Sacred Heart’s BMOC Wears Skates
8/28/2023 1:38:00 PM | General
Statue Outside Martire Family Arena Becomes Selfie Spot
The statue outside Martire Family Arena, which is Big Red in full SHU hockey uniform shooting a puck, is the BMOC. The metal marvel faces all vehicles traveling up and down Innovation Drive as they pass the new arena in addition to everyone walking to the front entrance.
He gets the moniker for his size, his fame and the fact that he wears No. 1. Students and staff have been pulling over to take selfies with the bronze beauty since he arrived on Aug. 24. Big Red's "move-in-day" included a ride from Stonington, Conn., to the West Campus on an 18-wheeled flat-bed truck. A forklift transported him to the sidewalk before a crane arrived to lift the one-ton skater to his pedestal where he serves as the welcoming ambassador. Dr. John Petillo, the President of Sacred Heart University, was on hand to welcome the popular Pio.
George Lundeen, the sculptor who created bronze Big Reds at the Pitt Center and SHU's Great River Golf Club, was part of the year-long process to make the Pio with size 21 skates. The metal was cast in pieces and then welded together, while a combination of chemicals and heat gave the statue different colors.
Lundeen, who has honored the likes of Red Grange, Ben Franklin, Gene Sarazin, Robert Frost, Branch Rickey and others with his work, has been commissioned to sculpt portraits and interpretive works alike for universities, municipalities, foundations and corporations around the U.S. His attention to detail is evident in the flex of the stick on Big Red's slapshot.
"If we stood him up, he would be 10-feet tall," said Lundeen, from his office in Loveland, Colo. "He was so big, sometimes we had to have him outside in the alley. People would always be stopping to take photos." The sculptor also noted how much fun it was to create this Big Red because of the action pose.
Unlike the other Big Red statues at SHU, the hockey player is not something students and fans can sit on or climb. The location and design make it very dangerous to get intimate with. That's also why the university has stationed security cameras on and around SHU's BMOC.
Settle for him in the background of your photos rather than risking injury and more!
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