Handsome Dan takes a bite out of Yale history

By Sarah Holley

Football. Old Blue. Boolah-Boolah. For God, for Country, and for Yale. These are all things that you will hear about as you become submerged in the spirit and tradition of Yale athletics. In fact, the only place you can find more emphasis on tradition is in a production of Fiddler on the Roof. However, every tradition has to start somewhere, and often the knowledge of the beginning is lost over the course of time. For instance, you probably know that the Yale mascot is "Handsome Dan," the Bulldog. But do you know how this came to be?

It was the year 1889. Football had already created a heated rivalry between Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. At the games, Princeton had a real tiger cub. Harvard always brought along the "Orange Man" as a stand-in for Puritan John Harvard. Not to be outdone by lesser Ivy League schools, the Yale student body felt it was time to find a mascot of its own, leaving the question: what mascot could appropriately represent such a fine institution?

The problem was solved by a football player and crew member in the class of 1892, Andrew B. Graves. While passing through downtown New Haven one day, Graves noticed a porcelain statue of a dog sitting in front of a blacksmith's shop. He purchased the dog for $5.00 and the students adopted him as their mascot. The aesthetics of the figure could probably most appropriately be labeled "atrocious." According to the Hartford Courant, "In personal appearance, he seemed like a cross between an alligator and a horned frog, and he was called handsome by the metaphysicians under the law of compensation." Thus, the pristine figure of Yale representation would forever be known as "Handsome Dan."

The history lesson does not end there, my fertile-minded freshman friend, for we all know that a statue does does not make a lively mascot. In 1892, a living bulldog was introduced into Yale history. Handsome Dan the first was taken to every football and baseball game and led across the field. Dan the first was a talented dog, and a favorite trick of his owners was to tell him to "Speak to Harvard." Upon hearing this command, Dan would bark ferociously and work himself into physical contortions never before dreamed of by a dog.

After Dan I's death in 1898, no successor was found until 1933 when the freshman class pooled their pennies together to purchase Dan II. This bulldog did not bring a great deal of luck to the Yale teams, but he was the center of quite a bit of scandalous attention. On the eve of the 1934 Yale-Harvard football game, Dan was dognapped by a band of Harvard thugs. Much to every Yale man's dismay, Dan was seen in the newspapers the next day, happily munching on a hamburger at the feet of John Harvard's statue.

Many of the proceeding Dans had mascot careers that were less memorable. But each Dan was unique in his own way. Dan IV was cared for by head cheerleader, Cyrus Vance, BK '39, who went on to serve as Secretary of State for the Carter administration. Dan IX appeared on the scene in 1953, and was in the custody of crew coach Jim Rothschmidt. While performing his crew duties, a near tragic accident befell the hapless pooch: Dan missed a step on the Derby docks and plunged head first into the Housatonic. Thankfully, he was rescued, resuscitated, and moved to higher ground where he demonstrated a preference for the dry terrain of the Bowl.

If the job of a mascot is to bring a team luck, none performed their function better than Dan X. The dog, previously known as Bayside Woodnought, grandson of famed Kippax Fearnought (Best in Show in 1954 at Westminster) was born and bred a winner. He began his Yale career in 1959, and at the end of the first five football games was the only undefeated, untied, and unscored upon mascot in the nation. He stayed on for the following season, and Yale went 9-0, undefeated for the first time in 37 years. But his dog show-training and mascot duties were not always in accordance, for even after a Yale touchdown, Dan would stand stock still in his most flattering pose. Even efforts by the Yale cheerleaders to restore his friskiness were to no avail.

Along came 1969 and the admission of women into Yale. To recognize this great improvement in the quality of the student body, a female bulldog was chosen to succeed Dan XI upon his death in 1975. Like many of the women at Yale, Dan XII was "pugnacious and stubborn, but lovable."

Dan XIII was Yale's longest serving mascot, defending the Yale sidelines from 1984-97. Dan XIII was the quintessential bulldog mascot, not only participating in games but also in graduation ceremonies, reunions, and receptions at the president's house. He was a true humanitarian, earning over $10,000 in charity funds for the right to take his leash on a sideline stroll, and he was the only bulldog ever to be featured in a Sports Illustrated article.

Now a new dog has taken the field. You will all see Handsome Dan XVI marching down the sidelines at Yale games. And you will know the history as you throw back your head and scream with pride, "Bulldogs, Bulldogs, bow-wow-wow, Eli Yale!"

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