Sam (mascot)

{{Short description|Official mascot of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles}}

{{Distinguish|Sam Eagle}}

{{Infobox

|above = Sam

|image = 200px

|caption = Sam the Olympic Eagle

|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

}}

{{1984 Summer Olympics}}

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.{{Cite web |title=Los Angeles 1984 - The Mascot |url=https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/los-angeles-1984/mascot |website=olympics.com}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Fenzel |first=Whitney |date=2021-10-25 |title=Sam the Eagle {{!}} U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame |url=https://usopm.org/sam-the-eagle/ |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum |language=en-US}}