{"id":373,"date":"2026-03-26T15:28:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T15:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/umbc50\/?page_id=373"},"modified":"2026-04-03T17:48:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T17:48:37","slug":"true-grit","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/umbc50\/home\/themes\/true-grit\/","title":{"rendered":"True Grit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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True Grit statue with diploma, UARC 2013-013-04-0141<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In 1986, UMBC commissioned alumna Paulette Raye \u201887, philosophy, to create a bronze-cast model of the Retriever for the school\u2019s 20th anniversary. Raye worked in a studio at Towson University, using a Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Nitty Gritty as her model. The 500-pound, life-size statue was unveiled on December 7, 1987, outside of the Field House, now the plaza between the Administration Building and the Retriever Activities Center.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Sculptor Paulette Raye, ’87, with the True Grit statue, UARC 2013-013-04-0150<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Ray sculpted a wax casting of her Retriever model Nitty Gritty before casting the statue in bronze. Its name, “True Grit,” is actually the name of Nitty Gritty\u2019s father. In an interview with UMBC Magazine, Raye said that she wasn\u2019t exactly sure “why the mascot received that name [True Grit instead of Nitty Gritty] \u2026 other than it sounded bold and strong like the [school\u2019s] team.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chancellor Michael Hooker and Director of Athletics Rick Hartzell hosted the unveiling ceremony for the True Grit statue on December 7, 1987. Suggested by Chancellor Hooker and now a steadfast tradition, students rub True Grit\u2019s nose for good luck.\u00a0Nitty Gritty, the model for the True Grit statue, attended the unveiling ceremony with his owners James and Brenda Steward of Howard County. He even had the honor of tugging away the cloth to reveal the sculpture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chancellor Michael Hooker speaks at the unveiling ceremony for the True Grit sculpture. Color print from 35mm slide, December 1987. University Photographs, University Archives, UARC 2013-013-04-0161, UARC 2013-013-04-0161<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Student rubs the nose of the True Grit statue for good luck, UARC 2013-013-04-0166<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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UMBC’s mascot with a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and owner, UARC 2013-013-04-0172<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Students with a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, UARC 2013-013-04-0157<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1986, UMBC commissioned alumna Paulette Raye \u201887, philosophy, to create a bronze-cast model of the Retriever for the school\u2019s 20th anniversary. Raye worked in a studio at Towson University, using a Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Nitty Gritty as her model. The 500-pound, life-size statue was unveiled on December 7, 1987, outside of the Field […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":257,"menu_order":7,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-373","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/umbc50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/umbc50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/umbc50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/umbc50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/umbc50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/umbc50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":542,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/umbc50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/373\/revisions\/542"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/umbc50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/umbc50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}