Originally Posted by ringer

Tar Heels, not Tarheels, is clever mascot name. I'd always heard the legend about the Civil War troops "sticking" in battle as if they had tar on their heels. Since NC was a tar, turpentine, and pitch producing state it was a clever statement made by General Lee. But according to wikipaedia there are lots of other legends, many I hadn't even heard of before.

Tar Heel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia