Illustration of Boxer, 1928

Pacific University's Boxer is one the most unique college mascots anywhere.

The original inspiration for Boxer was a bronze qilin incense burner that an alumnus brought to campus from China in the 1890s. Soon after its arrival, students began a tradition of stealing and passing the statue from one student group to another. By the early 1900s, Boxer was the grassroots symbol of the student body.

Students voted to make Boxer the official school mascot in 1968. Just one year later, though, the original bronze statue disappeared. The student body raised money for a re-casting in 1982, creating "Boxer II", but that statue also disappeared. Alumni raised funds to cast "Boxer III" in 2018. This last version of the statue was created with great care by the same sculptor who created Boxer II. The last version of Boxer is the most faithful representation of how the statue originally appeared when it first came to Pacific.

In a surprise to nearly everyone, the original Boxer recently resurfaced! 55 years after it was last seen in public, the statue came back to Pacific in 2024. Though battered from many years of "tosses," the original statue is also covered with a century of evidence of students' love. The university is glad to welcome Boxer home.

Learn more about the History of Boxer and Boxer Facts on this site, hosted by the Pacific University Archives. 

Highlights from the Archives

This site features archival photographs, documents and oral histories about Boxer. Use the navigation to learn more!

  • Boxer missing a leg
    A side-view of Pacific University's original "Boxer" mascot statue. Boxer is missing one leg and his tail. Welding marks are visible on his other leg and neck. This damage was sustained during "Boxer Tosses," when students would fight over possession of the statue. This photograph may have been taken by Ellis Lucia (Class of 1944), as it was found in his archival papers. Lucia became a photojournalist after graduating from Pacific, and may have taken this photograph in the late 1940s or early 1950s.
  • Boxerettes Sweater
    A white knitted sweater that belonged to a member of Pacific University's "Boxerettes" women's organization, probably in the 1950s. The Boxerettes were an honorary service organization made up of sophomore women from Pacific University, which was active from approximately the late 1940s through the early 1970s. Boxerettes were elected and "tapped in" to the service club in the fall of their sophomore years. The women organized and/or volunteered to run many activities on campus, such as setting up and chaperoning dances, ushering during plays, co-hosting the annual Christmas Wassail party, selling tickets and programs at sports events, and assisting with new student orientations. They were regarded as being some of the most active and visible students on campus.
  • Pacific University Student Greta McIntyre Sheeley with the Boxer Mascot
    A photograph of a Pacific University student with the Boxer mascot. The Boxer is missing the tail. The caption with the photograph identifies the student as Greta McIntyre Sheeley. The original Boxer mascot was a gift to the school from a missionary named Reverend J. E. Walker. He acquired the Boxer while on a mission trip to China. The Boxer went missing after a Boxer Toss in 1969. This picture appears in an album that was compiled by Greta McIntyre Sheeley, a 1920 Pacific University graduate.
  • 'Boxer Returns But Is Soon Taken' Newspaper Article
    A newspaper article about the original "Boxer" statue, which would later become the mascot of Pacific University. Notably, the article says that Boxer had not been "exhibited in public" in the 11 years since 1900. The article provides some details on the history of Boxer, but includes some inaccurate facts. For example: it states that Boxer was first stolen in 1900, but in fact it was stolen in late 1899. This article appears in a scrapbook album compiled by Frances B. Clapp, a 1908 Pacific University graduate.
  • Students Gathered around Boxer
    A photograph of a group of students gathered around Pacific University's original "Boxer" mascot statue in 1928 or 1929. Boxer is sitting on the Senior Blanket, which is decorated with the dates of recent graduating classes. This photo may have been taken during the Senior Breakfast held at the faculty cabin in October, 1928. The Senior Blanket would be stolen in 1929 at a Letterman's Dance. It would be returned in May of 1930. This photograph appears in an album that was compiled by Edith Hansen McGill, a 1930 Pacific University graduate.
  • The Boxer Mascot on a Stump
    A photograph of Boxer, the Pacific University mascot, sitting on a stump. The original Boxer was a gift to the school from a missionary named Reverend J. E. Walker. He acquired the Boxer while on a mission trip to China. The Boxer went missing after a Boxer Toss in 1969. This photograph appears in an album that was compiled by Edith Hansen McGill, a 1930 Pacific University graduate.
  • Richard Thompson's mother and a friend with Boxer
    Richard Thompson was a Pacific University student who graduated in 1963. This snapshot, taken in June 1957, shows his mother and one of her friends with Boxer, the original mascot statue of Pacific University. Mrs. Thompson was an employee of the university. This photograph is from the collection of Richard Thompson, who retains the original print.
  • 'Boxer spirit revived at Pacific' news article on the creation of Boxer II
    A 1983 newspaper article from the Hillsboro Argus describes the recent casting of "Boxer II," a bronze replica of Pacific University's original Boxer mascot statue. The original Boxer statue had been missing since 1969. According to the article, three women students (Janet Leasher, Linda Parker and Kim Smith) decided that they were going to raise money to have a new bronze statue cast, recreating the original. The article describes how the women hoped to bring more school spirit to campus and how a "Boxer Code of Ethics" had been created to discourage damaging or losing Boxer II.
  • 'Boxer's tail, foot, ear await body at Pacific' story of pieces of the original Boxer being returned to Pacific
    An 2012 article from the Forest Grove Leader describing the return of three fragments of Boxer -- one ear, one foot and the tail -- to Pacific University. The article explains the significance of the bronze mascot, including the tradition of "Boxer Tosses," which consisted of a large group of students fighting to gain possession of Boxer. Throughout the years, parts of the Boxer were broken off. At the time this article was published, alumnus Don Metzger had recently returned Boxer's tail to Pacific. He explains how he obtained the tail and why it took him so long to return it. The main body of Boxer was missing from 1968-2024.
  • 'Rumor has it there will be a Boxer toss soon. Read this!!!' flier announcing the banning of the Boxer toss
    This collection brings together archival material on the history of 'Boxer,' Pacific University's mascot. Letters, news clippings, photographs and other items are included, illustrating its history from when the Boxer statue first arrived on campus in the 1890s through its disappearance in 1970. Efforts to find, recreate and commemorate the statue since that time are also covered.
  • A.S.P.U. Activity Calendar
    The A.S.P.U. (Associated Students of Pacific University) Calendar from Spring 1968, showing an older photograph of the school's original Boxer statue on its cover. The calendar includes information about social, academic and sports events on campus. The photograph dates from an earlier decade. It is nearly identical to a photograph that was most likely taken by photojournalist Ellis Lucia in the late 1940s or early 1950s (Pacific University Class of 1944; see PUA_MS104_0001). The image shows Boxer missing one leg and his tail, with welding marks visible on his other leg and neck. This damage was sustained during "Boxer Tosses," when students would fight over possession of the statue.
  • Boxer Toss flyer by the Class of 1932
    A flier produced by the Pacific University Class of 1932 advertising a planned "release" of the Boxer statue to other classes at the college. Boxer was a bronze incense burner that had served as a symbol of school spirit since the late 1890s. "Releases" such as this, which would later be known as "Boxer Tosses," were usually done by student groups who held Boxer but had graduated and wanted to pass it on to current students. In a Toss, the student group that had held Boxer would put the statue up for grabs by whichever group could obtain it -- which often resulted in a brawl between students. This particular Toss probably occurred on Tuesday, May 31, 1932, which would have been about the same time when the Class of 1932 was graduating. This collection brings together archival material on the history of 'Boxer,' Pacific University's mascot. Letters, news clippings, photographs and other items are included, illustrating its history from when the Boxer statue first arrived on campus in the 1890s through its disappearance in 1970. Efforts to find, recreate and commemorate the statue since that time are also covered.
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