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Kinda of OT but need help with the history of the Bradley Brave

M

Monmouth_Bradley_Fan

New member
Me and a partner are doing a presentation on the recent mascott debacles that have effected both bradley and Illinois. However, I am struggling to find much if any concrete help on the history of the brave. For example, when it was first established, old pictures, other mascotts that have been used and at what dates. Essentially I am looking for some sort of time line that refers directly at the history of the bradley brave, or any other mascotss that may have been used (EX. Bobcat in the 90's). So if anyone can help me out in any way it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks alot in advance fellow fanatics.
 
Not sure how much time you have, but I'd recommend interviewing someone who's had a long tenure at BU as a primary source. Maybe squirrelgotdead is a good source though.

But I'm sure you can also walk into the athletics office and ask around. Maybe score a short interview with someone.

I think you'd be surprised how helpful people might be if you just ask around.
 
When I get time I can help...
I have tons of old literature and yearbooks...
the Bradley teams were called the "B-Men", Techmen (Bradley was officially Bradley Polytechnic Institute 'til the 40's) and even the Redmen up 'til the mid 30's, when the likeness of an Indiana Chief was first used (1935), but the team was not called the Braves until later...in 1936....

here's an old thread and the 3rd post in this thread from 2005 may answer some of your questions
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=39
 
I don't have any official knowledge, and there are probaly people who know mose specifics. But, looking back into old media guides and yearbooks, the Bradley athletic teams were referred to as "The Braves" after WW2, and their uniform warmups had a logo of a stately Indian chief profile that continued through the 50's. But none of the programs or media guides show any indication of a mascot until a child-like Indian cartoon creature named "Lil Brave" started to appear in the mid '50s and lasted into the early 70's. This Lil Brave was replaced by an indian character holding a tomahawk in the mid 70's until the early 80's, then by an Indian Chief's head profile again in the mid 80's.
There was also an Indian Chief character that appeared in the '60's and performed at halftimes of games into the late '70s when it became frowned upon. There was a very short-lived mascot, a student dressed up in a goofy Indian costume as Brad E. Lee in the mid '70s, but that only lasted 1-2 years, also giving way to pressure from native American groups. Then, of course, there was Tommy Hawk for a few years in the 80's and early 90's, I think.

Looking into prewar yearbooks, the teams were mainly referred to as simply the Bradley men or varsity team. Occasionally terms like B-men and Indians are used, but they do not seem to be a reference to an official nickname.
 
Da Coach said:
I don't have any official knowledge, and there are probaly people who know mose specifics. But, looking back into old media guides and yearbooks, the Bradley athletic teams were referred to as "The Braves" after WW2, and their uniform warmups had a logo of a stately Indian chief profile that continued through the 50's. But none of the programs or media guides show any indication of a mascot until a child-like Indian cartoon creature named "Lil Brave" started to appear in the mid '50s and lasted into the early 70's. This Lil Brave was replaced by an indian character holding a tomahawk in the mid 70's until the early 80's, then by an Indian Chief's head profile again in the mid 80's.
There was also an Indian Chief character that appeared in the '60's and performed at halftimes of games into the late '70s when it became frowned upon. There was a very short-lived mascot, a student dressed up in a goofy Indian costume as Brad E. Lee in the mid '70s, but that only lasted 1-2 years, also giving way to pressure from native American groups. Then, of course, there was Tommy Hawk for a few years in the 80's and early 90's, I think.

Looking into prewar yearbooks, the teams were mainly referred to as simply the Bradley men or varsity team. Occasionally terms like B-men and Indians are used, but they do not seem to be a reference to an official nickname.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great history lesson. My personal favorite is the Lil Brave.

If anyone can come up with quality images to add to this history lesson, I would be keen on getting access to them as well. It would be great to see some archived footage from fans with regard to Brad E. Lee, Tommy Hawk and the Bobcat disaster.
 
wow guys thanks for the help so far, that is a pretty good timeline. Unfortunately I have to give this presentation tomorrow, and unfortunately I do not have access to all of the yearbooks because I am not at Bradley I'm at Monmouth College. However, thanks a ton because I can use some of this stuff definitly!
 
Da Coach said:
I don't have any official knowledge, and there are probaly people who know mose specifics. But, looking back into old media guides and yearbooks, the Bradley athletic teams were referred to as "The Braves" after WW2, and their uniform warmups had a logo of a stately Indian chief profile that continued through the 50's. But none of the programs or media guides show any indication of a mascot until a child-like Indian cartoon creature named "Lil Brave" started to appear in the mid '50s and lasted into the early 70's. This Lil Brave was replaced by an indian character holding a tomahawk in the mid 70's until the early 80's, then by an Indian Chief's head profile again in the mid 80's.
There was also an Indian Chief character that appeared in the '60's and performed at halftimes of games into the late '70s when it became frowned upon. There was a very short-lived mascot, a student dressed up in a goofy Indian costume as Brad E. Lee in the mid '70s, but that only lasted 1-2 years, also giving way to pressure from native American groups. Then, of course, there was Tommy Hawk for a few years in the 80's and early 90's, I think.

Looking into prewar yearbooks, the teams were mainly referred to as simply the Bradley men or varsity team. Occasionally terms like B-men and Indians are used, but they do not seem to be a reference to an official nickname.
Click to expand...

Brad E. Lee (a guy on my floor wore the suit) was mid to late 80's just prior to removal of the mascot, led by "Chief Michael Haney" and Bradley Sociology prof Zev Gorin.

I am not sure, but the Tommy Hawk character may have been a promotional deal as I believe it was sponsored by WMBD.
 
Check The Scout online, a few weeks ago there was a front page article talking about how the mascot debate was being brought up by student senate. They had a pretty good picture timeline on the front page with the story.
 
Speaking of the Scout, if you know anyone who writes for it, they may let you check out the archive. They have books bound for every year, dating back to the 1940's I believe. You'll probably need to head to the Sisson office and ask to look at it there, they probably won't let you remove any. There was a lot written about the mascot stuff in 2005 and 2006 if you can only find recent stuff.
 
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