Memorial Hall Bulldog

Memorial Hall Bulldog
Gene Owens
1958
Sculpture: Bronze; Base: Black Marble

Who was the University of Georgia mascot before Uga? Although the first official mascot of the university was the goat, other bulldogs also took on the role before the Uga legacy. Mike, an English Bulldog, was the mascot from 1951 to 1955 and was the last official mascot before Uga I was introduced in 1956. He was the inspiration and model behind this sculpture, cast by Gene Owens as his master’s thesis project in 1958. Owens, then a graduate student from Fort Worth, Texas, spent half of a year working on his project: a full three months on preliminary sketches alone! The bronze sculpture has since found its place in the realm of UGA student culture at its location at the center of campus. Many different events happen in the space just steps away from its base. It was once even the site of chicken sacrifices after the sculpture’s installation!

The bulldog, and the building nearby, Memorial Hall, also surprisingly played a role in Black student life after UGA integrated in 1961. It was the designated hangout spot for Black students where they could freely express themselves. Black fraternities and sororities also thrived at Memorial. All this helped cement the building and its surroundings as an important hub of the cultivation of Black culture at UGA.