.

Spartan name unveiled

On April 13, 1926, he wrote: “Out of a clear sky a nick name has descended upon the Michigan State college athletic camp. ‘Spartans’ is the sobriquet that will ... be attached the wearer of the Green and White in the field of intercollegiate sports competition.”

He then went on to write about the ancient Spartans' athletic prowess and courage.

A rival newspaper, Lansing Capitol News, also picked up on it and the name stuck.

The family has no doubt about the origin. The Coffee Cup offered a perfect place to discuss the name.

“Who else was in this town in the late ‘20s who were born and raised in Sparta, Greece who had a restaurant?” Steve Scofes asked.

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A 2008 history of the Spartans does name the Scofes family, and its influence on Alderton. And MSU honored George Scofes at halftime of an MSU football game in 2013 with a video recreation of how Sparty got his name.

Besides being the son of the man who named the Spartans, George Scofes has had a fascinating life. Though he was born in Indiana and was an American citizen, he grew up in Greece, raised by his grandparents in a village near Sparta after his mother died from tuberculosis. His father was working in the U.S. but George was trapped in Greece by WWII.

After the war, George Scofes struggled to leave Greece to join his father in Lansing.

He recalled having his life threatened if he didn’t give up his American citizenship and join the Communist Party. He said he walked for four nights, hiding in the daylight, to reach Athens and get on a boat.

He arrived at age 17 and started working in the Famous Grill with his dad and uncles. He attended grade school to learn English then Eastern High School and finally Michigan State, earning a degree in hotel and restaurant management.

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Scofes Restaurant on Cedar

After a stint in the Air Force where he was a captain, Scofes worked for the state running the food service system for prisoners in Jackson for a decade before he opened his own restaurant, Scofes Restaurant, on Cedar Street. He operated the restaurant for some 20 years, closing it when Cedar Street was widened in 1988.

He was also part owner of Dooley’s bar in East Lansing, now Harper’s, and was responsible for booking a then-unknown Irish band called U2 in 1981 to play at the bar.

Another piece of Scofes family history is that Stephen Scofes once owned half of the NFL franchise the Hammond Professionals in the 1920s. Olympian Jim Thorpe played for the team. Scofes and his partner bought it for $500 and sold it for $1,000. The franchise eventually became the Detroit Lions.

And the decades of ties between the Scofes family and Spartans hasn’t waned.

George Scofes said he’s been disappointed in the university’s handling of the Larry Nassar scandal but he remains a fan.

“Up until this happened, I think they were riding high and dry,” he said. “They’ll overcome it eventually. It’s going to take a few years.”

Steve Scofes said he also remains a Spartan loyalist.

“My father brought my sister (Katina Dart of Okemos) and I up to be loyal. We’ll remain loyal. At the end of the day, MSU, the University of Michigan and the other universities are important to the state,” he said.

Judy Putnam is a columnist with the Lansing State Journal. Contact her at (517) 267-1304 or at jputnam@lsj.com. Follow her on twitter @judyputnam.