A Thousand Words
By Jock Lauterer
Time was, it wouldn’t be football season at Chapel Hill High School unless George “Cat Baby†Cannada led the team onto the field at Carrboro’s Lions Park behind the present-day Carrboro Town Hall. The unofficial mascot and much-beloved number-one Wildcat fan (think of the movie Radio), “Cat Baby†got his name from the greeting he gave as he delivered newspapers around town, hailing one and all – President Friday down to the meekest freshman – with the same exuberant drawn-out, “Wha-say Caaaaaat!†He finally graduated from high school at 21 without ever cracking a book, according to local historians Richard Ellington and Dave Otto. To this day, CHHS’ers of a certain age can still be heard hailing each other with “Caaaaaat!†This photograph is from Eddie Williams’ Time Out restaurant, where Cat Baby joins a host of other famous local characters and sports heroes striking the iconic pose.
A THOUSAND WORDS
Do you have an important old photo that you value? Email your photo to jock@email.unc.edu and include the story behind the picture. Because every picture tells a story. And its worth? A thousand words.
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