George Tirebiter Monument
In the 1940s, “George Tirebiter”
was the University of Southern
California’s unofficial mascot. The
story goes that a stray dog was
found by a group of USC students at
Curry's Ice Cream parlor and that
one student remarked that the dog
bore a remarkable resemblance to a
Navy V-12, George Kuhns.
It was because of this that the dog
was called "George." He got the last
name "Tirebiter" because he would
take a snap at the tires of cars he
ran after at Trousdale Parkway,
which at the time bisects the
campus.
This penchant for running after
vehicles ultimately led to George’s
death in 1950, as he was inevitably
run over and killed by a car. A
community funeral was held by the
students on campus. From that time
on the first George Tirebiter was
succeeded by a handful of other
“Tirebiters”.
The University of Southern
California unveiled a statue
celebrating George Tirebiter’s
memory in 2006. The life-size statue
shows George with a small piece of
chewed tire in his mouth. The statue
is located
at the south end of campus on
Trousdale Parkway which is between
the Mudd Hall of Philosophy and
the Leventhal School of
Accounting. George is positioned
facing Exposition Park and the home
stadium for USC Trojans football,
the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. |
