Name-a-Day Calendar, December 10: Butler Bulldogs
Page 34 of 365
Chosen in: 1919
Chosen by: Butler Collegian editor Alex Cavins and cartoonist George Dickson
Butler University’s first sports teams were known as the Christians. This in itself is odd because, though the school was founded by members of the Disciples of Christ, its charter dedicated it as a non-sectarian institution, so it’s never been officially affiliated with the church.
In 1919, Butler’s football team was indescribably awful. Going into the last week of their six-game schedule, the Christians were 0-4-1 and had been outscored 170-7; if you include the last two games of 1918, that skid extends to 0-5-2 with a scoring margin of 222-7.1 Fans were tired of all the losing. They were tired of even hearing the name “Christians”.
Their last game of the year was against their rivals, the Franklin Baptists, but the team’s abominable play had the Butler Collegian student newspaper struggling to drum up any interest among the fanbase. Then a bulldog from a nearby fraternity found its way into the office.2 The staff took it as inspiration and cartoonist George Dickson got to work on a cartoon featuring a “Butler Bulldog” biting John the Baptist in the butt. Editor Alex Cavins published it on the front page and the fanbase loved it.
The Christians lost the game 14-0 but that would be the last game they ever played under that name; the Bulldogs were here to stay. Today, in an endless sea of collegiate bulldog mascots, Butler’s Blue IV is among the most beloved.
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P.S. Oh, and that football team? 7-1-0 in 1920; outscored their opponents 251-51. Naturally.
1918 ended with a 52-0 loss to Miami (OH) and a scoreless tie against Rose-Hulman. 1919 started with a 67-0 loss to Wabash, a 76-0 loss to DePauw, a 21-7 loss to Rose-Hulman, a scoreless tie against Hanover, and a 6-0 loss to Earlham.
The bulldog was named Shimmy because “you couldn’t shake him”. He would become Butler’s first official mascot.