Head cheerleader Vic Huggins tells the story of how the ram was selected as the North Carolina Mascot.“In 1924, school spirit was at a peak,” Huggins explained. “But something was missing. One day it hit me. Georgia had a bulldog for a mascot and [N.C.] State, a wolf. What Carolina needed was a symbol.” For his ability to smash through the line, North Carolina's Jack Merritt, was nicknamed the "battering ram," which inspired Merritt to pursue a ram mascot. The mascot, named Rameses the First, was shipped from Texas, and arrived for their game against VMI. Bunn Hackney rubbed Rameses's head for good luck before trying to kick a field goal. The Tar Heels went on to win 3-0 thanks to Hackney's 30-yard dropkick. The story of how North Carolina became known as the Tar Heel State has a number of variations. The state's name is derived from the fact that tar, pitch, and turpentine were the state's principal exports for many years.Both of the most widely accepted explanations revolve around North Carolina's wartime role. The British general Charles Cornwallis allegedly marched his troops across what is now known as the Tar River between Rocky Mount and Battleboro during the Revolutionary War. It is rumored that the Americans dumped tar into the stream to prevent British soldiers from crossing, leaving their feet black with tar. The second explanation proposes that during one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, a battalion of supporting troops were driven off the field of battle. After fighting the battle without help, the North Carolina later met up with the soldiers that had run away. The soldiers said they had supplied Jefferson Davis with tar and “He’s going to put it on you’ns heels to make you stick better in the next fight.” Supposedly, this comment made it all the way to Robert E. Lee, who called the North Carolina Soldiers the "tar heel boys."