ST. PETERSBURG — More than 200 people in green and white packed St. Petersburg High’s cafeteria Nov. 10, ready to defend their devil.
They didn’t face much of a fight.
The school will keep the Green Devil as its mascot after the parent who wanted it replaced didn’t show up to make his case. Not a single speaker at the Student Advisory Committee meeting opposed the demonic imagery that has defined the campus since the 1920s.
Principal Darlene Lebo said it was the best-attended advisory committee meeting she could recall.
“It’s wonderful to see,” Lebo said. “This kind of blew up on social media. It’s heartwarming to see so much love for the school and the community.”
Students showed up with signs proclaiming their love for the Green Devil. Other attendees brought blankets, even a crocheted item with the mascot.
The school annually receives complaints from parents and residents about the devil mascot, but this was one of the rare instances where someone went to the school board. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the meeting came after parent R.J. Garbowicz asked about replacing the Green Devil with a “less divisive” mascot.
The Green Devil mascot is everywhere at St. Petersburg High, on walls, doorways, even floor mats.
The mascot is everywhere at St. Petersburg High — on walls, administrative doorways, even floor mats. Changing it would have meant scrubbing the devil from every corner of the historic campus.
Rui Farias, executive director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History and a former teacher and current soccer coach at the school, said his staff researched the mascot’s origin. An underclassman returned a kickoff for a touchdown, prompting the announcer to shout, “Look at that little green devil run.” The St. Petersburg Times first used the name in late 1920.
In 1920s lingo, Farias said, green referred to someone inexperienced and devil to someone mischievous. The mascot has nothing to do with religion or Satan.
He noted that a 1921 St. Petersburg Times article described students gathering in the auditorium on the first day of school for prayers led by the principal.
“Apparently, none of those praying students burst into flames,” Farias said.
The school has produced actors, award-winning producers, a U.S. congressman and a governor.
“We did not find one piece of evidence that a St. Petersburg graduate boasts the rank of leadership in the Church of Satan,” Farias said.
Rafael Faraci, president of the Student Government Association, said the mascot has come to represent dedication to service and a strong school community. It was the position of student government to stand firmly against changing the mascot, he said, noting it would be a costly endeavor to replace it throughout the campus.
Nick Hansen, grandson of Bob Pfeiffer — the legendary “Mr. Green Devil” who embodied the school’s spirit for three decades — said the mascot represents the positive shared experience students have with the school and the relationships they build there.
“We rally around that symbol,” Hansen said. “It’s a great stress test to see everyone come together and defend a symbol that means more than just a cartoon character on a T-shirt.”
Pfeiffer, a 1933 St. Pete High graduate, dyed his beard green and dressed as a devil at school events from the late 1960s until his death in 2000 at 86. He led the “Give the Devil Its Due” campaign in 1980, helping secure funding to repair the historic 1926 building. He also pushed to have the school listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Barbara Melander Keller, a 1974 graduate, was the last speaker. She led the crowd in singing the alma mater.
Lebo then took the microphone.
“It is my opinion we do not need to move forward any further,” she said to cheers.
Other Tampa Bay schools haven’t been as fortunate with their mascots. Hollins High dropped “Rebels” for “Royals” in 2020, shedding Confederate associations. Chamberlain High retired the “Chiefs” for the “Storm” in 2022 after Native American groups called the imagery offensive.
At St. Petersburg High, the Green Devil endures.