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State Symbols/15
MARYLAND SPORT. By Chapter 134, Acts of
1962, the age-old equestrian sport of jousting is the
official sport of the State of Maryland (Code 1957,
Art. 41, sec. 79A).
STATE INSECT. The Baltimore Checkerspot
Butterfly (Euphydryas phaeton) was declared to be
the official arthropodic emblem of the State by
Chapter 253, Acts of 1973 (Code 1957, Art. 41,
sec. 77C).
STATE FOSSIL SHELL. The shell of the
Ecphora quadricostata (Say), an extinct snail, was
designated the State fossil shell by Chapter 313,
Acts of 1984 (Code State Government Article, sec.
13-311). The Ecphora inhabited the Bay and other
East Coast tidal waters 5 to 12 million years ago. It
is believed an Ecphora shell found in St. Mary's
County, c. 1685, was the first North American
fossil to be illustrated in European scientific works.
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MARYLAND'S NICKNAMES. Maryland is
known as both the Old Line State and the Free
State.
According to some historians. Gen. George
Washington bestowed the appellation "Old Line
State" because Maryland's regular line troops
served admirably in many Revolutionary War
engagements.
The nickname "Free State" was created by
Hamilton Owens, editor of the Baltimore Sun. In
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1923, Georgia Congressman William D. Upshaw,
a firm supporter of Prohibition, denounced Mary-
land as a traitor to the Union for refusing to pass a
State enforcement act. Mr. Owens thereupon wrote
a mock-serious editorial entitled "The Maryland
Free State," arguing that Maryland should secede
from the Union. The irony in the editorial was
subtle, and Mr. Owens decided not to print it.
However, he popularized the nickname in later
editorials.
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