Name-a-Day Calendar, November 3: Yale Bulldogs
Page 362 of 365
Chosen in: It’s nebulous; mascot debuted in early 1890s but nickname wasn’t popular until late 1900s
Chosen by: Again, nebulous
Yale University was founded in 1701, with modern intercollegiate athletics beginning play in 1872, when their football team was founded. The team originally claimed no nickname, and a nickname wouldn’t come until after they introduced their mascot.
The common story of how Yale got their bulldog mascot is that student Andrew Graves ‘92 simply purchased a bulldog named Handsome Dan in 1889, but this is incorrect. Handsome Dan did exist, but he wasn’t the first Yale bulldog mascot. A different bulldog, Harper, debuted in 1890, with Handsome Dan taking over in 1892.1
Handsome Dan’s adoption did not immediately lead to Yale’s sports teams being called the Bulldogs. In fact, not once during Handsome Dan’s time as Yale’s mascot, from his introduction in 1892 until his death in 1898, were Yale’s sports teams verifiably called the Bulldogs in print. It wasn’t until 1906, when Yale had no mascot, that the New York Tribune finally referred to the football team as the “Yale bulldogs”. The animal’s use as a nickname became gradually more popular from there and was ubiquitous by the early 1910s.
The first successor to Handsome Dan wouldn’t come until 1933. Today, Yale is represented by Handsome Dan XIX.
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Read this deep dive from NCAA.com’s Andy Wittry to learn more about the confusing origins of Handsome Dan.