A rally towel is a sports paraphernalia item and a type of towel often used as a fan symbol in American and Canadian sports events. The prototype of the modern rally towel was created in 1975 by former Pittsburgh Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope and is known as the Terrible Towel.[1] Although, it could be argued the great coach E.A Diddle of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers truly created the rally towel in the 1940s.[2] Western Kentucky would also trademark the term "The Red Towel" in 1971;[3] 4 years before Myron Cope created the Pittsburgh Steelers "terrible towel".
Since the Terrible Towel's debut, teams have used similar gimmicks, mainly using white towels (or towels with the team's colors) and giving them out to fans.[4] The main time teams give rally towels is during league postseasons. Towels have gained much popularity as distractions to visiting players. Teams that use rally towels include the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, and New York Jets, the NHL's Anaheim Ducks, Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars, the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder, the MLB's Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Houston Astros, and the Washington Nationals,[5] and the NCAA basketball Duke Blue Devils.[6]