Why an eagle?
The first thing to understand is that no one had anything against cats. It just seemed that Boston College was deserving of a mascot grander—more majestic—than a common tabby. In 1920, a local newspaper cartoon created a stir when it used a cat to represent the victorious BC track team finishing off a plate of its rivals. That caused alumnus Fr. Edward McLaughlin—writing under a pseudonym—to fire off a letter to the student newspaper demanding that “we adopt a mascot to preside at our pow-wows and triumphant feats.” McLaughlin had in mind a powerful creature whose natural habitat was the “heights”: “How proud would the BC man feel to see the BC Eagle snatching the trophy of victory from old opponents, their tattered banner clutched in his talons as he flies aloft.” Who could argue with that? Well, some did, and the owl and the antelope came up for consideration. But the eagle prevailed and became BC’s mascot. Gifts of two live eagles were sent from the Southwest, which turned out to be
