Wycombe Comanche

The 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 1998–99 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.

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 Native American. 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.

During that summer Terry Gibson, 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 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.

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