Above: | Sam |
Headerstyle: | background:#dde8ff; |
Labelstyle: | background:#fed; |
Header1: | Mascot of the 1984 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles) |
Label2: | Creator |
Data2: | Bob Moore |
Label3: | Significance |
Data3: | Bald eagle |
Sam the Olympic Eagle was the mascot of the 1984 Summer Olympics which were held in Los Angeles. He is a bald eagle, the national bird of the host nation, the United States. The United States originally intended to use a bear mascot to represent California, but the Soviet Union had used a bear mascot named Misha at the preceding 1980 Summer Olympics. The mascot was designed by Bob Moore, an artist working for The Walt Disney Company.[1]
Sam would go on to feature in McDonald's merchandise, as an attraction at Disneyland, and as the protagonist of a Japanese anime series titled Eagle Sam.[2]