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Location: Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Conference: ACC
Colors: Maroon and Gold School
Song: "For Boston"
A win over St. John's Institute in 1893 by a 4-0 score marked the
beginning of Boston College football. By the 1920s the Eagles had
established themselves as a national power with three undefeated
seasons during the 'roaring' decade.
While the school maintained a winning tradition through the 1930s, it was
head coach Frank Leahy's 1940 squad that took BC football to the top. In
his second and last season at the university, Leahy's Eagles won a claim
to the national championship by outscoring their opponents by a 359-65
margin en route to an 11-0, Sugar Bowl winning season.
One of the stunning wins that season was a 19-18 win over a
Georgetown team that hadn't lost in three years. Famed sportswriter
Grantland Rice was so impressed by the game that he described the
contest as "the greatest game of football ever played."
Boston College lost a majority of its players and coaches to military duty
during World War II. However at war's, the talent returned with the arrival
of the 1946 freshmen class. Three members of the group included future
NFL Hall of Famers Art Donovan and Ernie Stautner and future
Massachusetts Governor Ed King.
Under the coaching direction of Mike Holovak, Jim Miller and Joe Yukica,
the Eagles continued to win throughout the next three decades. Yukica
coached from (1968-77) and posted a BC best 68 victories. However a
large number of winning seasons flew by during their tenure without the
school receiving a bowl bid.
While capturing the nation's attention with his dazzling play, BC
quarterback Doug Flutie helped the Eagles break a 39 year postseason
streak by leading them to three consecutive bowl games beginning in
1982. Flutie wrapped up his magical collegiate career in 1984, but not
before completing a pass that will forever live in BC legacy. The miracle
play was a dramatic, last second touchdown bomb to Gerard Phelan that
gave the Eagles an upset win over Miami. The completed "Hail Mary"
pass was the perfect Heisman Trophy winning compliment to Flutie's
3,454 yards and 27 touchdown passes that season.
NICKNAME: EAGLES
Had it not been for a passionate plea in 1920 by Rev. Edward McLaughlin,
today's Boston College sports teams could be possibly be known as the
"Licking Cats."
That thought might be a stretch, but it was a cartoon portraying the BC
track team as a cat licking clean a plate of its rivals that pushed the
Reverend into action. His letter to The Heights, EC's student newspaper,
suggested that the school seek a more suitable symbol.
"It is important that we adopt a mascot to preside at our pow-wows and
triumphant feats," wrote Rev. McLaughlin. "And why not the Eagle,
symbolic of majesty, power and freedom," he added. Later that year the
Reverend's poetic wishes became a reality when BC officially adopted
the eagle as the school's nickname and mascot
MASCOT: THE EAGLE
Mascot happy hour soon followed, as Boston College received not one,
but two eagles as gifts following their announcements. The birds that
arrived from Texas and New Mexico respectively never warmed up to the
New England lifestyle. One eagle escaped while the other broke its beak
in a failed attempt.
BC officials were spared the trauma of a mascot on the run for the next
40 years when a less mobile symbol served as a replacement. This new
mascot was a golden eagle that sat on the BC perch for 40 years. What
was the key to this bird's longevity? He was a stuffed and mounted eagle
that resided in the athletic department offices.
Margo's arrival in Chestnut Hill ushered in a less "stuffy" era in BC
mascot history. The golden eagle was a 10-pound, two-month-old female
when a Colorado man gave her to the university in 1961. Margo (a
combination of the first letters of the school colors) lived at the Franklin
Park Zoo when she wasn't attending a ballgame. Margo made all BC
home games and made the traveling squad for games against Syracuse,
Holy Cross and Army. However, BC hearts sunk when Margo became ill
prior to the 1966 Navy game and died from a virus.
With the eagle becoming an endangered species at this time, hopes for a
new pair of flapping mascot wings were clipped. The University instead
followed a national trend of putting the live mascots out to pasture and
replaced Margo with a human dressed in an eagle costume?
UNIFORMS: DRESSED TO MEET THE POPE
Despite tremendous fan loyalty for BC teams in the mid 1880's it was
sometimes difficult to measure the amount of support. This problem was
simple one. There were no school colors for BC boosters to wear and
display their allegiances.
A group of students, led by the school-spirited T.J. Hurley (he also wrote
the "Alma Mater" and "For Boston") tackled the color issue at the
University. After considering the color schemes of rival Jesuit schools—
Holy Cross's purple, Fordham's maroon, and Georgetown's blue and
gray, the Papal colors: maroon and gold were selected.
A group of women attending the New England Conservatory of Music
were the ones that first helped the BC colors first fly. They sewn a
banner that flew at every BC event until its sudden and mysterious
disappearance.
GAME DAY TRADITIONS: A SCREAMING GOOD TIME
Football Saturdays at BC aren't complete without the "Screaming
Eagles" marching band stirring up the maroon and gold faithful. The band
cranks up early with the traditional pre-game march across campus. The
band then performs a concert at Commander Shea Field, where BC fans
get together for tailgating. The quest for excitement continues as the
band marches into Alumni Stadium for the purpose of playing an eventual
victory song.
"THE IRON MAJOR"
The life of a World War I hero who later coached for BC was chronicled
on the silver screen in 1943. Actor Pat O'Brien portrayed Frank
Cavanaugh in the movie titled "The Iron Major."
After being badly wounded in the Battle of San Mihiel, Cavanaugh
recovered to launch a College Football Hall of Fame coaching career.
Cavanaugh's first season was highlighted by a 5-3 win over powerful
Yale in 1919. After coaching BC's biggest win in school history to date,
Cavanaugh compiled a 48-14-5 record in eight seasons.
NO REASON TO PARTY AT THE COCONUT GROVE
One of the biggest upsets suffered by BC in its football history might have
been a blessing in the end. The undefeated Eagles were ranked No. 1 in
the country late in the 1942 season with only Holy Cross in the way of
perfection. After a planned dismantling of the Crusaders, a "victory
party" was to be held at Boston's Coconut Grove.
Holy Cross whipped the Eagles 55-12 that day and BC fans and players
became so disenchanted that the party was cancelled. The popular
Coconut Grove nightclub was destroyed by fire that night and 490 people
died while trying to escape the packed building.
Conference: ACC
Colors: Maroon and Gold School
Song: "For Boston"
A win over St. John's Institute in 1893 by a 4-0 score marked the
beginning of Boston College football. By the 1920s the Eagles had
established themselves as a national power with three undefeated
seasons during the 'roaring' decade.
While the school maintained a winning tradition through the 1930s, it was
head coach Frank Leahy's 1940 squad that took BC football to the top. In
his second and last season at the university, Leahy's Eagles won a claim
to the national championship by outscoring their opponents by a 359-65
margin en route to an 11-0, Sugar Bowl winning season.
One of the stunning wins that season was a 19-18 win over a
Georgetown team that hadn't lost in three years. Famed sportswriter
Grantland Rice was so impressed by the game that he described the
contest as "the greatest game of football ever played."
Boston College lost a majority of its players and coaches to military duty
during World War II. However at war's, the talent returned with the arrival
of the 1946 freshmen class. Three members of the group included future
NFL Hall of Famers Art Donovan and Ernie Stautner and future
Massachusetts Governor Ed King.
Under the coaching direction of Mike Holovak, Jim Miller and Joe Yukica,
the Eagles continued to win throughout the next three decades. Yukica
coached from (1968-77) and posted a BC best 68 victories. However a
large number of winning seasons flew by during their tenure without the
school receiving a bowl bid.
While capturing the nation's attention with his dazzling play, BC
quarterback Doug Flutie helped the Eagles break a 39 year postseason
streak by leading them to three consecutive bowl games beginning in
1982. Flutie wrapped up his magical collegiate career in 1984, but not
before completing a pass that will forever live in BC legacy. The miracle
play was a dramatic, last second touchdown bomb to Gerard Phelan that
gave the Eagles an upset win over Miami. The completed "Hail Mary"
pass was the perfect Heisman Trophy winning compliment to Flutie's
3,454 yards and 27 touchdown passes that season.
NICKNAME: EAGLES
Had it not been for a passionate plea in 1920 by Rev. Edward McLaughlin,
today's Boston College sports teams could be possibly be known as the
"Licking Cats."
That thought might be a stretch, but it was a cartoon portraying the BC
track team as a cat licking clean a plate of its rivals that pushed the
Reverend into action. His letter to The Heights, EC's student newspaper,
suggested that the school seek a more suitable symbol.
"It is important that we adopt a mascot to preside at our pow-wows and
triumphant feats," wrote Rev. McLaughlin. "And why not the Eagle,
symbolic of majesty, power and freedom," he added. Later that year the
Reverend's poetic wishes became a reality when BC officially adopted
the eagle as the school's nickname and mascot
MASCOT: THE EAGLE
Mascot happy hour soon followed, as Boston College received not one,
but two eagles as gifts following their announcements. The birds that
arrived from Texas and New Mexico respectively never warmed up to the
New England lifestyle. One eagle escaped while the other broke its beak
in a failed attempt.
BC officials were spared the trauma of a mascot on the run for the next
40 years when a less mobile symbol served as a replacement. This new
mascot was a golden eagle that sat on the BC perch for 40 years. What
was the key to this bird's longevity? He was a stuffed and mounted eagle
that resided in the athletic department offices.
Margo's arrival in Chestnut Hill ushered in a less "stuffy" era in BC
mascot history. The golden eagle was a 10-pound, two-month-old female
when a Colorado man gave her to the university in 1961. Margo (a
combination of the first letters of the school colors) lived at the Franklin
Park Zoo when she wasn't attending a ballgame. Margo made all BC
home games and made the traveling squad for games against Syracuse,
Holy Cross and Army. However, BC hearts sunk when Margo became ill
prior to the 1966 Navy game and died from a virus.
With the eagle becoming an endangered species at this time, hopes for a
new pair of flapping mascot wings were clipped. The University instead
followed a national trend of putting the live mascots out to pasture and
replaced Margo with a human dressed in an eagle costume?
UNIFORMS: DRESSED TO MEET THE POPE
Despite tremendous fan loyalty for BC teams in the mid 1880's it was
sometimes difficult to measure the amount of support. This problem was
simple one. There were no school colors for BC boosters to wear and
display their allegiances.
A group of students, led by the school-spirited T.J. Hurley (he also wrote
the "Alma Mater" and "For Boston") tackled the color issue at the
University. After considering the color schemes of rival Jesuit schools—
Holy Cross's purple, Fordham's maroon, and Georgetown's blue and
gray, the Papal colors: maroon and gold were selected.
A group of women attending the New England Conservatory of Music
were the ones that first helped the BC colors first fly. They sewn a
banner that flew at every BC event until its sudden and mysterious
disappearance.
GAME DAY TRADITIONS: A SCREAMING GOOD TIME
Football Saturdays at BC aren't complete without the "Screaming
Eagles" marching band stirring up the maroon and gold faithful. The band
cranks up early with the traditional pre-game march across campus. The
band then performs a concert at Commander Shea Field, where BC fans
get together for tailgating. The quest for excitement continues as the
band marches into Alumni Stadium for the purpose of playing an eventual
victory song.
"THE IRON MAJOR"
The life of a World War I hero who later coached for BC was chronicled
on the silver screen in 1943. Actor Pat O'Brien portrayed Frank
Cavanaugh in the movie titled "The Iron Major."
After being badly wounded in the Battle of San Mihiel, Cavanaugh
recovered to launch a College Football Hall of Fame coaching career.
Cavanaugh's first season was highlighted by a 5-3 win over powerful
Yale in 1919. After coaching BC's biggest win in school history to date,
Cavanaugh compiled a 48-14-5 record in eight seasons.
NO REASON TO PARTY AT THE COCONUT GROVE
One of the biggest upsets suffered by BC in its football history might have
been a blessing in the end. The undefeated Eagles were ranked No. 1 in
the country late in the 1942 season with only Holy Cross in the way of
perfection. After a planned dismantling of the Crusaders, a "victory
party" was to be held at Boston's Coconut Grove.
Holy Cross whipped the Eagles 55-12 that day and BC fans and players
became so disenchanted that the party was cancelled. The popular
Coconut Grove nightclub was destroyed by fire that night and 490 people
died while trying to escape the packed building.
Mascots, Nicknames & More |
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