1984: Dan Blatt and Andre (Lopez) Noble were resting after the J.V. Little Threes at Amherst in 1984. All of a sudden, some runner from Amherst runs out from nowhere, grabs the Bear from the ground, and takes off. Dan Blatt and Andre took off after him. They tackled the Amherst runner shortly thereafter. (You can imagine who tackled, and who provided the crucial follow-up support.)

Also in 1984, Coach Farwell held the Bear after the toss at Middlebury (NESCAC meet). He set Bear down to take a few pictures as the pack flew by, and 15 seconds later saw neither hide nor hair of his friend. Letters to Amherst and Wesleyan went unanswered. Amherst runners’ dorm rooms were surreptitiously searched to no avail. The Bear reappeared in Wesleyan wrestling garb following their upset of the purple, breaking a 14-year Little 3 victory streak.

1985: Holding the Bear does not always bring the charm to the captors, though. In 1985 Amherst swiped him (from a rather spacey Lee Hatcher ’86) during the warmup for Little Three, and chanted “We’ve got the Bear”. Over-adrenalized by that, and their home course, the Ephs pulled off a demolishing upset, and chanted back: “We don’t care you took the Bear; we kicked your asses fair and square!” This time a pair of white Amherst boxer shorts adorned the Bear. He was returned at an indoor track meet the next winter.

1986: MIT returned to the action in 1986 when they cruised to Williams with a bold plan in mind. Their team manager went to Goff’s, bought a Williams t-shirt, and came up to the science quad meet site impersonating a freshman. Unsuspecting, one of the ‘Slow Boy’ guards let down his guard, and distracted by the race finish found a vacant spot on the stairs beside him. Ephs searched high and low, and eventually identified a car parked near Baxter with an MIT sticker. One of our team’s roommates had been a part-time policeman in the summer, and was quickly summoned to appear in uniform at the car. Citing a computer theft from Jesup as need for search, he had the MITer open his trunk, at which time the ‘cop’ grabbed the Bear and handed it to Andre Lopez (1:50 half-miler) who sped to Spring Street with it, down the road, up the stairs to Coach Farwell’s apartment, depositing the Bear safely in bed! As the MIT bus departed in a cloud they discovered a grapefruit had been put in the exhaust pipe.

1987: A more brutish theft was attempted by Amherst in 1987 when they attacked Eph runner Sarah Pierce ’88 who was holding the Bear. She suffered an ankle sprain, and Jeff coach Julius Tonelli (Williams ’86) had the Bear returned. In 1988 a saving tackle kept the Bear in Eph hands; on the road home (8A) one Eph van placed the Bear in the road to be narrowly evaded by the following van.

1989: In 1989 the Williams women stole the Bear for a week. In 1991 those same women rescued the Bear from Wesleyan thiefs with a scrum attack during the men’s race. As the men ran by they were inspired to see the Bear back in friendly hands. 1990’s Little Three bear guard Dan Cohen ’91 muttered ‘watch the Bear’ to an unhearing teammate and walked off, leaving T an easy grab for Wesleyan. They tore Bear’s head off to be able to hide him in two garbage cans, then took him to a Middletown taxidermist for an overhaul. A Wesleyan NCAA sweatshirt was pilfered to hold for ransom, but returned.

1991: In 1991 Amherst got in the van window, captured the Bear, and sent letters from the Bear, relating ‘the good life’ in Amherst, complete with pictures. A cow’s rear end with words“Udder Domination” appeared sewn on T’s back. Violence escalated in attempts by rival team. Amherst needed 3 or 4 ‘men’ to overpower Jonnie Cluett ‘96 in a 1992 mid-meet mugging. A letter to the Amherst president went un-answered, but a few weeks later at New England III’s Greg ‘Doogie’ Crowther impersonated a high-schooler interested in Amherst and thereby got to their van to save the Bear. Unfortunately it was for a brief hour, as in the thrill of yet another victory the Ephs were purloined at the awards ceremony!

1993: In 1993 Wesleyan swiped the Bear from our unlocked van, and kept tight hold for over a year. At the 1994 New England III Jeremie Perry embarked on a one-man rescue mission and narrowly escaped with his life (and quite a few scratches), as the troop of Cardinal lady wrestlers proved too tough for him. Wesleyan tantalizingly displayed the Bear stuffed in a basketball hoop from the ceiling of their indoor track. At a later meet Doogie again swooped in and sprinted away with the Bear. Unfortunately the lactate accumulated and his race suffered, though his spirit was buoyed. Doogie wrote several song remakes with Bear lyrics, notably “We Like the Bear” (from Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’). Again in 1995 some Cardinal students mugged Lizzie O’Leary ’98 at their home course. Jubilantly the Cards (and partners in crime Jeffs) took off rapidly, only to fade once again as the Ephs took 1st through 6th. Wes coach Elmer Swanson made the team return the Bear at the New Englands, though not without an odor. An operation by Rob Lyman ’99 removed carrots, beans, newspaper clippings, and a ‘mature’ cheese. ‘Wesleyan’ patches and ID card remained.

1996: At 1996’s home Little Three Amherst women first attempt to beguile, then mug Ben Chaffin ’98. A rugby scrum ensued, with our lads victorious. At Tufts ECAC meet Bates awaited an unguarded moment to climb thru the back van door and heist the Bear. That week an e-mail exchange ensued between the two campuses reminiscent of the original letter campaigns. The Bates team took great care of him, including stitching claws on the paws and a replacement nose for him, plus a Bates t-shirt. The return occurred the next week at the New England III meet as Bates tossed the bear before handing off to the Williams team, and later presenting a wonderful album of the Bear enjoying life with the Bobcats.

1997: Wesleyan got the Bear in 1997 and that winter sent a riddle to Amherst and Williams. Amherst tracked the clues to Mt. Hope Farm where they found the Bear in a box, beating the Ephs to the prize. Later the Bear was again rescued. In 1999 a bear claw necklace was sent to Coach Farwell by a Canadian coach. This lasted on the Bear but a short while, narrowly escaping at NESCAC when Jay Slowik ’01 outsprinted Tufts runners who had snatched the Bear, then disappearing in the next theft as Amherst escaped with the Bear. They held the Bear in captivity for over a year, finally placing him atop a newly set flag pole in the far field of their course at ECAC. An old english ‘A’ patch and purple eye mask were new accoutrements. By the time Ephs had procured tools to save Bear, he had disappeared. After weeks of worry we learned that Bowdoin now held him. They kept it a secret, and the Bear was not seen for a year, until Bowdoin hosted NESCAC and strung the Bear by ropes in the woods. Eric Daub ’04 assisted Eric Engler ’04 climbing the limbs to cut Bear down as other teams fought to prevent them, and the Bear dropped into the waiting arms of alum Jay Slowik ’01, whose fleet feet sped the Bear to safety. Ablack Bowdoin patch now adorns his abdomen.

2002: Over the years the Bear has been awarded to the Eph ‘runner of the meet’ to reside in his dorm room for the week. The Bear is still going strong, having recently enjoyed a full year 2002 in Williamstown and on the road with his team, including a most successful 25th season! He evaded capture, with only a few scratches to show, and set new records for altitude and ‘hang time’. He is appearing in his second photo 2003 Calendar. Now over 3 years past his long-anticipated graduation date of 1999 and still without his B.A. diploma, The Bear is completing his 6th major, 4th thesis, and has audited most classes on campus. It is rumored he may be selected as the next College President…