# Bulldogs as team mascots **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 26, 2006, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bulldogs-as-team-mascots/385642 "2006-12-26T18:07:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bulldogs-as-team-mascots/385642/1 "2006-12-26T18:07:35Z")
Why do so many schools have bulldogs as their team mascots? This is very common at the high school level (at least i n Texas) and college level ([College Nicknames](http://www.smargon.net/nicknames/)). Bulldogs aren’t an especially popular breed nor do they have a reputation for being mean. I know of no teams who have pit bulls, dobermans or German shepards as their mascot. So what’s the deal with Bulldogs? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bulldogs-as-team-mascots/385642/2 "2006-12-26T18:23:23Z")
They’re relentless. Plus they look cute in turtlenecks. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bulldogs-as-team-mascots/385642/3 "2006-12-26T18:23:26Z")
I’d say it’s not about having a mean disposition, it’s about being having courage, toughness, and perserverance. A dog that can take down a bull qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bulldogs-as-team-mascots/385642/4 "2006-12-26T18:46:37Z")
Here is how it happened at Georgetwon Univeristy in [D.C.](http://traditions.georgetown.edu/jack/) I bet it the GQ answer might need to be a case by case basis. But having said that I think Gary T’s perception of Bulldog=“tenacious” is more what folks were going for using a Bulldog rather than “vicious” ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bulldogs-as-team-mascots/385642/5 "2006-12-26T18:49:17Z")
Yale started it for US football teams. Yale was the first football powerhouse, and a lot of newly-formed teams emulated them, right down to the nickname. That is how the Georgia Bulldogs, for example, came to be named. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bulldogs-as-team-mascots/385642/6 "2006-12-26T19:00:30Z")
And here’s the history of Yale’s mascot, [Handsome Dan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handsome_Dan). (I should amend my last post to say that Yale was _one_ of the early powerhouses. Princeton can also claim that distinction - perhaps why there are also many teams with the “Tigers” nickname.) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bulldogs-as-team-mascots/385642/7 "2006-12-26T19:37:47Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Yale started it for US football teams. Yale was the first football powerhouse, and a lot of newly-formed teams emulated them, right down to the nickname. That is how the Georgia Bulldogs, for example, came to be named. [/QUOTE] Oddly enough, I learned recently that years ago before the University of Kansas had the famed Jayhawk as their mascot, they had used a bulldog. And since the KU school colors (Crimson and Blue) were inspired by Harvard and Yale, maybe they got the bulldog mascot idea from Yale as well. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bulldogs-as-team-mascots/385642/8 "2006-12-26T20:17:26Z")
Modern bulldogs are indeed gentle and amiable; the breed has changed over the years. Long, long ago, there was a cruel “sporting event” in which a few dogs and a bull were turned loose in a pen. Folks would wager on whether the bull would die before killing the dogs. The “tenacious” part came when a dog got a chance to bite the bull’s throat or face. He wouldn’t let go, no matter how the bull thrashed around. Besides, the look of a modern bulldog is of a barrel-chested, broad-shouldered, muscular guy, who walks with confidence despite his distinctive face.