Football season is upon us, and Navy fans once again are treated to the familiar sight of Bill XXXVI and Bill XXXVII patrolling the sidelines. However, based on the articles and other documents in Special Collections & Archives’ reference files, we may in fact be looking at Bill XXXV and Bill XXXVI. Or we may have hit Bill XL. Or we could still on Bill XXX. It turns out there were some discrepancies in the goats’ regnal numbers during the mid-20th century.
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| Bill XII, the large goat that started all the trouble when he was nicknamed Bill the Eighth. |
After a goat named “El Cid” debuted in 1893, it still took a few decades for, first goats, then goats named “Bill” to catch on as Navy’s mascot. After Bill the Goat had been established, a Baltimore Sun Magazine writer traced Navy’s mascot history in a 1934 article and dubbed the goat at that time, “Bill XI.” However, confusion soon arose when Bill XI died in 1937 and both the Washington Post and Annapolis Evening Capital referred to him as “Bill VII” and his successor as “Bill VIII.” Did the reporters make a mistake by glossing over Bills IX-XI? Did the academy wish to forget these goats who couldn’t produce a Navy victory over Army in five tries?
Another Baltimore Sun reporter, columnist C.M. Gibbs, decided to get to the bottom of this and launched an investigation in 1940. This prompted the academy to respond with a special football bulletin admitting “that Bill VIII really is alias for Bill XII or some mark thereafter.” The bulletin claimed the number “VIII” was an allusion to King Henry VIII’s large size as this goat too was much larger than his predecessors. The story goes, according to the bulletin, that when the new goat was presented to the midshipmen, he “took everyone so by surprise that the first one to regain his breath gasped out ‘Bill the Eighth.’” As for Bill VIII’s predecessor, the bulletin explained he was dubbed Bill VII after a 7-0 victory over Army in 1936 “coupled with the crap shooter’s belief that seven is a lucky number.”
However, even after the mistake was exposed, the erroneous numbering continued, and when Bill VIII died in 1941, the local newspapers and the midshipman publication, the Log of the United States Naval Academy, would hail the arrival of Bill IX. Bill X followed in 1945, as did Bill XI in 1947. When Navy’s mascot was goatnapped in 1952 and again in 1953, the Capital identified him as Bill XII.
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Bill XIII, alias Bill X, alias Chester, on the sideline with Penn State's Nittany Lion, no alias. |
However, soon after, another comprehensive history of Navy’s mascots was written, reverting to the regnal numbers from the original 1934 article. An updated version of this article was published in the Log in 1966, setting the record straight once and for all. Whether the article was published when it was first written is unknown, but a 1955 article in the Capital announced the arrival of a new mascot dubbed “Bill XV” as heir apparent to the reigning Bill XIV, never having published an article referring to Bill XIII.
Just one thing though: the corrected list of Navy goats missed the death of Bill XII (a.k.a. Bill VIII) in 1941 and shows him living until 1945, when it was actually his successor who died. However, all subsequent chronicles of Navy’s mascots in the reference file agree with this list, so today’s Bills are probably misnumbered. They may not be off by one number either. The 1940s saw a number of replacements hastily brought in following the untimely death of the reigning mascot, only to lose their position when more impressive animals were given to the academy. That is a story for another post but the next time you see a goat on Navy’s sideline, feel free to ask, “which Bill is that?”
Sources:
Charles, Alfred D. "A New Mascot for the Navy." Baltimore Sun. November 4, 1934. 12-13.
"Navy's Former Mascot Dies." Annapolis Evening Capital. December 13,1937.
"Bill 7th, Navy's Champion Mascot, Claimed by Death." Washington Post. December 14, 1937. B 19
Navy Football Bulletin, undated.
"Bill IX Died Last Night No Successor Found to Replace Navy Mascot." Annapolis Capital. August 10, 1945. Page 1.
"Meet 'Bill X.'" Log of the United States Naval Academy. November 23, 1945. Page 25.
"Bill XII, Navy's Grid Mascot, Stolen." Annapolis Evening Capital. October 10, 1952. Page 1
"Navy's New Goat Mascot Known to Love Football: He Eats 'Em." Annapolis Evening Capital. October 8, 1955.
A History of Bill, the Navy Mascot, undated.
"A History of Bill, the Navy Mascot." Log of the United States Naval Academy. October 14, 1966. Page 14.
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