A Bear on a Battleship?
To most Arkansans, the “Razorback” is synonymous with
athletics at the University of Arkansas. This is why it comes as a surprise to
most to learn that USS Razorback is
not named for the university’s mascot, but for the fin whale, in keeping with
the United States Navy tradition of naming submarines after marine animals.
Similarly for sailors aboard USS Arkansas (BB-33) in the 1920s, it was not the razorback they
adopted as their mascot, but a black bear by the name of Teddy.
"Teddy," on deck with handler. |
Not much is known about how or why Teddy came to be part of
the crew of Arkansas, but he was
certainly not the first nautical ursine creature in the U.S. Navy. In 1907, the
town of Aberdeen, Washington, presented a bear to each of the 16 ships of President
Theodore Roosevelt’s newly-designated Great White Fleet. Perhaps it is simply a
coincidence that 16 “teddy” bears were donated to “Teddy” Roosevelt’s ships—but
perhaps not! In addition to these bears, the battleships of the Great White
Fleet acquired cats, parrots, a pig, and even a kangaroo from Sydney,
Australia.
"Teddy," posing with the 1920 USS Arkansas Baseball team. |
In a photograph collection donated to the museum by Dan Healey of Southaven, Mississippi, Teddy appears both on deck and posing with the ship’s
baseball team. The collection contains over
170 photographs of everyday life aboard Arkansas
in the early 1920s. Look for more
features on this collection in the future.
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