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LSU Tigers
History
"Mike the Tiger"
The live Bengal Tiger whose habitat lies across the street from Tiger
Stadium has been a part of the LSU tradition since the early days of
athletics in Baton Rouge (Nov. 21, 1936). Meanwhile, his two-legged
furry costumed counterpart that stalks the sidelines of LSU athletics
events has been on campus since the 1950s.
Mike travels throughout the country with many of the Tiger teams, while
also making public appearances to promote LSU athletics in Baton Rouge
and surrounding communities.
Mike was named "Most Collegiate Mascot" at the UCA Collegiate Camp held
on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa both in 2002
and 2003.
Mike will be appearing in two commercials in the Fall of 2003, including
the ESPN College Game Day commercial and an advertisement for Tippen
Motor Homes. Mike returned from Birmingham, Ala., and Los Angeles,
Calif., in early August when he worked with other mascots from around
the country to shoot these commercials.
The Nickname: "Fighting Tigers"
Way back in the fall of 1896, coach A.W. Jeardeau's LSU football team
posted a perfect 6-0 record, and it was in that pigskin campaign that
LSU first adopted its nickname, Tigers.
"Tigers" seemed a logical choice since most collegiate teams in that
year bore the names of ferocious animals, but the underlying reason why
LSU chose Tigers dates back to the Civil War.
According to Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr., PhD. and the "Guide to Louisiana
Confederate Military Units, 1861-1865" (LSU Press, 1989), the name
Louisiana Tigers evolved from a volunteer company nicknamed the Tiger
Rifles, which was organized in New Orleans. This company became a part
of a battalion commanded by Major Chatham Roberdeau Wheat and was the
only company of that battalion to wear the colorful Zouave uniform. In
time, Wheat's entire battalion was called the Tigers.
That nickname in time was applied to all of the Louisiana troops of
Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. The tiger symbol came from
the famous Washington Artillery of New Orleans. A militia unit that
traces its history back to the 1830s, the Washington Artillery had a
logo that featured a snarling tiger's head. These two units first gained
fame at the Battle of First Manassas on July 21, 1861. Major David
French Boyd, first president of LSU after the war, had fought with the
Louisiana troops in Virginia and knew the reputation of both the Tiger
Rifles and Washington Artillery.
Thus when LSU football teams entered the gridiron battlefields in their
fourth year of intercollegiate competition, they tagged themselves as
the "Tigers."
It was the 1955 LSU "Fourth-Quarter Ball Club" that helped the moniker
"Tigers" grow into the nickname, "Fighting Tigers."
Thanks to Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr., PhD., a historian at the Pamplin
Historical Park, for contributing to the above information.
The Live Bengal Tiger: Mike V
Mike V, the famed live Bengal Tiger that serves as the graphic image of
all LSU athletic teams, begins the 14th year of his reign on the LSU
campus.
He proudly rules over a modern, refurbished domicile, just north of
Tiger Stadium which is divided into two areas: a concrete space
containing a pool and grassy expanse, equipped with a tiger-sized wooden
scratching post and a climbing platform. In addition, there is an indoor
home into which he can retreat to avoid inclement weather with a large
window that allows his fans to view him while inside.
Mike's ride through Tiger Stadium before home games in a cage topped by
the LSU cheerleaders is a school tradition. Before entering the stadium,
his cage on wheels is parked next to the opponent's lockerroom in the
southeast end of the stadium. Opposing players must make their way past
Mike's cage to reach their locker room.
Tradition dictates that for every growl elicited by Mike before a
football game, the Tigers will score a touchdown that night. For many
years, Mike was prompted to roar by pounding on the cage. Objections of
cruel punishment brought about the use of recorded growls to play to the
crowd before the games. That practice was discontinued shortly afterward
and, today, Mike participates in the pregame tradition without
provocation.
The Tiger mascot stopped traveling with the LSU team in 1970 when his
cage overturned on Airline Highway in an accident en route to a game.
Mike IV traveled four times in recent years, though, as he appeared at a
Mardi Gras parade in 1984, the 1985 Sugar Bowl and LSU's basketball
games in the Superdome.
Mike V made his first road trip in December 1991 to the Louisiana
Superdome to witness LSU and Shaquille O'Neal defeat Texas, 84-83.
In the mid-1980's, pranksters cut the locks on Mike IV's cage and freed
him in the early-morning hours just days before the annual LSU-Tulane
clash. Mike roamed free, playfully knocking down several small pine
trees in the area, before being trapped in the Bernie Moore Track
Stadium where police used tranquilizer guns to capture and return the
Bengal Tiger to his home.
The incident was reminiscent of a kidnapping of Mike I many years ago by
Tulane students before a Tiger-Green Wave battle.
MIKE I
In 1936, the original Mike was purchased from the Little Rock Zoo for
$750, with money contributed by the student body. Originally known as
"Sheik" at the time of his purchase, his name was changed to Mike for
Mike Chambers who served as LSU's athletic trainer when the first mascot
was purchased.
Chambers had played football at Illinois where he blocked for the
legendary Red Grange.
The first Mike was housed in the Baton Rouge Zoo for one year before a
permanent home was constructed near Tiger Stadium. Mike I reigned for 20
years before dying of pneumonia in the midst of a six-game LSU losing
streak in 1957.
Fearing the LSU faithful would give up hope upon the death of the
mascot, Mike's death was not made public until the Tigers finally ended
the losing streak.
MIKE II
Served a brief reign, lasting only the 1957 season, before dying of
pneumonia in the spring of 1958. He was born at the Audubon Park Zoo
near the Tulane campus in New Orleans.
MIKE III
Just in time for the 1958 national championship season, Mike III was
purchased from the Seattle Zoo following a "national search" by
then-athletics director Jim Corbett. The student body contributed $1,500
for the purchase of the tiger. Mike III served as mascot for 18 seasons,
dying after the only losing season of his reign as LSU posted a 5-6
record in 1975.
MIKE IV
Mike IV reigned over Tiger athletics for 14 years after being donated to
the school by August A. Busch III from the Dark Continent Amusement Park
in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 29, 1976. Born on May 15, 1974, Mike's age and
health were determining factors in his retirement to the Baton Rouge Zoo
in 1990. The centerpiece of the Zoo's cat exhibit, Mike weighed in at
500 pounds. His only hiatus from the LSU campus before 1990 was the
summer of 1981 which he spent at the Little Rock Zoo while his cage was
being refurbished. Ironically, the Little Rock Zoo was the birthplace of
Mike I. Mike IV died of natural causes in March of 1995 at the age of
21.
MIKE V
The newest tiger mascot was donated by Dr. Thomas and Caroline Atchison
of the Animal House Zoological Park in Molten, Ala. Avid LSU supporter
Charles Becker, a member of the LSU booster group the Tammany Tigers,
put Dr. Sheldon Bivin of the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine in touch
with the Atchisons. Bivin traveled to Alabama and brought the baby tiger
back to Baton Rouge. Born Oct. 18, 1989, the new tiger was introduced to
LSU fans at a basketball game against Alabama in February of 1990. He
officially began his reign on April 30, 1990, when he was moved into the
tiger cage across from Tiger Stadium.
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