Greetings everybody. Have you ever wondered what happen to the last BHS Bulldog? Yes, where is Rocky the Bulldog? Good question. Rocky and his sidekick Winston are now in the Marines. Yes, they both enlisted at the Marine Barracks in Panama. They are now both stationed at Quantico, Virginia. Like all Marines they are ready to go at a moments notice. Make no bones about it. Rocky and Winston may be dogs but they are Marines first.
Rocky and Winston are descendants of the original bulldog that came to Panama on President’s Teddy Roosevelt’s visit. While Teddy was staying at the Tivoli Guest House, legend has it, that an all night poker game with Colonel George W. Goethals, Dr. William Gorgas, Presidente Amador Guerrero, Colonel John T. Mahoney of the Marine Barracks and President Teddy Roosevelt...Bully the President’s Bulldog changed hands. Bully was all for staying in Panama, for the dog had taken a shine to another bulldog name Sally. So, when Teddy Roosevelt left Panama onboard the battleship USS Louisiana BB-19, Bully stayed behind in Panama with Presidente Amador’s bulldog sally. Bully returned to the states on the battleship USS Arkansas BB-33. This ship had brought President Taft to the Panama Canal Zone in December of 1912.
It is not clear when Balboa High School adopted a bulldog for its mascot, but soon a few Canal Zone families living in Balboa had bulldogs as family pets. The bulldog deeply lined face resembles a tired aging prizefighter. They can appear very intimidating, but to those it knows and loves they are very calm and gentle. It is very devoted and loyal to its master. The original Bulldog had to be a very ferocious animal. They were bred from a long line of fighting ancestors; they grew to be so savage and so courageous as to be almost insensitive to pain. They could take on bulls and bears and any animal with such savagery that many were astonish at its extraordinary courage possessed by these dogs. Such was the trademark of these early Bulldogs… a perfect mascot for BHS.
Some say that at many home football games there was always a bulldog on the sideline. This is true because I saw Mr. Jack Muldoon’s bulldog bullet at the games. He was a favorite. Mr. Muldoon attended all the home games and some of the away games at Cristobal High School on the next side. Through the years the BHS Alumni has been proud of being bulldogs. This symbol of tenacity of spirit has been passed down from class to class. The bulldog has adorned T-shirts, yearbooks, caps, football programs, and almost anything that was ever associated with Balboa High School. The Bulldog has been King in the Canal Zone.
By a quirk of history a central symbol, a bulldog, in the lore of a moss-banked fountain in the heart of the ancient village of Belleau, France, has become an icon for the US Marine Corp. Of course the Bulldog fountain predates the arrival of the Marines in 1918. This is the same place that the Chateau of Belleau in Belleau Wood is located. When the Marines took Belleau Wood from the Germans in June 1918, they had just been dubbed Teufelhunden, "devil dogs" by the Germans. The Leathernecks quite cheerfully adopted this nickname. Almost at once, depiction of fierce helmeted bulldogs began appearing on recruiting posters. The unrelenting fighting spirit has been embodied in this manifest creature the bulldog.
So, what does this all have to do with the BHS Bulldog Rocky and Winston?
Maybe nothing and maybe again quite a bit... If you are ever in Washington DC in the summer, you can see the Marine’s mascot, Sally, on evening parade at 8th & I streets. The Marines are very proud of her. Sally will give a distinctive paw print and will pose for the camera. But don’t expect her to smile. Semper FI.
A few parting thoughts:
1. You might be a BHS Bulldog, if more Chagres River water is outside the water bowl than in it.
2. You snore louder than the Panama Canal Railroad Train going through Mount Hope.
3. You drool your Panama Beer more than your grandpa.
Did this really happen? Some of you out there may say some disparaging remarks...but these we have with us always. Those who do not believe in Magic! For many a time I have been told by those that were there, when it seemed that BHS would lose a very close football game, as the seconds ticked down, Rocky or Winston would growl..........and like magic BHS would win another close game to stay undefeated.
What is the message? “Nurture your mind with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes.”
----- Benjamin Disraeli
PS: You know that when I was at BHS we often had a bulldog on the sidelines especially for the football games.
