An article from The Index, Pacific University's student newspaper, describing how the Boxer II statue was stolen in March, 2008 just before a planned quiz content would have awarded it to a current student. Boxer II was a replica of the original "Boxer" statue, which was also Pacific University's mascot. There was a tradition of hiding, stealing and fighting over the statue as a symbol of college spirit. Members of the Gamma Sigma fraternity were holding Boxer II and planning to pass it on to current students, but it went missing before the quiz could take place.
Pacific University student Ken Colman (Class of 1984) holding the "Boxer II" statue, probably in 1983 or 1984. Boxer II was a replica of the original "Boxer" statue, which was also Pacific University's mascot. There was a tradition of hiding, stealing and fighting over the statue as a symbol of college spirit. In Colman's memory, the "Men of Mac Hall" (i.e. residents of McCormick Hall) won control of Boxer II around that time period, and this photograph was taken "in the Head Resident’s apartment." This photograph was donated in digital format to the Pacific University Archives in 2025.
Three versions of Boxer, the statue that serves as Pacific University's mascot: the original bronze Boxer, which Pacific first acquired in the late 1890s (gold-colored, center); the second casting of Boxer II, created in 1983 (back, grey-green); and Boxer III, created in 2018 (front, lighter grey). The original Boxer had been missing between 1969-2024, when it was finally returned to the university. The first casting of Boxer II had been missing since the mid-2000s, but a second casting had just been returned to Pacific a few weeks before this event. The three statues are on a cart, being transported to their first-ever appearance together at a gathering of Gamma Sigma fraternity alumni on June 29, 2025. The photograph was taken by Martha Calus-McLain (Class of 2023), Pacific's Alumni Director.
Alumni members of Pacific University's Gamma Sigma fraternity visiting with three versions of the statue that serves as Pacific University's mascot: the original bronze Boxer, which Pacific first acquired in the late 1890s (gold-colored, left); the second casting of Boxer II, created in 1983 (middle, dark grey); and Boxer III, created in 2018 (right, lighter grey). The original Boxer had been missing between 1969-2024, when it was finally returned to the university. The first casting of Boxer II had been missing since the mid-2000s, but a second casting had just been returned to Pacific a few weeks before this event. Several of the alumni in this photograph remembered seeing the original Boxer before it went missing, and were also among those who raised funds to create Boxer III. Pete Truax (Class of 1969), standing by the three Boxers, was one of the last students to "throw out" the original Boxer statue in a "Boxer Toss." Bruce Bishop (Class of 1968), pointing a camera at Truax, was one of the most active in the commissioning of Boxer III. The photograph was taken by Martha Calus-McLain (Class of 2023), Pacific's Alumni Director, who had seen the original Boxer II when it was on campus. This was the first-ever event where all three Boxer statues were brought together at one time.
A photograph clipping from a newspaper, showing Pacific University student Bruce Fleskes retrieving "Boxer II" from where it was stashed in a tree on campus. This photograph is dated April 13, 1983. This was the first public appearance of the statue. Boxer II was a replica of Pacific University's original "Boxer" statue, which had been missing since 1969. There was a tradition of hiding, stealing and fighting over Boxer as a trophy representing college spirit. In 1982-3, students commissioned sculptor Pat Costello to create Boxer II as a replacement for the original missing statue. Just before this photograph was taken, the students who had commissioned the replica hid it in the tree and then announced to the campus that Boxer was back. Students like Bruce Fleske searched for Boxer II, found it, and then took it away, continuing the tradition.
An alternate cast of the "Boxer II" bronze statue by sculptor Pat Costello, sitting in a box surrounded by packing paper. Pat Costello was commissioned by Pacific University students in 1982-83 to create Boxer II as a replica of the original "Boxer" statue, the mascot of Pacific University, which had been missing since 1969. Costello made two casts of Boxer II. The first cast was given in 1983 to the students who had commissioned the work. While the first cast of Boxer II went missing from public view in the mid-2000s, the second cast was kept as a yard ornament in one of the Costello family members' homes. The Costellos donated this second cast of Boxer II to Pacific University in the Spring of 2025. This photograph was taken while the statue was being transported from their home to Pacific.
The "Boxer III" bronze statue sitting on a photocopy machine in Tran Library on the Pacific University campus in 2022. This image plays on the idea that Boxer III was a "copy" of the original Boxer statue. At the time that this photograph was made, the original Boxer had not been seen in public for 53 years.
The "Boxer III" bronze statue (middle, steel-colored) sitting in between a larger decorated Boxer statue (created mid-2000s) and a small rubber replica of the "Boxer II" statue. This photograph was taken in the atrium of Tran Library on the Pacific University campus in 2022.
A 1983 press release issued by Pacific University, announcing that a replica of the school's original "Boxer" mascot had just been created. This new mascot would later be known as "Boxer II." When this press release was written, it had been 14 years since the original Boxer had last been seen. The article describes the significance of Boxer and efforts from alumni to teach current students about its tradition. It also notes that there are now strict rules in place to encourage Boxer II's safety.
The "Boxer Code of Ethics" was written at Pacific University in 1982-1983 as an attempt to guard the then-new "Boxer II" statue from damage or loss. Boxer II was a replica of the original bronze statue, "Boxer," which was the mascot of Pacific University. The original had not been seen in public since 1969, and Boxer II had just been cast as a replacement. The Code attempts to assign liability for damages connected to any fights over the statue to the individuals involved in the fights. It lists a number of things that students should not do, things students are responsible for, and how to go about a 'toss out'. The rules emphasize that it is important that Boxer stay in the state of Oregon to ensure he does not disappear again.
A 1983 newspaper article from the Hillsboro Argus describes the recent casting of "Boxer II," a bronze replica of Pacific University's original Boxer mascot statue. The original Boxer statue had been missing since 1969. According to the article, three women students (Janet Leasher, Linda Parker and Kim Smith) decided that they were going to raise money to have a new bronze statue cast, recreating the original. The article describes how the women hoped to bring more school spirit to campus and how a "Boxer Code of Ethics" had been created to discourage damaging or losing Boxer II.
An image and short article describing the whereabouts of "Boxer II," a bronze replica of Pacific University's original "Boxer" mascot, between 1984-1985. The article states that Boxer II had been out of public view for most of those two years, but that it resurfaced on campus in May, 1985. The winners of the fight for Boxer at that time were members of the Gamma Sigma fraternity, whose symbol appears in the photograph above the article. The photograph, however, may be faked: the image of Boxer appears to have been cut out from another source and pasted onto the image of the table.
