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Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler, patriarch of the long line of Georgia Bulldog mascots known as “Uga,” died Monday in his hometown of Savannah after a short illness

Born February 20, 1933, Seiler devoted his entire life in service to his profession as a Savannah attorney, to the State of Georgia, and to the University of Georgia. But he may be most famous, along with his family, as the owner and manager of Georgia’s legendary mascot, “Uga.”

The more than six decades of the Uga tradition began in 1956, when he and his wife, Cecelia, brought their English Bulldog to the season-opening football game at the request of then-coach Wally Butts. “Sonny” and the Seiler family have raised each of the continual line of mascots for 67 since that time years including the present “Uga XI.