Victor E. Bull
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Buffalo's first unofficial mascot was a 175-pound bison head nicknamed "Boscoe,"[4] which was given to the students by two alumni in 1934 at the first Homecoming football game.[4][14] It is unknown where the location of the bison head is now.[4][14]
In 1957, Buffalo acquired its first live mascot when Mike Todd and Elizabeth Taylor gave UB's cheerleaders a seven-month-old black Angus-Irish Dexter bull named "Buster."[14][15] Dexters originated in Ireland, and are miniature cattle. Buster was born on a farm in Western New York, and was presented to the school as part of Todd's and Taylor's visit with Buffalo Mayor Steven Pankow[14] to celebrate Buffalo's 125th anniversary.[15]
As Buster matured, he became increasingly bad-tempered,[15] and was replaced by Buster II and a whole line of successive Busters,[15] all raised by an Elma, New York farmer named Chester Malach.[15] The live mascot tradition at Buffalo continued until 1970, when the university discontinued NCAA Division I football.[15] Prior to the creation of Victor E. Bull, Buffalo used a brown anthropomorphic bull character named "Wooly Bully."[16]
In 1997, as part of Buffalo's preparation to return to the NCAA Division I,[13] the Buffalo athletics department held a "name the mascot" contest with the help of the university newspaper. The name "Victor E. Bull" was submitted by undergraduate student, Rustie Hill, and was selected as the winning entry. Shortly thereafter, in 1997,[4] the department adopted the anthropomorphic Victor E. Bull as the school's new mascot.[13] At the football home opener that year, Hill was invited out onto the field with Victor E. Bull as he was introduced to the fans.
Victoria S. Bull ("Vicki") was introduced as Victor's sister in 2001,[4][9][13][17] but has not been seen for many years.
Activities
Victor also participates in other campus-related activities in addition to appearing at football and basketball games. In 2000, he was present at a Kids Safety Day sponsored by the Chiropractic Center in Cheektowaga, New York.[18] On Orientation Day at UB in 2008 for incoming freshmen, Victor led the students and their parents by singing UB's fight song.[19] Victor was also present, mingling with fans, at the 32nd Empire State Games that were held at UB in 2010.[20] In 2011, Victor was active in the Recycle Mania Tournament at UB;[21] and in 2012, he participated in an event to help raise cancer awareness.[8]
On April 1, 2025, Victor released his debut album Victory.[22] The 11-track album features notable UB alumni and is available to stream on YouTube. The album’s lyrics, available on Genius, describe what it’s like to be a UB student. The album description says that Victory is about coming into a new place, finding a community there, and showing appreciation for the people that have made Victor’s UB experience one to remember.[23]
- There are a limited quantity of signed CD copies in existence, which were distributed through a giveaway on Instagram.
