Saint Louis University’s Billiken is One of a Kind

ST. LOUIS – Quirky. Unique. Lucky. Whatever adjective you use, the Saint Louis University Billiken is one of a kind.  

The Billiken is consistently ranked among the most interesting and unique mascots in college sports. The mythical creature represents things as they ought to be and has been the face of Saint Louis University sports since the early 1900s.

“Most mascots are animals – tigers and bears and lions – but we have the Billiken. He is 100 percent unique,” said SLU archivist Katie Mascari. “He’s ours. We are the only university to have the Billiken, and that’s really special.”

The inimitable Billiken consistently makes the lists of most interesting mascots, including USA Today’s 2025 list of “unusual mascots you have to see” and Newsweek’s list of the 20 most unique mascots.

• The Billiken is a mythical creature that represents things as they ought to be.
• Saint Louis University is the only University to claim the Billiken as its mascot.
• He was invented by 21-year-old Florence Pretz, a Missouri art teacher. In 1908, Florence came up with her sketch for the Billiken, patenting her design later that year.
• The Billiken exploded in popularity, becoming an international phenomenon.  
• Billiken-crazy fans collected Billiken dolls, figurines, marshmallow candies, metal banks, hatpins, pickle forks, belt buckles, salt and pepper shakers, and more. There was even a song and a vaudeville act about him! He was the Cabbage Patch Doll, Beanie Baby and Labubu of his time.
• For enthusiasts, the Billiken was a good luck charm. People rubbed his belly for luck and put Billiken hood ornaments on cars to protect drivers. And, if you gave a Billiken to someone else, you would receive even more luck than if you just bought one for yourself.
• Florence Pretz’s original design was soft-edged and a bit more impish. That style continued over SLU’s first several decades. He started as a rotund, seated figure, like the bronze statue on campus. But over time, he became more athletic and eventually evolved into the more angular, slightly fierce mascot we know and love today.
• To this day, Saint Louis University students rub the belly of the Billiken mascot on campus for good luck before exams and before games.
• Most stories tie the Billiken to John Bender, a law student who took over coaching SLU's football team in 1910, and his resemblance to the cheery good-luck symbol. According to one, a cartoonist drew a caricature of the coach in the form of a Billiken and posted it in the window of a local drugstore. The football team soon became known as “Bender’s Billikens.”

While the Billiken has evolved over time, what hasn’t changed is the good luck he brings to all those who meet him.  

“At SLU, we take our Jesuit values very seriously. We send our students out into the world to make it a better place, to make it as it ought to be, so it’s really special to have the Billiken reflect those values in a really unique way,” Mascari said.

About SLU

Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic research institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 15,300 students a rigorous, transformative education that challenges and prepares them to make the world a better place. As a nationally recognized leader in research and innovation, SLU is an R1 research university, advancing groundbreaking, life-changing discoveries that promote the greater good.