Every city and town has ghost stories and urban legends.  Follow the trail and learn about 5 of Williamsport’s.

Stop 3:            The YATS ESOOL of Lycoming College

Lycoming College Campus

One College Place

Park Place

800 W. Fourth Street

In 1948 the students at Lycoming were going about their business in the fall. They were getting back into the groove of going to classes, practices, and sporting events. A student at Lycoming College named Jim Marcinek noticed that the college was lacking school spirit. Jim created a mythical creature called “Yats Esool,” which is stay loose spelled backwards. The goal for Yats Esool was to promote spirit for the College’s football team, and that is exactly what he did. He attended pep rallies and mock practices with the Lycoming football team.

Yats Esool was someone dressed as a football player with a mask, carrying a briefcase, and a fishbowl. He would take a train on game days and arrive at the station by the Park Hotel to greet the students before the football game. He would make his way to the football game so the band could play the school’s song. Meeting at this specific location seemed to be a ritual and a superstition.

The legend of Yats Esool was a success, but it eventually started to die off with changing times. Students no longer greeted Yats Esool at the train station, and he no longer attended the games. The Lycoming football team ended their season with a 7-0 record, which might be a sign that the disappearance of the Yats Esool affected them.  Lycoming College decided to bring the legend of Yats Esool back to life in 1954. He returned for the first home game of the football season in 1954 and students celebrated the return of Esool with a pep rally, parade, and bonfire.  After they brought him back to campus the legend continued until the 1960s where it ceased again.

Yats Esool could always be brought back to life again to improve school spirit.  Students created this character to increase school spirit at the college, and research has shown that school spirit affects how sports team performed. The story of Esool no longer exists today because students have adjusted to the change in norms surrounding official mascots. No longer are mascots the creation of individual fans, but the moral of this story teaches us all how being a part of something can create a positive outcome.