History of the Term
During World War I, Mack supplied thousands of its AC model heavy duty trucks to both the United States military and that of Great Britain. British soldiers were impressed with the capabilities and resilience of the trucks, and legend has it that the soldiers began referring to the trucks as "Mack bulldogs." Whether it was the British soldiers themselves or, as has also been suggested, a trade publication that referred to the trucks as having "the tenacity of a British bull dog," the nickname stuck, and in 1992 the company adopted the bulldog as its corporate symbol.
During World War I, Mack supplied thousands of its AC model heavy duty trucks to both the United States military and that of Great Britain. British soldiers were impressed with the capabilities and resilience of the trucks, and legend has it that the soldiers began referring to the trucks as "Mack bulldogs." Whether it was the British soldiers themselves or, as has also been suggested, a trade publication that referred to the trucks as having "the tenacity of a British bull dog," the nickname stuck, and in 1992 the company adopted the bulldog as its corporate symbol.
History of the Emblem
The bulldog first appeared on Mack trucks, not as a hood ornament but as an image on a sheet metal plate that was riveted to the sides of the truck cabs beginning in 1922. It was first used on the AB chain-drive trucks and the dual reduction carrier-drive trucks. Later, the plate would also be displayed on M model off-highway trucks.
History of the Hood Ornament
Again according to corporate legend, the bulldog hood ornament was conceived by engineer Alfred Masury in 1932 while he was in the hospital recuperating from an operation. Masury, as the story goes, carved the dog from either wood or a bar of soap. Regardless of how the dog was first designed, it is certain that Masury received a patent for the hood ornament in 1932, and the bulldog has stood atop the hood of Mack trucks since then.
The Bulldog as Icon
In 2009, Mack moved its corporate headquarters from Allentown, Pennsylvania, where the company had been based since 1905. Local news outlets noted the removal of the large gold bulldog statue that had been located outside the headquarters building in preparation for its installation at the new headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. WPMT-TV called the bulldog "as symbolic of Allentown as the PPL building and the Allentown Fair."
The bulldog first appeared on Mack trucks, not as a hood ornament but as an image on a sheet metal plate that was riveted to the sides of the truck cabs beginning in 1922. It was first used on the AB chain-drive trucks and the dual reduction carrier-drive trucks. Later, the plate would also be displayed on M model off-highway trucks.
History of the Hood Ornament
Again according to corporate legend, the bulldog hood ornament was conceived by engineer Alfred Masury in 1932 while he was in the hospital recuperating from an operation. Masury, as the story goes, carved the dog from either wood or a bar of soap. Regardless of how the dog was first designed, it is certain that Masury received a patent for the hood ornament in 1932, and the bulldog has stood atop the hood of Mack trucks since then.
The Bulldog as Icon
In 2009, Mack moved its corporate headquarters from Allentown, Pennsylvania, where the company had been based since 1905. Local news outlets noted the removal of the large gold bulldog statue that had been located outside the headquarters building in preparation for its installation at the new headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. WPMT-TV called the bulldog "as symbolic of Allentown as the PPL building and the Allentown Fair."
