# @downinnadesert on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DeGTRlgG4x5
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/71448760-downinnadesert-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/22828ef2dd.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-10-05T04:00:23.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Down In The Desert🌵 (@downinnadesert) — https://gondola.cc/downinnadesert

## Caption

There’s a high school in Arizona whose mascot is literally a criminal, and the story behind it starts with students going to school inside an abandoned prison.

Yuma Territorial Prison operated from 1876 to 1909, housing more than 3,000 prisoners during its 33-year history. When it closed, inmates were transferred to the new prison in Florence. 

Then things got interesting.

Beginning in 1910, Yuma High School moved into the abandoned prison complex. Students attended classes in the old prison facilities, while assemblies were held in the former prison hospital. 

A few years later, Yuma traveled to Phoenix for a football game and beat the Phoenix team. According to the school’s history, the losing side started calling the Yuma students “Criminals.” At first, the nickname was considered an insult.

Eventually, Yuma embraced it.

In 1917, the school board officially adopted “Criminals” as the nickname, and more than a century later, it’s still part of the school’s identity. 

The prison connection is still everywhere. Yuma High’s mascot wears prison-inspired clothing, its student store is called “The Cell Block,” and even old prison materials have been incorporated into the school’s campus history. 

So in Yuma, calling the high school kids “Criminals” is literally school spirit. 😭

Did you know the story behind Arizona’s wildest high school mascot?

#Arizona #Yuma #YumaCriminals #ArizonaHistory #ArizonaNews

## Stats

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## Credits

No public credits are recorded here. This does not identify who made the post.

## Tags

yumacriminals, arizonahistory, yuma, arizonanews, arizona

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