Exhibit item:
The 1895 Track Team Golden Bear Banner
Collection of University Archives
Original banner on loan to the Hall of Fame in California Memorial Stadium

Exhibit item:
The 1895 Berkeley Track Team, photograph
Views of Track and Field Events, University Archives

In the spring of 1895, the UC track team traveled east and became the first University athletic team to compete outside the state. They carried two blue silk banners bearing grizzlies embroidered in gold. The team was successful beyond expectations, winning the Western Intercollegiate Meet in Chicago. At the jubilant homecoming, the team's banners were proudly displayed and inspired Professor of English Charles Mills Gayley, to compose the lyrics of the song "The Golden Bear." This was the beginning of the tradition of the California Grizzly as mythical guardian of the University.