Bobby Pope: Time has arrived for new Uga to take over
What do Pope Francis and Georgia mascot Uga have in common? They are both aliases and take their names because of position. Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina while the next Uga, who will become the lead Bulldog as Uga X in ceremonies this weekend in Athens, had the birth name of Que. I can think of no other positions where titles give you a name change.
Uga X, who takes over from Uga IX (originally named Russ) comes from a long line of English Bulldogs owned by the Sonny Seiler family of Savannah. The first one appeared in 1956 when Seiler brought the Bulldog to the Georgia season opener, and Wally Butts, then athletics director and football head coach, asked Seiler if the dog could serve as the team's mascot.
But Georgia had mascots long before Uga, dating back to before the turn of the 20th century, and the Middle Georgia area is prominent in the mascots' history. The first live mascot actually was a goat ("How bout them Hairy Goats") and was at the Georgia- Mercer game played Jan. 30, 1892 in Athens. The "Goats" defeated the Baptists 50-0 that day. Mercer didn't officially become the Bears until 1924. The Georgia win was the first of team's perfect 22-0 record against the Macon program. For the game, the goat wore a black coat with red U.G. letters on each side.
The first Georgia canine mascot "Trilby" appeared in 1894. It was a solid white female bull terrier owned by Charles Black Sr., a student from Atlanta. After that season, no official mascot was acknowledged by the university for 50 years. In fact, the Bulldogs nickname didn't become officially recognized until the 1920s when a newspaper columnist referred to the team by that name five times in a win over Virginia. After that, the name stuck.
Even though there was no official mascot from 1894 until 1944, Georgia was represented by Bulldogs brought to games my alumni with the honor going to the one who got his dog to the game first.
From 1944 until 1946, Mr. Angel was the official mascot. Mr. Angel was a brindle and white English Bulldog owned by Warren Coleman, a physician from Eastman. Eastman is your middle Georgia connection.
Mabry Smith of Warner Robins provided mascots from 1947 until 1951. The duo of Butch and Tuffy served together in 1947 and 1948, but Tuffy died of a heart attack after the 1948 Kentucky game, leaving Butch to serve alone for the next three seasons. Butch's reign ended when he was shot and killed by a Warner Robins policeman while roaming the streets in the summer of 1951 after escaping from his pen.
Mike, a brindled English Bulldog owned by C.L. Fain, took over in 1951 and served until 1955 when he died of natural causes. While serving as the university mascot, he lived in the campus fieldhouse.
Uga is one of the most recognized college mascots of all time. Uga V made the cover of the April 28, 1997 "Sports Illustrated," magazine which proclaimed him as the nation's best college mascot. Uga V is featured in one of the most iconic photos in Georgia football history. In the Bulldogs' game with Auburn in 1996, he lunged at Tigers receiver Robert Baker after Baker caught a touchdown pass. In that contest, Georgia overcame a 21-point deficit to beat Auburn 56-49 in four overtimes. It was the first overtime game ever in the SEC.
"Uga, a damn good dog." That is the epitath for Uga I, and for Georgia fans that is probably what they would say about the nine who came after him.
Contact Bobby Pope at bobbypope428@gmail.com
This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Bobby Pope: Time has arrived for new Uga to take over ."