From Cubs to Costumes: The Evolution of the UCLA Bruin Mascot
Joe and Josephine Bruin are such beloved mascots that it’s hard to imagine a time when UCLA had a different mascot. But it actually wasn’t until 1926 that the university settled on the Bruins. Even after the mascot was chosen, the Bruin image changed quite a bit over the years.The Bruin remains a roaring symbol of UCLA pride to this day. How the UCLA mascots have evolved over the years to become the beloved bears we know today.
Early Days: From Rags to Cubs
When UCLA was initially founded as the Southern Branch of the University of California in 1919, it was originally an annex of what is now San Jose State University. At that time, the school only had an unofficial mascot, a dog named Rags, who lived on campus. Alas, Rags’ reign as a Westwood mascot was to be short-lived. As the Southern Branch evolved into the second campus in the University of California system, Rags seemed more campus pet than institutional fixture.
As the Southern Branch evolved into UCLA, a rebrand brought forward a new school mascot: the Cubs. The cub mascot had an excellent initial run as the mascot, with students toting around a teddy bear around campus with a blue and gold bow to represent the school. Indeed, the UCLA Cubs felt like a natural progression from UC Berkeley’s Golden Bears; students carried teddy bears that had blue and gold ribbons around their fluffy brown necks. It was fun to be in a new school with a young cub representing the school so well. Things got exciting (and maybe did some foreshadowing) in 1922 when the Cubs won their conference's basketball tournament. After the tournament, a live bear was brought to campus to celebrate.
The Brief Reign of the Grizzlies
Looking to shed its roots as the Southern Branch and distinguish itself from UC Berkeley, UCLA chose the grizzly bear as its new representative in 1924. So SBUC turned into UCLA, and the school became its own institution; the students felt it was time for a mascot a little more intimidating than a cub. The students voted and changed the mascot to a Grizzly. While students and faculty welcomed the “Grizzlies” with open arms.
The Bruin is Born: Settling on a Mascot
However, the mascot fell flat when UCLA looked to join the Pacific Coast Conference, now the Pac-12, in 1926. When UCLA entered the Pacific Coast Conference (not quite the Pac-12 yet), the University of Montana was not happy that UCLA was also using the "Grizzly" as a mascot. The University of Montana, an established member of the conference, already held a claim to the grizzly as mascot and was not willing to share it with its southern neighbors. So, UCLA went back to the drawing board.
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No stone went unturned, and no possible mascot went ignored - students considered everything from buccaneers to gorillas to panthers, but every option lacked the familiar ursine charm that UCLA fanatics had grown to love. Students countered every potential mascot with a new kind of bear, offering Kodiaks, Silvertips, Bezudos and Bruins as possible monikers, though UC Berkeley had been using “Bruin” alternately with “Bears” for decades. After weeks of heated debate, Berkeley leaders offered their sister campus the Bruins. UCLA took the new symbol in stride.
Live Bears and Hollywood Rentals
Now that UCLA was forever the Bruins, things started to get interesting. Students continued their devout Bruin pride and commitment in the subsequent decades. Now that UCLA finally determined a mascot, it was time to find a live Bruin to entertain the crowd at sports games. From the 1930s to the mid 1960s, several bears were brought to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for home games. In the 1930s UCLA would actually bring a live bear to UCLA's home football games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The school would rent bears from Hollywood studios to entertain the crowd, and that they did. When the Coliseum eventually banned live bears, students and alumni decided to take matters into their own hands.
Joe and Josephine: The Live Mascot Era
But again! UCLA needed a mascot to represent the Bruin. So in 1950, students and alums got Little Joe Bruin, a Himalayan bear cub from India. In 1950, UCLA purchased Little Joe Bruin, a Himalayan bear cub from India; in 1961, alumni purchased Josephine Bruin to accompany Little Joe. They would keep him in secret locations; however, the cub grew too large and was sent to a circus. There were several iterations, with UCLA students trying to hide a live bear in and around campus. There was a "Josephine" who was purchased in 1961 and kept in the backyard of an alums house, but she was ultimately taken to the San Diego Zoo. Alas, bear-keeping turned out to be a bit more work than anyone had anticipated, and both Joe and Josie eventually headed to the San Diego Zoo and the circus, respectively. According to the Daily Bruin, UCLA even had live bear mascots between 1950-1960, which is where Joe and Josephine Bruin got their names. The first Joe Bruin was a Himalayan bear cub that eventually had to be sent to the circus because it outgrew its caretakers’ capacity to handle it. Josephine Bruin was also a bear cub and she was kept in the backyard of the Rally Committee chairman until she grew too big and moved to the San Diego Zoo.
The Modern Mascot: Costumed Characters and Rivalry Antics
Today, the Joe and Josie Bruin who cavort along at games and rallies are just as furry as their predecessors, though not quite as deadly. Students cloaked in anonymity (a time-honored tradition ensures that no one knows who’s inside the costume) carry UCLA’s lengthy mascot past - and an eight-pound head - on their shoulders.
According to a Daily Bruin article, there were several designs of the Joe Bruin mascot, each with its own distinct personality. A design from the early 90’s was a chill surfer and partier, while another design from later in the decade bulked up and was nicknamed “Steroid Joe” by fans. Now, Joe and Josie Bruin are a central part of the UCLA Spirit Squad and perform at football games, basketball games and select Olympic sports throughout the season, as well as special on and off-campus events. Interested in wearing the Joe or Josie Bruin costume?
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The USC-UCLA rivalry just might bring out the best in both universities. In the days leading up to Saturday’s game, campus police will add mascot surveillance and prankster patrol to their crackdowns on jaywalkers and metered-parking scofflaws. “You can never be too careful because you never know what college kids might try,” said a USC campus security officer patrolling Tommy Trojan territory late last week. “Nobody really tries to hurt Tommy anymore. They hurt stuffed bears instead.” UCLA Bruin miniatures, actually. It’s common practice this week for USC students to rope stuffed bears to their ankles, car bumpers and bicycle seats, dragging them around campus until they’re soiled and missing limbs. Reports of bear beatings, bear mutilations and bears set afire have surfaced through the years, along with the foiled plots to toilet paper the body and string aluminum cans to the hind legs of the Bruin. USC fraternity brothers swipe a large stuffed bear known as Joe Bruin from the foyer of the Bruin Theatre in Westwood before the crosstown rivalry football game in 1952.
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tags: #ucla #stuffed #bear #history
