Handsome Dan is a bulldog that serves as the mascot of Yale University's sports teams. In addition to a person wearing a costume, the position is filled by an actual bulldog, the honor and title being transferred to a successor upon death or retirement.

Handsome Dan I

Active 1889–1897 (retired to England).<br />

thumb|upright|The original Handsome Dan, bought by [[Yale University|Yale tackle Andrew Graves in 1889]]

Handsome Dan was selected based on his ability to tolerate bands and children, negative reaction to the color crimson and to tigers (the symbols of rival schools Harvard and Princeton respectively), bought by Yale student Andrew Barbey Graves, who cleaned up the dog and named him “Handsome Dan.” Soon, Dan followed Graves everywhere around campus, including sporting events. The students quickly adopted Dan as the Yale mascot. After Graves graduated and returned to England, Dan stayed on campus with his master's brother, William Leon Graves. According to the Hartford Courant, "In personal appearance, he seemed like a cross between an alligator and a horned frog, and he was called handsome by the metaphysicians under the law of compensation. The title came to him, he never sought it. He was always taken to games on a leash, and the Harvard football team for years owed its continued existence to the fact that the rope held."

Handsome Dan II

Active 1933–1937 (died of a broken leg).<br />

After a 35-year interval, Handsome Dan II was purchased with pennies donated by the freshman class, and given to coach Ducky Pond. Handsome Dan II was dognapped by Harvard students the day before the 1934 Harvard-Yale football game, and Yale students were alarmed at photographs of him happily seated at the foot of the statue of John Harvard in Harvard Yard, having a snack.

Handsome Dan IV

Active 1938–1940 (retired due to injury).<br />

Handsome Dan IV had his spine fractured by a car early in his term of office, leaving his hind legs paralyzed. Until he eventually died in 1940, a bulldog named Bull served in his place, becoming Handsome Dan V. ascended to office when Handsome Dan IV died. It was reported that he died from fear of fireworks at the Yale-Harvard game, or of shame from seeing the Yale team lose to both Princeton and Harvard in the same year.

Handsome Dan VIII

Active 1952 (retired due to emotional instability).<br />

Up to this point, Handsome Dans had lived at the Yale Boathouse and were cared for in a somewhat haphazard fashion.

Handsome Dan VIII, however, was owned by assistant football manager Tom Shutt, ushering in a new era of family membership for the office-holder. Nevertheless, he had to retire after only two games due to intense discomfort with public appearances. (confirming the hypothesis that bulldogs cannot swim, due to the peculiarities of their physiques); some contemporary news reports say that he had to be resuscitated after having had his head embedded in the mud. "Maurice" served in office longer than any other Handsome Dan; he was the only holder of the office to come out of retirement to serve again, due to the death of his successor, "Whizzer".

At his first Harvard-Yale Game in 2005, Handsome Dan XVI was briefly stolen by a pair of Harvard undergraduates, in response to a Yale student stealing the Harvard flag and running across the field back to the Yale side with it. The two lured him into the Harvard student section of the Yale Bowl as he chewed a toy depicting a Harvard football player. Yale University Police recovered him, unharmed but without his Yale sweater, a few minutes later.

Handsome Dans traditionally reign for a lifetime, but Mugsy retired and lived with his owner Bob Sansone in Hamden.

Handsome Dan XVII

Active 2006–2016 (died of heart attack).<br />

thumb|upright|An inflatable Handsome Dan bulldog, on display during the 2007 Harvard-Yale game

A new bulldog named Sherman quietly assumed the mascot position as Handsome Dan XVII in late winter 2006.

Bred by Diane Judy of Johnson City, Tenn., Handsome Dan XVII, a 50-pound bulldog, was the half brother of Rambo, owned by former Yale football captain Rory Hennessey.

Handsome Dan XVIII

Active 2016–2021 (retired).<br />

Handsome Dan XVIII was announced as mascot on November 17, 2016. He was born September 23, 2016, to breeders Jessica and Pete Seiders of Wicked Good Bulldogges in Maine. After generations of English Bulldog mascots, the university chose a healthier breed and closer replication of the original Handsome Dan. Handsome Dan XVIII was an Olde English Bulldogge, also known as a Victorian Bulldog, a recreation of the Victorian Era Bulldog bred for health and temperament.

Handsome Dan XVIII's football record was 3–1 against Harvard and 24–7 overall through the 2019 season. The new keeper of the mascot, called Walter at home, was Kevin Discepolo (Yale ’09), a former lacrosse player turned Yale’s assistant athletic director of facilities, operations, and events.

On 5 November 2020, it was announced that Handsome Dan XVIII would retire in early spring 2021 following the October departure of Discepolo, though it was not known whether there was a causal link.

Handsome Dan XIX

thumb|Handsome Dan XIX (Kingman) (March 2022)

Active 2021–present.

Handsome Dan XIX was announced as mascot on March 18, 2021. He was born January 2, 2021, and is a nephew of his predecessor Handsome Dan XVIII. Like his predecessor he is an Olde English Bulldogge aka Victorian Bulldog produced by Jessica and Pete Seiders of Wicked Good Bulldogges from Maine. In addition to being known as Handsome Dan, he was named "Kingman" by his handler, Kassandra “Kassie” Haro, after the late Yale president of the same name.

The Shake Shack location in New Haven, Connecticut, features a menu item named after Handsome Dan, called the Handsome Dog. The Handsome Dog, which features beer-marinated deep-fried onions and two kinds of cheese, debuted at the New Haven location but can now be found at all other Shake Shack locations, albeit as the Dapper Dog.

The TV series Gilmore Girls, which is set in Connecticut, makes several references to the Handsome Dan Statue.

In the TV series Gossip Girl, Blair Waldorf is given a pet bulldog by her father in season 2, episode 16. The bulldog is named Handsome Dan in honor of Blair's aspirations to attend Yale following high school. Blair shortens his name to "Handsome". Blair's scheming results in her losing her acceptance to Yale, and she gives the bulldog away to a homeless man. However, she later orders him back. When her father returns to France, he forces his daughter to let him take “Handsome” back with him, as he is disappointed with her.

In the movie Wayne's World 2, Handsome Dan is a radio personality for WPIG. Despite his name, he isn't classically handsome. Harry Shearer played the role.

See also

  • List of individual dogs

References

  • Yale's mascot homepage