In honor of the 4th of July, I thought it might be a good time to revisit one of the symbols BC shares with our great nation: the eagle.
Although the Eagle is now synonymous with BC through statues and other references on campus, we were without an official mascot during our first few decades. In 1920 the Heights published a cartoon showing a cat licking a plate of its sports rivals. Yes, we could have been the "Cats." While that would have inspired plenty of nicknames and unique imagery, Father McLaughlin didn't think a cat was the proper representative for our university. He suggested the eagle due to its majesty, power and freedom. We officially became the "Eagles" that same year.
Contrary to millions of sports writers' work, we are not the "golden eagles." And despite Baldwin's looks and name we are not the "bald eagles" either.
Two other FBS programs also use the eagle as their mascot. Like us Eastern Michigan is just the Eagles. Southern Mississippi uses Golden Eagles.
I can't find any evidence that McLaughlin wanted to tie BC's symbols to those of the United States, but it is a nice connection.
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