office in January 2005 of a possible heart attack. Handsome Dan XVI Active 2005–2006 (retired). Handsome Dan XVI was chosen on 26 April 2005. Magnificent Mugsy Rangoon, a Bulldog from Hamden, Connecticut, was picked by a five-person panel for his gregarious personality, large size (69 pounds), good health, and his ability to deal with the raucous Yale Precision Marching Band. At the auditions, Mugsy gained great favor by focusing on a crimson blanket (representing Harvard) versus the stuffed-toy tiger (representing Princeton University). "We beat Princeton three of four years," said Jeff Mroz, Yale's quarterback. "We want to beat Harvard." Mugsy is owned by Bob Sansone, a North Haven middle school teacher. At his first Harvard-Yale Game in 2005, Handsome Dan XVI was briefly stolen by a pair of Harvard undergraduates, in response to a Yale student stealing the Harvard flag and running across the field back to the Yale side with it. The two lured him into the Harvard student section of the Yale Bowl as he chewed a toy depicting a Harvard football player. Yale University Police recovered him, unharmed but without his Yale sweater, a few minutes later. Handsome Dans traditionally reign for a lifetime, but Mugsy is still living with owner Bob Sansone in Hamden. Handsome Dan XVII Active 2006–2016 (died of heart attack). A new bulldog named Sherman quietly assumed the mascot position as Handsome Dan XVII in late winter 2006. Bred by Diane Judy of Johnson City, Tenn., Handsome Dan XVII, a 50-pound bulldog, was the half brother of Rambo, owned by former Yale football captain Rory Hennessey. His home name was "Sherman", after the tank and Connecticut icon Roger Sherman. He took over as Handsome Dan XVII with great enthusiasm. He was photographed with former President George H. W. Bush and Sir Paul McCartney. He was very athletic, retrieved with vigor and raised thousands of dollars for charity. He died on August 11, 2016. Handsome Dan XVIII Active 2016–2021 (retired). Handsome Dan XVIII was announced as mascot on November 17, 2016. He was born September 23, 2016 and came from a breeder in Maine, Jessica and Pete Seiders from Wicked Good Bulldogges. After generations of English Bulldog mascots the university went towards a healthier breed and closer replication of the original Handsome Dan. Handsome Dan XVIII is an Olde English Bulldogge aka Victorian Bulldog, a recreation of the Victorian Era Bulldog bred for health