Baldwin the Eagle
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[edit] The BC Eagle
Baldwin the Eagle, an anthropomorphized bald eagle, is the mascot of the Boston College Eagles.
The nickname "Eagles" goes back to 1920 when Rev. Edward McLaughlin, unhappy at seeing a newspaper cartoon which represented BC as a cat after a track victory, wrote to the college newspaper The Heights:[1]
"It is important that we adopt a mascot to preside at our pow-wows and triumphant feats.... And why not the Eagle, symbolic of majesty, power, and freedom? Its natural habitat is the high places. Surely the Heights is made to order for such a selection. Proud would the B.C. man feel to see the B.C. Eagle snatching the trophy of victory from old opponents, their tattered banner clutched in his talons as he flies aloft."
[edit] Live birds-of-prey
The "Eagles" nickname stuck. Soon a pair of golden eagles from Texas and New Mexico were given to BC as gifts. Sadly, one escaped and the other broke its beak trying. For the next four years, the official "mascot" was a stuffed golden eagle located in the B.C. athletic offices.[2]
In 1961, another attempt was made at a live mascot when BC adopted a 10-month old golden eagle named "Margo" (so named because the team colors are maroon and gold). Margo lived at the Franklin Park Zoo and was brought to all home games for several years until dying of a virus early in the 1966 season.[2]
[edit] Gilded statue
Another notable incarnation of the BC Eagle is a gilded bronze eagle sculpture that diplomat Larz Anderson and Isabel Weld Perkins, his socialite heiress wife, brought back from Japan in the early 20th century. The eagle remained in Larz Anderson Park until 1954 when it was donated to Boston College and became synonymous with the BC Eagle. It now looks over Linden Lane.[3]
[edit] Costumed mascot
By this time Margo died in 1966, eagles had become endangered species and the university then opted to go to a costumed mascot. In 2000, with the unveiling of the current athletics logos, the BC Eagle mascot received a visual makeover as well and has appeared that way since.[2]
Also, the mascot officially got the name "Baldwin" -- a combination of the words "Bald" (as in bald eagle) and "win." There is also a 9.5 foot inflatable mascot named "Baldwin, Jr." which appears at games. Like many modern costumed mascots, Baldwin wears replica team uniforms at events. [2]
Baldwin the Eagle is brought to life by an anonymous team of Boston College students that are chosen in by audition.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Eagle Nickname & Mascot - BCEagles.com
- ^ a b c d Baldwin's Page on Official Boston College Athletic Site
- ^ Donovan, Charles F. "History of Boston College: From the Beginnings to 1990"; University Press of Boston College, September 1990, p.266
- ^ According to the Baldwin Website Dec 1st, 2006, BC is currently holding auditions to add to its "team of Eagles."
