Remembering when UCLA had a live bear as a mascot

Believe it or not, in the

, UCLA had a live bear mascot running about the sidelines at football games instead of a costumed one.

At the time, the Bruins played home football games at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, sharing their home stadium with USC. (The Bruins nickname was officially adopted in 1928.)

Eventually, the university adopted a Himalayan bear cub named “Little Joe Bruin,” which they brought to games until it,…