Sam the Olympic Eagle was the mascot of the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

which were held in Los Angeles. He is a

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

, the national bird of the host nation, the United States. Intended as a patriotic symbol, being named Sam also suggests a kinship with Uncle Sam, another American symbol. The mascot was designed by Bob Moore, an artist for Disney. Guests of Disneyland, as well as those reading documentation about mascot designs for the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, often confuse the mascot for another Disney mascot named ''Eagle Sam'', host of the former Disneyland attraction America Sings, and designed by animator Marc Davis in c. 1973. He shares the name of Sam the Eagle from '' The Muppet Show'', but the design is vastly different. He is still known as Eagle Sam in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, where an animated series of the same name ran during 1983, the year preceding the Summer Olympics. Even after the conclusion of the Games, Sam the Eagle is still used to promote a track and field event, the Mt. SAC Relays at

Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is a public community college in southern California, located in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County. It offers more than 260 degree and certificate programs, 25 support programs, and more than 50 studen ...

, specifically its "

LA84 The LA84 Foundation (known until June 2007 as the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles) is a private, nonprofit institution created by the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee to manage Southern California's endowment from the 1984 Olym ...

Youth Days" promotion for youth interested in athletics, run by a charitable group founded during the Olympics.

External links

A brief summary with samples, describing the development of Sam

A brief biography of Bob Moore, Sam's character designer

Olympic references and merchandise further identifying the origin of Sam
* 1983 anime television series debuts 1984 Summer Olympics American culture Bird mascots Fictional birds of prey Olympic mascots Fictional characters from Los Angeles {{Mascot-stub