The Boston College Eagle Origins and Development of the University Mascot

More Than a Mascot: A Symbol for the University

In October 1954 Boston College received the statue of an eagle that had been in a Japanese garden on the estate of Larz Anderson in Brookline, Massachusetts. The garden was designed and planted in 1907, and a photograph in 1909 clearly shows the eagle. This happened before Anderson’s appointment as ambassador to Japan (1912-1913).

Bronze eagle at the Anderson estate

Bronze eagle at Alumni Hall, Boston College

After the deaths of Larz Anderson and his wife Isabel, many possessions of the estate were distributed to people who had worked for the Andersons. They included Augustus (Gus) M. Anderson (no relation), who had been born on the estate and had worked as a private secretary for Isabel Anderson for over 40 years. “Gus” wanted to find a good place for the statue. He had displayed it outside his house but was worried about damage from hurricanes and other storms. He was a fan of Boston College and knew that its mascot was the eagle. Working with Thomas M. Herlihy, SJ, pastor of St. Ignatius Parish, Gus Anderson donated the statue to the college. We are grateful to Augustus Anderson’s daughter, Betty Anderson Riley, and her cousin, Gerry Hayes, for providing much of this information. The garden photograph was taken by Isabel Anderson and published in House and Garden magazine in 1909. Mrs. Riley told us about an earlier connection between Isabel Anderson and Boston College: Mrs. Anderson wrote a play, “Dick Whittington,” which BC students performed enthusiastically in the 1930’s.
In 1957, Boston College received the column and base of the Admiral George Dewey Memorial from the city of Boston. The memorial had stood in front of South Station in Dewey Square and was taken down to make way for the Central Artery project. The column was placed in front of Gasson Hall, at the end of Linden Lane, and the eagle sculpture was mounted on the top.

Installation of the bronze eagle

Bronze eagle installed on the Dewey Memorial column on Linden Lane

The prominent placement of the statue was clear evidence of the eagle’s importance to the identity of the university.
In 1993, the original bronze sculpture was replaced with an exact replica. Due to the harsh New England winters, the original had begun to crack and could not withstand the natural elements for much longer. The work was done by Skylight Studios (Woburn, Massachusetts), a firm that has handled restoration projects for the Museum of Fine Arts. The firm first made cosmetic repairs to the original, then created a mold and finally cast a replica. Like the original, the identical replica stands four feet high and has a six-foot wingspan.

Tom Cipolla cleaning the sculpture as he created a mold of it

Boston College Chronicle

The eagle sculpture in front of Gasson Hall

Today the eagle sculpture in front of Gasson Hall is one of the most photographed locations on Boston College’s campus. It has become almost a rite of passage for proud parents to take photographs of newly admitted students or graduating seniors in front of the statue, with Gasson Hall in the background.
Boston College unveiled a new logo for Boston College athletics in 2000. The logo is a modernized version of past logos that incorporate the interlocking letters “BC” with an eagle in the center. It appears on all varsity uniforms, athletic facilities, official athletic department publications and a variety of clothing and giftware. The university also designed a logo incorporating the image of the mascot Baldwin for use as a secondary logo and in children’s marketing.

Boston College logo with eagle

Football game program showing the eagle statue

Box 1, Boston College Athletic Programs, BC1997-06

A second eagle statue is located in front of the Silvio O. Conte Forum, near Alumni Stadium. Conte is the main arena for the basketball and hockey teams and houses the offices of most of the university’s coaches and other athletic staff members. The statue was given to the university by the Class of 1939 and, in fact, predates Conte. It originally stood in front of the Roberts Center (the facility that Conte Forum replaced). Reproduced here is the cover from the 1966 program of a football game played between Boston College and the College of the Holy Cross. The artist shows his interpretation of this eagle statue confronting the “crusader” of Holy Cross.
The eagle’s importance has expanded beyond a mascot’s typical role as a rallying point for athletic events. Though adopted less than a century ago, the eagle was quickly integrated into the University’s institutional identity, and has become the paramount public symbol representing Boston College to the outside world.

The eagle sculpture in front of Gasson Hall

Mascot: Live, Stuffed, and Costumed
Further reading