This morning, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled officially licensed, limited-edition bobbleheads of the Butler University bulldog mascots – Butler Blue I, Butler Blue II and Butler Blue IV. Bobbleheads of Butler Blue III and a puppy version of Butler Blue IV, which some have called the “cutest bobblehead ever,” have been previously released. The special edition bobbleheads were produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee and manufacturer of Butler Bulldogs bobbleheads.
Each bobblehead will be individually numbered to only 2,021 and they are only available exclusively through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store as well as the Butler Bookstore. The Blue I and II bobbleheads just arrived and the Blue IV adult bobblehead is expected to ship in October. The bobbleheads are $25 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order for orders placed online.
The Butler Blue I bobblehead is wearing a jersey with Butler across the front. The Butler Blue II bobblehead, with tongue sticking out, has a basketball between his paws and is wearing a Butler jersey with a ‘B’ emblazoned across the front. The smiling Butler Blue IV bobblehead is also wearing a Butler jersey with a ‘B’ emblazoned across the front. Each base has the bulldog’s name and Butler logo. The dogs carry the name “Blue” because that is the university’s primary color.
While Butler had many unofficial live mascots over the years, Butler Blue I became the school’s first official live mascot in 2000 and served until 2003. Butler Blue II had the longest length of service from 2004 to 2013. His run included two appearances in the championship game of the Men’s Basketball NCAA Final Four in 2010 and 2011. Butler Blue III (aka “Trip”) served from 2013 to 2020. He remains active in a behind-the-scenes role. Butler Blue IV (aka “Blue) was announced as the successor to retiring Butler Blue III at Hinkle Fieldhouse on January 22nd, 2020. At the same time, Evan Krauss replaced Michael Kaltenmark in the role of mascot handler.
“From Butler Blue I to Butler Blue IV, fans across the country have come to love Butler’s lovable mascots,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “We’re excited to be producing this complete set of bobbleheads for Butler fans.”
These mark the first bobbleheads for Blue I and II and the first bobblehead featuring Blue IV as an adult dog. The bobbleheads follow previous Butler bobbleheads offered by the Hall of Fame and Museum, including Butler Blue III and a puppy version of Butler Blue IV as well as a Butler Back-to-Back Final Four bobblehead featuring Butler’s costumed mascot, Hink. A limited number of the previous bobbleheads are available for sale.
On Wednesday, July 7th, 2021, Season 2 of the Netflix docuseries Dogs premiered. The hour-long episode features Butler Blue IV and Butler Blue III along with their handlers, Evan Krauss and Michael Kaltenmark. Filmed during the 2019-2020 academic year, the documentary chronicles the transition between the two live mascots and is now streaming to viewers across the world.
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