This is from Ray Frank s book What s in a Nickname. It has been asked many times where Presbyterian College received it s nickname, Blue Hose.
Several rumors exist.
One story has it that the Presbyterian Scotch-Irish wore blue stockings in the Puritan beginnings of our country. In later years Stocking became abbreviated to the Hose, particularly in newspaper headlines, and was more or less officially adopted by the student body in the late 50 s. Coach Johnson s explanation may simply be coincidental to the fact that the phrase Blue Stocking Presbyterian goes back informally quite a few years in the denomination s history. There is some mention of the Bluestocking Parliament convened by Cromwell in 1653. The Presbyterian Knight, where he speaks of Presbyterian true blue.