Bully (mascot)

Bully, the official school mascot of Mississippi State University, is an American Kennel Club registered English Bulldog,^[1][2] given the inherited title of "Bully". In 1935 the first official bulldog mascot was named "Ptolemy"^[1] though there are earlier reports of other bulldogs serving as unofficial mascots. Other bulldog mascots have been used as far back as 1905 as the "Bulldog" nickname was used almost interchangeably with both Aggies and Maroons. ^[3] Accounts of a 1926 MSU pep rally in Meridian, Miss., had a bulldog parading with students. The next mascot after Ptolemy was the first bulldog nicknamed Bully (retroactively named Bully I).^[1] The name "Bully" is traditionally considered a title and not the official name of the specific dog that holds it. The current Bully is named "Champ" (christened Bully XX in 2009)^[2] and his predecessor is named "TaTonka Gold"^[4] (Bully XIX) which means Gold Buffalo ("Tonka"^[2] for short). Tonka died on June 28, 2011 at the age of 11.^{[5] [6]}

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