When John Bachechi started at Creighton University in 1965, he didn’t expect to become the first costumed mascot in school history. But by the time he graduated from the Heider College of Business (then the Creighton University College of Business) in 1969, the three years he spent attending basketball games as Billy the Bluejay had come to define his college experience. 

The Bluejay was first introduced to Creighton in 1924, following a contest to pick the university’s new mascot, but it was years before the bird was seen on the court. Formerly the “Hill Toppers,” Creighton was ready for a change because multiple other teams shared that name. 

According to Bachechi, “Bluejay” won the contest because of blue jays’ presence on campus, especially in trees near the observatory, which was torn down in 2022. 

“Those trees were loaded with blue jays, and people would tell us not to go back there… they’re mean!” Bachechi said. 

Regardless of how the mascot was chosen, it was already a permanent staple on campus by the 1960s when Bachechi arrived from his hometown in Albuquerque, New Mexico. By that time, cardboard cutouts of Billy had joined some campus events, but no one had dressed up as the mascot. 

As the Creightonian reported last year, the timeline of the mascot has been difficult to pinpoint. According to an article on the Creighton University Alumni and Friends website, the first known photo of a person dressed as the mascot during a basketball game was in 1973. However, Bachechi confirmed that he was the first person to dress in the costume, and he started in 1965 as a freshman. 

Irma Trumbauer, who worked in food service at Creighton from 1952-1991, and the Rev. Leland Lubbers, S.J., who founded Creighton’s fine arts department in 1964, approached Bachechi about becoming the mascot. 

“[Irma] came up to me one day, and she said, ‘Fr. Lubbers is looking for you.’… And I said, ‘What? I have nothing to do with art. I can’t draw a straight line,’” Bachechi said. “And she said, ‘they want you to be the mascot because Fr. Lubbers said that you’re the only one that this thing [the costume] will probably fit.’” 

Standing at 6 feet 4 inches and weighing 235 pounds, Bachechi was perfect for the papier-mâché mascot head that Creighton had crafted. 

“It was about, I don’t know, four [or] four and a half feet. It was all papier-mâché… and it had a long bar in the front with a circle bottom so that they could hang it up at night,” Bachechi said. “And I said, ‘What am I supposed to do?’ and they go, ‘Well, just wear this hat around during the games.’ And I said, ‘Well, all right,’ and they gave me this blue sweater with a big, white C on it, and I went down there and started being Billy Bluejay.” 

His time as the mascot did not go without excitement. 

“I had numerous occasions where there was ‘The Hawk’ from St. Joseph University — they came and played Creighton, and this guy would flap his wings the entire day. I mean, this guy had to have superhuman strength or I don’t know what, but I was standing on the foul line during the timeout, and he kept flapping around and flapping around. Well, finally he came by, and he hit the head,” Bachechi said. “I still had the head on, and I told him, ‘You do that again, you’re in trouble.’ Well, he did it again, so I took the helmet off by that bar and I swung it at him like a baseball bat. … In fact, that even made Sports Illustrated… And the crowd was going crazy. My roommate was Wally Anderzunas who was on the basketball team (and a fraternity brother), and the whole bench was laughing. They had to come and drag him [The Hawk] off the court.” 

Following this incident, Bachechi got in trouble with the then-Assistant Dean of Women Eileen Lieben, but a group of Jesuit priests, including Lubbers and then-Creighton University President the Rev. Henry Linn, S.J., wrote her a letter saying that Bachechi “didn’t start anything, he just finished it.” 

At another game the following season, Bachechi, as Billy, was behind the basket dancing around while Oklahoma City University was shooting free throws. It irritated one player so much that he came up and pushed Bachechi. 

“Well, I went after him too. So, I had the entire Oklahoma City basketball team chasing me around,” Bachechi said. That time, Linn made Bachechi write an apology letter. 

His last big incident as Billy the Bluejay was during a game against the Houston Cougars. He accidentally bumped into Elvin Hayes, a 6-foot-9 basketball star who went on to dominate in the NBA. 

“He came over and grabbed the helmet, so I took it off. I’m saying to myself, ‘What am I going to do here? I’m going to die.’ He told me, ‘You’re not supposed to be standing here; you’re not supposed to be doing this.’ And I said, ‘No problem!’” Bachechi said. 

Unlike the anonymity of the mascot today, everyone knew that Bachechi played Billy. 

“They all knew who I was,” Bachechi said. “I would go sit in the stands until the game started, until I had to go put the helmet on.” 

According to Bachechi, the head was really heavy, and Lubbers told him it was three layers of papier-mâché. Despite how heavy it was, Bachechi said he had fun as the Bluejay.  

As the mascot, Bachechi went to every home basketball game. He only travelled twice–to a game against the University of South Dakota and another game against Kansas State. 

“When I was at Creighton, there was men’s basketball [and] men’s baseball; I think they had a golf team [too], and that was it. There was no ladies sports, there was nothing. … So, basketball was the main deal,” Bachechi said. 

Now, he’s a strong supporter of all Creighton sports teams. 

“I was one of those guys–I’m in my 70s–who said, “Women’s sports?’ Well, now I watch the women’s [teams]… [The volleyball players] are my heroes,” he said. 

He continued his role as Creighton’s mascot through his junior year but chose not to keep it for his senior year. He was on the executive board for his fraternity, IKE (now SAE), and didn’t want any other extra obligations for his senior year. 

From his time as Billy to meals at Beal’s Grill (which served students for almost five decades until it closed in 1986), Bachechi loved his time at Creighton. 

“I had a wonderful time. I’ll never forget those days at Creighton,” Bachechi said. “In fact, in my room I have a banner, I have the old plaque with my old Bluejay head on it, [and] my closet is loaded with Creighton clothes.” 

He loved the people at Creighton and formed relationships that lasted well beyond his college career. 

“I came from here, right–Albuquerque. And [it’s an] enormously different culture up there. The people from the Midwest are so fun, so laid-back [and] so generous. I always told my mom and dad, ‘Those people back there are so nice,’” Bachechi said. 

He became so close with one of his economics professors, the Rev. Neil Cahill, S.J., that Cahill flew to Albuquerque to officiate his wedding, baptize his daughters and conduct his mother’s funeral. Bachechi is also still in touch with his roommate, who he talks to four to five times a week. 

Bachechi looks back on his time at Creighton with a special fondness, and the legacy of the university’s first costumed mascot continues with the Billy the Bluejays of today.