Yale Bulldog Origins

We did some research to learn about the earliest live mascot in football, Yale's Bulldog, Handsome Dan as well as the pup that came before him.

When we look at college mascots, more often than not, they are centered around the gridiron team of the school. Many colleges have used live animal mascots at games, and Yale University was the first institution to do this. Handsome Dan, a bulldog, made his debut on the Yale gridiron contests in the 1890s. English Bulldogs were first recognized as a breed in 1886; the mascot is very timely with the species' origin. The bulldog remains Yale’s mascot today as the school has had just under twenty Handsome Dans that have kept the tradition thriving.

Handsome Dan's story is rooted in a tale back in 1889 from a student-athlete named Andrew Barbey Graves, from the Class of 1892. Graves played on the football team (as well as Crew), and apparently, he passed by a local blacksmith one day and saw a canine seated in front of the shop. He was taken aback by this majestic creature and worked out a deal where he purchased the canine from its owner for the tidy sum of $5. This dog was the first to be called Handsome Dan.

However, there was a Bulldog in the annals of history that is said to precede Handsome Dan, and his name was Harper. Harper’s owner was a man named R. B. Sawyer, one of the founders of the Bulldog Club in 1890. The connection of Harper to the school is interesting. Sawyer raised bulldogs and pugs. In February of 1891, the kennel owner went out of town so he sent a proxy handler to take his prize specimen, Harper, to a Bulldog Club show that was being held on the Yale campus. Another connection to Harper was the other founder of the Bulldog Club, Edgar Sheffield Porter of New Haven, who had tight connections with the University. In fact, he had family that founded the Yale Sheffield Scientific School, and his uncle was Noah Porter, the Yale president. Edgar Porter is the one that many claims bring the Bulldog connection to Yale.

Bulldog "Handsome Dan" (1889-1898) Mascot of Yale University, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Harper made his showing at a couple of events, but then Handsome Dan soon thereafter became quite a fixture around campus. It is recorded in multiple periodicals that Graves took the animal to Crew races and that fall to football games. Dan loved the student on campus and became endeared to the student body. The social qualities of the Handsome Dan coupled with his owner Andrew Graves being a prominent and popular athlete helped the animal become a fixture in Yale sports.

With the unique breed on the sideline and serving as a mascot in its truest sense , it is no wonder that the school adopted the official mascot of the Bulldog for its athletic identity.

The banner photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons of Reproduction of a painting from life in the year 1890 of "Handsome Dan," the Original Yale Mascot, and signed by the artist, Andrew B. Graves.

A Very Special thanks to information obtained from Yale University web publications on the subject