Yuma High's mascot came when the original school building was destroyed by fire in 1910.

The school then used the Yuma Territorial Prison, which had been closed, for the next three years.

Classes were held in the cell blocks, and assemblies took place in the prison hospital.

That same year, the Yuma football team was dubbed "the Criminals" by fans of Phoenix Union High School, whose football team had just been defeated in the championship game.

[2] References are sprinkled throughout; the mascot wears a blue-and-white prison uniform, the gate to the school's sports fields includes bars from the old prison,[3] and the school's "Cell Block" shop sells themed apparel.