“My great-uncle made that mold to begin with and this is a copy of it, so it’s still his work as far as I’m concerned.”

Richard Blankenstein owned a construction and plastering company and was contracted in 1953 to make the mural for the stadium. Originally named Baylor Stadium, the facility was renamed Floyd Casey Stadium in 1988.

He designed and built a rubber mold to make the project, which features a bear in a fighting pose atop a hill, and his brother, Paul, painted the mural.

Richard Blankenstein died in 1977 at age 90.

The second bear was created by Charlie Montgomery, owner of Custom Castings in Fort Worth.

He said he was contracted to reproduce the mural by Waco Construction Co., which was in charge of the stadium renovation.

“They were going to try to take it down, but they decided that if they tried to take it down they were going to tear it up,” Montgomery said. “So we (made) a plaster mold off of it and made the new one.”

Charlie Robelia of Charlie’s Plastering Co. in Woodway said he made the circular background that backs the bear and the rock base the bear stands on.