Who or what is that plump and short, happy, bronze guy sitting in front of Samuel Cupples House?
It is the one and only Saint Louis University mascot, the Billiken. Many persons, including SLU students, question what a Billiken is exactly. Some guess that it is an animal, others guess it is a mystical, imaginative creature. America’s no. 1 paperback dictionary, the Merriam Webster Dictionary, lacks the word entirely.
In any case, the Billiken is so unique that it was named one of the top 25 “Weirdest College Nicknames and Mascots” list compiled by U.S. News and World Report.
The truth of the matter is that the Billiken is a design that was patented in the early 1900s. The original drawing was sketched by an artist from Kansas City, Mo. The name, Billiken was given to the design because it was bought by the Billiken Co. of Chicago, Ill. This company exploited the Billiken in numerous ways, ranging from its manufacture as a child’s bank, formation into statues and many other derivations.
After the design was patented and it flooded the markets, the nation entered a period of craze for the Billiken, given the name Billikenmania. The height of this period was approximately 1910 or 1911.
During the craze, students would doodle the Billiken for fun, and the design would cross faculty members’ paths. During routine practice one day, St. Louis Sports writer William O’Connor decided that Saint Louis University’s football team coach resembled a Billiken, as he was characterized by similar features-a broad grin and small and squinty eyes.
Another person at practice that day drew a picture of coach Bender in the form of a Billiken and posted it in the window of a drugstore near the football practice field. From this, Bender’s football players began to be called Bender’s Billikens.
Other people claim the origin of the Billiken came from the owner of the drugstore, Billy Gunn. He is also reported to having given the nickname Billiken to Bender.
Today, it is popular to believe that rubbing the Billiken’s tummy will result in good luck and fortune. Do students really do this? Junior swimmers and representatives of the Billiken, Bernie Gartland and Christine Smith, say that they do not believe that the Billiken is a good luck charm, and thus they do not participate in the ritual of belly rubbing.
“We wish we had a more vicious mascot to intimidate our opponents,” Gartland said. “The Billiken doesn’t have much power.”
Although members of the student body may not fully admit any ritualism, students can almost be sure to witness several subtle belly rubbings during the many times that they pass the statue.
Having a strange and unique mascot sets SLU apart from other schools. However, one may consider the Billiken to be less strange as compared to the Banana Slugs of the University of California-Santa Cruz, the Tartars of Wayne State University, the Fighting Squirrels of Bradford College and the Wonder Boys of Arkansas Tech University.
