Smoky (1931 or 1932 – April 1934), occasionally spelled Smokey, was a dog who became the mascot of the 1932 Summer

Olympic Village An Olympic Village is an accommodation center built for the Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials and athletic trainers. Afte ...

and later the event as a whole. He is often considered the first

Olympic mascot The Olympic mascots are fictional characters, usually an animal native to the area or human figures, who represent the cultural heritage of the place where the Olympic and Paralympic Games are taking place. The mascots are often used to help ...

. Smoky appeared early on in the construction of the Olympic Village, with some sources claiming he was born on the same day that work on the Village began on 2 January 1932. He was a small black dog of uncertain ancestry, believed to be a combination of Scottish terrier, bulldog, Australian sheep dog along with other breeds. He became extremely popular with all visiting Olympic delegations, posing with athletes from all nations and was given a blanket on which were pinned medals, pins and badges of many nations. During the games, he survived a couple of broken legs. Smoky briefly went missing on 14 July, with it claimed that "noted athletes from all over the world mourn his absence". However, he returned the next day. After the games Smoky was adopted by Cynthia and Clark Smith and became a family pet. In April 1934 he was run over and killed by an unknown speeding motorist.

References

{{Olympic mascots 1930s animal births 1932 Summer Olympics 1934 animal deaths American mascots Individual dogs in the United States Olympic mascots Sports mascots in the United States

See also

References