Rare Video Footage of LSU Campus in 1943

As an LSU grad, I can not tell you how amazing it is to see this old video footage of the campus from 1943.

This video was found in an estate sale in San Jose, California. It was on a reel of 16mm color film and was eventually donated to the California Pioneers of Santa Clara County who digitized it so we could all see this amazing history.

You will actually see Mike the Tiger I and his awful cage. I can not believe he was confined to that tiny space when you consider how the current Mike VII lives. The original Mike was purchased from the Little Rock Zoo in 1935 for $750.

Each student chipped in 25 cents to pay for the school's first live mascot.

Mike arrived on campus on a train and it was a big deal with an entire entourage lining Highland Road for the arrival of Mike I. The original Mike died on Friday, June 29, 1956 of complications associated with kidney disease. Mike VII was donated to LSU by a Tiger Sanctuary. The current habitat was built back in 2005 at a cost of $3.7 million. It was upgraded in 2017 for another million.

On this video, you can also get a glimpse of Tiger Stadium before several expansions and renovations were done to bring it up to the 100,000 capacity it has today.

Take a look at Mike the Tiger's habitat today. Quite a change from that old scruffy cage Mike I lived in.

In fact, these days you can even watch Mike the Tiger live. If you'd like to take a peak and see how Mike VII is doing, click here.