Handsome Dan
Encyclopedia
Handsome Dan is a bulldog
who serves as the mascot
of Yale University
's athletic teams. In addition to a person wearing a costume
, the position is filled by an actual bulldog, the honor (and the title "Handsome Dan") being transferred to another upon death or retirement. Handsome Dan is selected based on his ability to tolerate bands and children, negative reaction to the color crimson and to tigers (rival school Harvard's symbols), and cleanliness.
Handsome Dan is believed to be the first such live college mascot in America. Since the inception of the tradition in 1889, 16 dogs have held the position.
In the late 1880s, Princeton and Harvard already had their football mascots – Princeton had a tiger and Harvard had the "Orange Man" as a stand-in for Puritan John Harvard. In 1889, Andrew B. Graves saw a bulldog sitting in front of a New Haven blacksmith shop. Graves was an Englishman in the Yale class of 1892 and a member of the crew team as well as a football tackle. He offered fifty dollars for the dog, and the blacksmith countered with seventy-five. Graves purchased the dog for sixty-five dollars. Graves cleaned up the dog and named him “Handsome Dan.” Soon, Dan followed Graves everywhere around campus, including sporting events. The students quickly adopted Dan as the Yale mascot. After Graves graduated and returned to England, Dan stayed on campus with his master’s brother. Before football and baseball games would begin, Handsome Dan founded a tradition and a dynasty by being led across the field. One newspaper reported: "He was a big white bulldog, with one of the greatest faces a dog of that breed (English) ever carried". This was not an exaggeration, as Handsome Dan was one of the finest specimens of his breed in America, and went on to win first prize at the Westminster Dog Show and at least thirty other first prize ribbons in the United States and Canada. According to the Hartford Courant, "In personal appearance, he seemed like a cross between an alligator and a horned frog, and he was called handsome by the metaphysicians under the law of compensation. The title came to him, he never sought it. He was always taken to games on a leash, and the Harvard football team for years owed its continued existence to the fact that the rope held." The Philadelphia Press reported that "a favorite trick was to tell him to 'Speak to Harvard.' He would bark ferociously and work himself into physical contortions of rage never before dreamed of by a dog. Dan was peculiar to himself in one thing - he would never associate with anyone but students. Dan implanted himself more firmly in the hearts of Yale students than any mascot had ever done before." Handsome Dan crossed the Atlantic to join his old master in 1897 and died in 1898. Graves had Dan stuffed
and returned him to be displayed at Yale in the old gymnasium. When it was torn down, Dan I was sent to the Peabody Museum
for reconstruction. Handsome Dan I now is in a sealed glass case in one of the trophy rooms of Yale's Payne Whitney Gymnasium
, where, according to Stanton Ford, "he is the perpetual guardian of the treasures which attest to generations of Yale athletic glory." Andrew Graves died of tuberculosis
on February 18, 1948, in Westbury, Long Island.
After a 35 year interval, Handsome Dan II was purchased with pennies donated by the freshman class, and given to coach
Ducky Pond
. Handsome Dan II was kidnapped by Harvard students the day before the 1934 Harvard-Yale football game, and Yale students were alarmed at photographs of him happily seated at the foot of the statue of John Harvard
in Harvard Yard
, having a snack. He died of a leg fracture received from a jump.(Handsome Dan II now is in a sealed glass case in the Yale University Visitor's centre on Elm Street.)
Handsome Dan III was a huge white dog who unfortunately exhibited morbid fear of crowds
and had to be retired.
Handsome Dan IV had his spine fractured by a car early in his term of office, leaving his hind legs paralyzed. Until he eventually died in 1940, a bulldog named Bull served in his place, becoming Handsome Dan V.
"Bull", brought in his youth to watch football practices by his owner, high school student Bob Day
who lived near the Yale Bowl
, ascended to office when Handsome Dan IV died. A great success, he loved public appearances and the adulation of crowds, was a familiar figure around the locker rooms, and joined the team on a trip to Princeton University
.
Handsome Dan VI was eight weeks old when he took the role, but died at age two. It was reported that he died from fear of fireworks
at the Yale-Harvard game, or of shame from seeing the Yale team lose to both Princeton and Harvard in the same year.
Handsome Dan VII was donated to football coach Herman Hickman
at age 3 but he proved to have a bad temper, which suited him better in his next position as a watchdog on a Florida
estate.
Up to this point, Handsome Dans had lived at the Yale Boathouse and were cared for in a somewhat haphazard fashion.
Handsome Dan VIII, however, was owned by assistant football manager Tom Shutt, ushering in a new era of family membership for the office-holder. Nevertheless, he had to retire after only two games due to intense discomfort with public appearances.
Notable for falling off the dock at the Yale Boathouse and nearly drowning (confirming the hypothesis that bulldogs cannot swim, due to the peculiarities of their physiques); some contemporary news reports say that he had to be resuscitated after having had his head embedded in the mud. He also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated
magazine in November, 1956. "Danny" was born September 11, 1953 and owned by John E. Sanders, Assistant Professor of Geology, after an earlier custody by physical education instructor, Alfred E. Scholz and Varsity Crew Coach Jim Rothschmidt. He made his mascot debut at the age of six weeks and an autopsy
at his death revealed that he succumbed to acute nephrotic syndrome
.
"Woodie" aka "Boodnick", also owned by John E. Sanders, marked a return to the high standards seen in Handsome Dan V. An impressive 74 pounds, a beloved family pet as well as winner of the best bulldog title at the Cape Cod Kennel Club conformation dog show, he was instrumental in leading Yale's football team to its 9 and 0 season in 1960. He spent several years commuting to New Haven, CT, from Dobbs Ferry, NY, prior to his retirement. His registered AKC kennel name was "Bayside Woodnought." He was sired by Ch. Bonny Boy of Fearnought out of Woodside's Christie Lou, and was a grandson of the famed Kippax Fearnought, the celebrated English import, who went Best in Show in 1955 at Westminster. He died in 1971 of natural causes.
).
"Oliver", owned by Yale College master John Hersey
, loved football but had a tendency to doze in the sun during games. He was frequently sighted on Martha's Vineyard
during the tourist season.
"Bingo", owned by history professor Rollin Osterweis, was described by her owner as "pugnacious and stubborn, but lovable." Bingo also had the distinction of being the only female Handsome Dan. Bingo was stolen by four Princeton undergrads dressed as Yale cheerleaders. They took Bingo to a friend's apartment in New York City on the run from authorities. The mastermind behind the canine-caper was Mark Hallam '79. The group of students took Bingo back to her owner and held a press conference for her return.
"Maurice", owned by Chris Getman, was perhaps the most noteworthy of the Handsome Dans. He served in office longer than any other Handsome Dan; he was the only holder of the office to come out of retirement to serve again, due to the death of his successor; and he appeared in Sports Illustrated
, in 1989. His patience with the tedium of posing for professional photographers also served him well as he posed for game programs, brochure
s, and the 1991 Yale Christmas card
, wearing a wreath
and Santa Claus
hat. He also appeared at swim meets, wearing a bathing suit. His love of Yale was evident in many ways: he would sing along with the Yale fight song
(at least the "bow wow wow" part); he would "play dead" when asked whether he would rather die or join Harvard; and he lost his normally docile nature around mascots of opposing teams, launching assaults on the Princeton tiger mascot and the Brown University
bear mascot. (There was also an unfortunate incident involving a policeman on horseback which resulted in his being ejected from the Harvard-Yale game, and Halloween
s were somewhat touchy.) He died in 1997, just before turning 14, an exceptionally long life for the highly inbred species, described traditionally by the British
as "short legged, short jawed, short winded and short lived".
"Whizzer" aka "Hetherbull", also owned by Chris Getman, was donated by Yale alumnus and bulldog breeder Bob Hetherington
and boasted a pedigree
fully worthy of Yale, being a descendant of 52 time best-in-show winner Hetherbull Arrogant Frigott; unfortunately, he also showed the undesirable effects of inbreeding
so often seen with such a rarefied family tree
, possessing a temperament
so hyperexcitable that he died in office from a heart attack
, and was succeeded by his predecessor and housemate.
"Louis", also donated by Bob Hetherington and owned by Chris Getman, was named after three people named Louis, including football coach Carm Louis Cozza. He died in office in January, 2005 of a possible heart attack.
, was picked by a five person panel for his gregarious personality, large size (69 pounds), good health, and his ability to deal with the raucous Yale Precision Marching Band
.
At the auditions, Mugsy gained great favor by focusing on a crimson blanket (representing Harvard) versus the stuffed-toy tiger (representing Princeton University
). "We beat Princeton three of four years," Jeff Mroz, Yale's quarterback. "We want to beat Harvard."
Mugsy is owned by Bob Sansone, a North Haven
middle school teacher.
At his first Harvard-Yale Game in 2005, Handsome Dan XVI was briefly stolen by a pair of Harvard undergraduates, in response to a Yale student stealing the Harvard flag and running across the field back to the Yale side with it. The two lured him into the Harvard student section of the Yale Bowl
as he chewed a toy depicting a Harvard football player. Yale University Police recovered him, unharmed but without his Yale sweater, a few minutes later.
Handsome Dans traditionally reign for a lifetime, but Mugsy is still living with owner Bob Sansone in Hamden.
Bred by Diane Judy of Johnson City, Tenn., Handsome Dan XVII , a 50-pound bulldog, is the half brother of Rambo, owned by former Yale football captain Rory Hennessey '05. His home name is "Sherman", after the tank and Connecticut icon Roger. Sherman, who took over as Handsome Dan XVII , has taken to his job with great enthusiasm and in his brief life has already been photographed with former President George Bush '48 and Sir Paul McCartney. He is very athletic, retrieves with vigor and has already raised thousands of dollars for charity.
strangled a bulldog to death in the locker room to motivate his players.
Bulldog
Bulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...
who serves as the mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
's athletic teams. In addition to a person wearing a costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
, the position is filled by an actual bulldog, the honor (and the title "Handsome Dan") being transferred to another upon death or retirement. Handsome Dan is selected based on his ability to tolerate bands and children, negative reaction to the color crimson and to tigers (rival school Harvard's symbols), and cleanliness.
Handsome Dan is believed to be the first such live college mascot in America. Since the inception of the tradition in 1889, 16 dogs have held the position.
Handsome Dan I
1889-1897 (moved overseas).In the late 1880s, Princeton and Harvard already had their football mascots – Princeton had a tiger and Harvard had the "Orange Man" as a stand-in for Puritan John Harvard. In 1889, Andrew B. Graves saw a bulldog sitting in front of a New Haven blacksmith shop. Graves was an Englishman in the Yale class of 1892 and a member of the crew team as well as a football tackle. He offered fifty dollars for the dog, and the blacksmith countered with seventy-five. Graves purchased the dog for sixty-five dollars. Graves cleaned up the dog and named him “Handsome Dan.” Soon, Dan followed Graves everywhere around campus, including sporting events. The students quickly adopted Dan as the Yale mascot. After Graves graduated and returned to England, Dan stayed on campus with his master’s brother. Before football and baseball games would begin, Handsome Dan founded a tradition and a dynasty by being led across the field. One newspaper reported: "He was a big white bulldog, with one of the greatest faces a dog of that breed (English) ever carried". This was not an exaggeration, as Handsome Dan was one of the finest specimens of his breed in America, and went on to win first prize at the Westminster Dog Show and at least thirty other first prize ribbons in the United States and Canada. According to the Hartford Courant, "In personal appearance, he seemed like a cross between an alligator and a horned frog, and he was called handsome by the metaphysicians under the law of compensation. The title came to him, he never sought it. He was always taken to games on a leash, and the Harvard football team for years owed its continued existence to the fact that the rope held." The Philadelphia Press reported that "a favorite trick was to tell him to 'Speak to Harvard.' He would bark ferociously and work himself into physical contortions of rage never before dreamed of by a dog. Dan was peculiar to himself in one thing - he would never associate with anyone but students. Dan implanted himself more firmly in the hearts of Yale students than any mascot had ever done before." Handsome Dan crossed the Atlantic to join his old master in 1897 and died in 1898. Graves had Dan stuffed
Taxidermy
Taxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...
and returned him to be displayed at Yale in the old gymnasium. When it was torn down, Dan I was sent to the Peabody Museum
Peabody Museum
The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University is among the oldest, largest, and most prolific university natural history museums in the world. It was founded by the philanthropist George Peabody in 1866 at the behest of his nephew Othniel Charles Marsh, the early paleontologist...
for reconstruction. Handsome Dan I now is in a sealed glass case in one of the trophy rooms of Yale's Payne Whitney Gymnasium
Payne Whitney Gymnasium
The Payne Whitney Gymnasium is the gymnasium of Yale University. Built in the prevailing Gothic architecture style of the campus in 1932, it is a remarkable building, possessing a Gothic tower, a third-floor swimming pool, a polo practice room, and a rooftop running track. It is the second-largest...
, where, according to Stanton Ford, "he is the perpetual guardian of the treasures which attest to generations of Yale athletic glory." Andrew Graves died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
on February 18, 1948, in Westbury, Long Island.
Handsome Dan II
1933-1937 (died of a broken leg).After a 35 year interval, Handsome Dan II was purchased with pennies donated by the freshman class, and given to coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
Ducky Pond
Ducky Pond
Raymond W. "Ducky" Pond was an American football and baseball player and coach of football in the United States. He served as the head football coach at Yale University from 1934 to 1940 and at Bates College in 1941 and from 1946 to 1951, compiling career college football record of...
. Handsome Dan II was kidnapped by Harvard students the day before the 1934 Harvard-Yale football game, and Yale students were alarmed at photographs of him happily seated at the foot of the statue of John Harvard
John Harvard (clergyman)
John Harvard was an English minister in America whose deathbed bequest to the Massachusetts Bay Colony's fledgling New College was so gratefully received that the school was renamed Harvard College in his honor.-Biography:Harvard was born and raised in Southwark, England, the fourth of nine...
in Harvard Yard
Harvard Yard
Harvard Yard is a grassy area of about , adjacent to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that constitutes the oldest part and the center of the campus of Harvard University...
, having a snack. He died of a leg fracture received from a jump.(Handsome Dan II now is in a sealed glass case in the Yale University Visitor's centre on Elm Street.)
Handsome Dan III
1937-1938 (retired due to emotional instability).Handsome Dan III was a huge white dog who unfortunately exhibited morbid fear of crowds
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder defined as a morbid fear of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms in a situation from which it is perceived to be difficult to escape. These situations can include, but are not limited to, wide-open spaces, crowds, or uncontrolled social conditions...
and had to be retired.
Handsome Dan IV
1938-1940 (retired due to injury).Handsome Dan IV had his spine fractured by a car early in his term of office, leaving his hind legs paralyzed. Until he eventually died in 1940, a bulldog named Bull served in his place, becoming Handsome Dan V.
Handsome Dan V
1940-1947 (died of old age)."Bull", brought in his youth to watch football practices by his owner, high school student Bob Day
Bob Day
Robert John Day AO is a businessman in South Australia. A millionaire, he is a home builder and one of the founders of Home Australia...
who lived near the Yale Bowl
Yale Bowl
The Yale Bowl is a football stadium in New Haven, Connecticut on the border of West Haven, about 1½ miles west of Yale's main campus. Completed in 1914, the stadium seats 61,446, reduced by renovations from the original capacity of 70,869...
, ascended to office when Handsome Dan IV died. A great success, he loved public appearances and the adulation of crowds, was a familiar figure around the locker rooms, and joined the team on a trip to Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
Handsome Dan VI
1947-1949 (died mysteriously at age 2).Handsome Dan VI was eight weeks old when he took the role, but died at age two. It was reported that he died from fear of fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
at the Yale-Harvard game, or of shame from seeing the Yale team lose to both Princeton and Harvard in the same year.
Handsome Dan VII
1949-1952 (retired due to emotional instability).Handsome Dan VII was donated to football coach Herman Hickman
Herman Hickman
Herman M. Hickman was a Hall of Fame college football player for the University of Tennessee and later a head football coach for Yale University. He played pro football for the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers. He later was a TV and radio analyst and broadcaster, a writer and a professional wrestler.-...
at age 3 but he proved to have a bad temper, which suited him better in his next position as a watchdog on a Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
estate.
Handsome Dan VIII
1952 (retired due to emotional instability).Up to this point, Handsome Dans had lived at the Yale Boathouse and were cared for in a somewhat haphazard fashion.
Handsome Dan VIII, however, was owned by assistant football manager Tom Shutt, ushering in a new era of family membership for the office-holder. Nevertheless, he had to retire after only two games due to intense discomfort with public appearances.
Handsome Dan IX
1953-1959 (died of acute kidney disease).Notable for falling off the dock at the Yale Boathouse and nearly drowning (confirming the hypothesis that bulldogs cannot swim, due to the peculiarities of their physiques); some contemporary news reports say that he had to be resuscitated after having had his head embedded in the mud. He also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
magazine in November, 1956. "Danny" was born September 11, 1953 and owned by John E. Sanders, Assistant Professor of Geology, after an earlier custody by physical education instructor, Alfred E. Scholz and Varsity Crew Coach Jim Rothschmidt. He made his mascot debut at the age of six weeks and an autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
at his death revealed that he succumbed to acute nephrotic syndrome
Nephrotic syndrome
Nephrotic syndrome is a nonspecific disorder in which the kidneys are damaged, causing them to leak large amounts of protein from the blood into the urine....
.
Handsome Dan X
1959-1969 (retired due to old age)."Woodie" aka "Boodnick", also owned by John E. Sanders, marked a return to the high standards seen in Handsome Dan V. An impressive 74 pounds, a beloved family pet as well as winner of the best bulldog title at the Cape Cod Kennel Club conformation dog show, he was instrumental in leading Yale's football team to its 9 and 0 season in 1960. He spent several years commuting to New Haven, CT, from Dobbs Ferry, NY, prior to his retirement. His registered AKC kennel name was "Bayside Woodnought." He was sired by Ch. Bonny Boy of Fearnought out of Woodside's Christie Lou, and was a grandson of the famed Kippax Fearnought, the celebrated English import, who went Best in Show in 1955 at Westminster. He died in 1971 of natural causes.
Handsome Dan XI
1969-1974 (retired due to arthritisArthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
).
"Oliver", owned by Yale College master John Hersey
John Hersey
John Richard Hersey was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer and journalist considered one of the earliest practitioners of the so-called New Journalism, in which storytelling devices of the novel are fused with non-fiction reportage...
, loved football but had a tendency to doze in the sun during games. He was frequently sighted on Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
during the tourist season.
Handsome Dan XII
1975-1984."Bingo", owned by history professor Rollin Osterweis, was described by her owner as "pugnacious and stubborn, but lovable." Bingo also had the distinction of being the only female Handsome Dan. Bingo was stolen by four Princeton undergrads dressed as Yale cheerleaders. They took Bingo to a friend's apartment in New York City on the run from authorities. The mastermind behind the canine-caper was Mark Hallam '79. The group of students took Bingo back to her owner and held a press conference for her return.
Handsome Dan XIII
1984-1995; 1996 (retired due to old age, twice)."Maurice", owned by Chris Getman, was perhaps the most noteworthy of the Handsome Dans. He served in office longer than any other Handsome Dan; he was the only holder of the office to come out of retirement to serve again, due to the death of his successor; and he appeared in Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, in 1989. His patience with the tedium of posing for professional photographers also served him well as he posed for game programs, brochure
Brochure
A brochure is a type of leaflet. Brochures are most commonly found at places that tourists frequently visit, such as museums, major shops, and tourist information. Brochure racks or stands may suggest visits to amusement parks and other points of interest...
s, and the 1991 Yale Christmas card
Christmas card
A Christmas card is a greeting card sent as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to the Christmas and holiday season. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during the weeks preceding Christmas Day by many people in Western...
, wearing a wreath
Wreath
A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs and/or various materials that is constructed to resemble a ring. They are used typically as Christmas decorations to symbolize the coming of Christ, also known as the Advent season in Christianity. They are also used as festive headdresses...
and Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
hat. He also appeared at swim meets, wearing a bathing suit. His love of Yale was evident in many ways: he would sing along with the Yale fight song
Fight song
A fight song is primarily an American and Canadian sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. In both professional and amateur sports, fight songs are a popular way for fans to cheer for their team...
(at least the "bow wow wow" part); he would "play dead" when asked whether he would rather die or join Harvard; and he lost his normally docile nature around mascots of opposing teams, launching assaults on the Princeton tiger mascot and the Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
bear mascot. (There was also an unfortunate incident involving a policeman on horseback which resulted in his being ejected from the Harvard-Yale game, and Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
s were somewhat touchy.) He died in 1997, just before turning 14, an exceptionally long life for the highly inbred species, described traditionally by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as "short legged, short jawed, short winded and short lived".
Handsome Dan XIV
1995-1996 (died of heart attack)."Whizzer" aka "Hetherbull", also owned by Chris Getman, was donated by Yale alumnus and bulldog breeder Bob Hetherington
Bob Hetherington
Robert "Bob" Hetherington is a former Australian politician.Hetherington was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 1977 to 1989. In 1987 he introduced a private member's bill into the council to legalise homosexuality, which was narrowly defeated.-References:...
and boasted a pedigree
Pedigree chart
A pedigree chart is a diagram that shows the occurrence and appearance or phenotypes of a particular gene or organism and its ancestors from one generation to the next, most commonly humans, show dogs, and race horses....
fully worthy of Yale, being a descendant of 52 time best-in-show winner Hetherbull Arrogant Frigott; unfortunately, he also showed the undesirable effects of inbreeding
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...
so often seen with such a rarefied family tree
Family tree
A family tree, or pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. The more detailed family trees used in medicine, genealogy, and social work are known as genograms.-Family tree representations:...
, possessing a temperament
Temperament
In psychology, temperament refers to those aspects of an individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion, that are often regarded as innate rather than learned...
so hyperexcitable that he died in office from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, and was succeeded by his predecessor and housemate.
Handsome Dan XV
1996-2005 (unknown death)."Louis", also donated by Bob Hetherington and owned by Chris Getman, was named after three people named Louis, including football coach Carm Louis Cozza. He died in office in January, 2005 of a possible heart attack.
Handsome Dan XVI
Handsome Dan XVI was chosen on 26 April 2005. Magnificent Mugsy Rangoon, a Bulldog from Hamden, ConnecticutHamden, Connecticut
Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant." Hamden is home to Quinnipiac University. The population was 58,180 according to the Census Bureau's 2005 estimates...
, was picked by a five person panel for his gregarious personality, large size (69 pounds), good health, and his ability to deal with the raucous Yale Precision Marching Band
Yale Precision Marching Band
The Yale Precision Marching Band is the official marching band of Yale University. It is a scatter band , as distinct from university marching bands that emphasize precise movements and geometric field formations...
.
At the auditions, Mugsy gained great favor by focusing on a crimson blanket (representing Harvard) versus the stuffed-toy tiger (representing Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
). "We beat Princeton three of four years," Jeff Mroz, Yale's quarterback. "We want to beat Harvard."
Mugsy is owned by Bob Sansone, a North Haven
North Haven, Connecticut
North Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut on the outskirts of New Haven, Connecticut.North Haven is less than ten miles from downtown New Haven and Yale University. It is near Sleeping Giant State Park and home the Quinnipiac University School of Health Sciences, the School of Nursing,...
middle school teacher.
At his first Harvard-Yale Game in 2005, Handsome Dan XVI was briefly stolen by a pair of Harvard undergraduates, in response to a Yale student stealing the Harvard flag and running across the field back to the Yale side with it. The two lured him into the Harvard student section of the Yale Bowl
Yale Bowl
The Yale Bowl is a football stadium in New Haven, Connecticut on the border of West Haven, about 1½ miles west of Yale's main campus. Completed in 1914, the stadium seats 61,446, reduced by renovations from the original capacity of 70,869...
as he chewed a toy depicting a Harvard football player. Yale University Police recovered him, unharmed but without his Yale sweater, a few minutes later.
Handsome Dans traditionally reign for a lifetime, but Mugsy is still living with owner Bob Sansone in Hamden.
Handsome Dan XVII
A new bulldog named Sherman quietly assumed the mascot position as Handsome Dan XVII in late winter 2006. It is believed that Dan XVII is chosen to replace as Dan XVI has no connection to Yale.Bred by Diane Judy of Johnson City, Tenn., Handsome Dan XVII , a 50-pound bulldog, is the half brother of Rambo, owned by former Yale football captain Rory Hennessey '05. His home name is "Sherman", after the tank and Connecticut icon Roger. Sherman, who took over as Handsome Dan XVII , has taken to his job with great enthusiasm and in his brief life has already been photographed with former President George Bush '48 and Sir Paul McCartney. He is very athletic, retrieves with vigor and has already raised thousands of dollars for charity.
Alleged bulldog strangulation
Apocryphal tales assert that before the 1908 Harvard-Yale Game, Harvard coach Percy HaughtonPercy Haughton
Percy Duncan Haughton was an American football and baseball player and coach in the United States. He served as head football coach at Cornell University from 1899 to 1900, at Harvard University from 1908 to 1916, and at Columbia University from 1923 to 1924, compiling a career college football...
strangled a bulldog to death in the locker room to motivate his players.
External links
- A page of bulldog mascot logos, including Yale's (currently inoperate)
- Yale's mascot homepage