New to the Collection

Vintage Bulldog bobble. 1/31/24 dwm.

 When I first wrote about National Bobblehead Day and spent time at the National Museum's website, I saw a photo of a vintage Drake Bulldog bobblehead.

 It intrigued me to the point of putting it in a cart on the website to purchase. I thought about the museum not far away and that I should buy it in person and save the shipping and handling.

 When I got there I asked about the Drake bobble and was told they didn't have one at the museum but could order it through the store with shipping and handling charges waived.

 It was less than a week when a box arrived with the Bulldog ensconced safely in a box protected by Styrofoam.

 It's vintage because it is made with ceramic instead of plastic giving it some heft or gravitas befitting the status of a university symbol.

 Drake had three live bulldogs serve as mascots but for most of its years the mascot walked on two legs instead of four.

While I was a student there was an annual contest during the Drake Relays to crown the most beautiful bulldog but it wasn't an official mascot.  The live mascot that started things again was Porterhouse from 2009 to 2013. Grif, short for John L. Griffith, the first coach in Drake history, followed in 2915. Griff II took over as the official mascot in 2020.

It's a good symbol for a good school.  I'm glad to have it in my collection.  Go Bulldogs!