Every college has a mascot, but the Phoenix College Bear is listed in national publications as one of the oldest and most colorful.

The bear is a symbol for teachers, healers and leaders in Native American lore. In 1902 Clifford Berryman, an American cartoonist, drew a cartoon showing President Theodore Roosevelt refusing to shoot a bear.

About the same time, Morris Michtom, a part-time toy maker, wrote Roosevelt asking permission to use the name Teddy in connection with his American made stuffed bear. Teddy Bear was born, an icon with which America and Phoenix Junior College students fell in love.

Old-timers tell the story about how in 1920, a PJC student secured the black bear cub from a touring circus for $25.00 and brought it to the campus. Now Phoenix Junior College had a frisky mascot bear cub and the athletic teams took the name "The Bears."

Unlike the UofA Wildcat, ASU's Sun Devil and NAU's Lumberjack, mere figures, PJC had a real Black Bear Cub representing school spirit.

Two heavy chain leashes were fastened to his leather collar and the cub came to all the early football games with an escort on each side.

He seemed to know when the going was rough on the grid and would stand on his haunches and bellow.

The students forgot that he was a living thing with the capacity for growth. When classes convened the following fall, everyone was astonished at the size of the full grown black bear.

He still went to games; but he was much harder to control. Reluctantly, the students and administration realized that the black bear was no longer safe to bring to the games and sadly concluded that he might be happier somewhere else -- perhaps at a zoo.

Now the students had need of a different bear mascot, or at least a symbol of one. The PC Bear, symbol of the college Spirit, has taken at least five different forms during his 47-year history.

Part of the Phoenix College website. Rendered on 8/12/98.