Name-a-Day Calendar, January 16: Drake Bulldogs
Page 71 of 365
Chosen in: 1909
Chosen by: Des Moines Register sports editor Art Gordon
In the beginning, Drake University’s sports teams were known simply as the Drakes. This, of course, is a way more fun and unique nickname than “Bulldogs”, but it wouldn’t last. In 1909, head football coach John L. Griffith loved to bring his two bulldogs to games and have students walk them around on the sidelines.
The dogs became a campus staple and Des Moines Register sports editor Art Gordon couldn’t get enough of them. He’d write about them in football game recaps and eventually just start calling the team itself the Bulldogs. Evidently, the university accepted this.
Drake has a costumed bulldog mascot, Spike, but are you really a “Bulldogs” team if you don’t have a live bulldog mascot? Drake’s is named Griff II, the successor to Griff, who was named after the aforementioned Griffith.
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