BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — September 19, 2026 marks the annual Batman Day – an annual global event organized by DC Comics and Warner Bros. to celebrate and promote the iconic superhero Batman.
The day is celebrated every year on the third Saturday of September (though the character first debuted in Detective Comics #27 on March 30, 1939). The first Batman Day was July 23, 2014. It was a date selected by DC Comics and Warner Bros. to celebrate Batman’s 75th anniversary and coincide with San Diego Comic-Con 2014. Subsequent Batman Days have been on either the third or fourth Saturday in September to give retailers a date during the Fall to sell comic books.
So what is Batman’s connection to water polo? Look no further than television icon Adam West – the 1960’s television Batman.
Before finding fame in Hollywood, West (born William West Anderson) attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. While at Whitman, he competed in water polo, swimming, track & field and enjoyed skiing while earning his degree in English Literature.
He voiced parodied versions of himself in the animated television series Johnny Bravo (1997, 2004), The Fairly OddParents (2003–2008), The Simpsons (1992, 2002), and Family Guy (2000–2017). In Family Guy, he played Mayor Adam West between the second and 17th seasons. He received a television star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.
Batman’s other connection to water polo came via Amherst College. The club water polo team wished to avoid using the then school mascot of Lord Jeffs for its co-ed water polo team and changed its moniker to the Yo-Ho Penguin. Per the Amherst Student newspaper, the nickname originated from an inside joke based on Burgess Meredith, a Hollywood actor and Amherst alumnus (Class of 1931). Meredith famously played the villainous character The Penguin in the 1960s live-action Batman television series starring West. Because of this connection, the coed club team adopted the “Yo-Ho Penguin” moniker as an aquatic, less traditional alternative to standard mascots.
