Gaels is the name of the Queen's interuniversity sports teams.
The teams were formerly known as the "Golden Gaels," a nickname coined in 1947 by Kingston Whig Standard sports reporter Cliff Bowering after the football team traded its traditional uniform of red, gold, and blue bands for gold jerseys, gold helmets, and red pants.
Bowering first used the term after a game in London, Ontario, when he reported that the "Golden Gaels of Queen's University" were thumped 52-3 by Western. The name caught on and became the familiar term for Queen's teams by the 1950s and until 2008.
"Gaels" is a reference to Queen's Scottish heritage.
Before 1947, Queen's teams were commonly known as the Tricolour.
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