Mississippi Agricultural & Mechanical College, now known as Mississippi State University’s athletic teams are called The Bulldogs, a name earned and maintained over the decades by the rough and tough, tenacious play of student-athletes wearing the Maroon and White. The official school mascot is an AKC registered English Bulldog, given the inherited title of ‘Bully’.

On November 30, 1905, the Mississippi A&M football team shut out their arch-rivals from the University of Mississippi, 11-0 in Jackson. The school newspaper, The Reflector, reported: “After the game, filled with that emotion that accompanies every great victory, there was nothing left for the cadets to do but to complete the great victory by showing sympathy for the dead athletic spirit of the Ole Miss, by having a military funeral parade.”

So, a coffin was secured, decorated with University colors and a bulldog pup placed on top. It was then placed on the shoulders of a dozen cadets, and the procession started down Capitol Street, preceded by the brass band playing a very pathetic funeral march.”

Use as an official game mascot began in 1935 when coach Major Ralph Sasse, on “orders” from his team, went to Memphis, TN, to select a bulldog. “Ptolemy”, a gift of the Edgar Webster family, was chosen and the Bulldogs promptly beat Alabama 20-7.

A litter-mate of “Ptolemy” became the first mascot called ‘Bully’ shortly after Sasse’s team beat mighty Army 13-7 at West Point that same year, perhaps the greatest victory in MSU football history. However, “Bully I” unfortunately earned other fame, in 1939 when a campus bus cut his career and life short.

Days of campus mourning followed, as “Bully” lay in state in a glass coffin. A half-mile funeral procession accompanied by the Famous Maroon Band and three ROTC battalions went to Scott Field where Bully was buried under the bench at the 50-yard line. Even LIFE Magazine covered to the event.

Over the years, “Bully” was a target for dog-nappers. The last incident occurring prior to the 1974 “Egg Bowl”, but it didn’t matter. The Bulldogs won the game anyway, 31-13. (Ha! Take THAT Ole Miss!)

While early “Bullys” tended to roam campus freely or live in frat houses, today, the official university mascot is housed at the College of Veterinary Medicine when not on duty at MS State’s home football games. For all their fierce appearance and reputation, today’s mascot bulldogs are good-natured, friendly animals and favorites among all fans.