Mobil's
Flying Horse
- Red flying horse used as the winged mascot for the Exxon Mobil
Corporation. The flying red horse, or Pegasus symbol, was used as early as 1911
and adopted as a trademark in the U.S. shortly after the organization of Socony-Vacuum
in 1931. The Pegasus logo, a symbol of "speed and power" was first colored red
by the Mobil Sekiyu in Japan.
In 1934, Magnolia Petroleum Company [Exxon Mobil
Corporation's predecessor] erected a "oil derrick" atop the 29-story Magnolia
Hotel building. It supported two 30 by 50 foot red neon signs made in the image
of Pegasus, the flying red horse.
A restored version of the original revolving
Pegasus was reinstated as a part of the Dallas Millennium Celebration where a
$600,000 duplicate flying red horse neon sign was relit at midnight to bring in
2000.
The original 1934 sign has been put on display in a shed at the Dallas
Farmer's Market. The building's elevator lobby features elevator doors with the
Pegasus logo.
TRIVIA NOTE: According to Greek mythology, when
Perseus cut off the snake-covered head of the Medusa, Pegasus leaped full-grown
from the blood-soaked ground. To tame Pegasus, the goddess Athena provided the
mighty horse trainer, Bellerophon with a magical golden bridle. Bellerophon and
Pegasus performed many deeds including the slaying of the fire-breathing
Chimera. Unfortunately, when the4 ego-driven Bellerophon tried to fly Pegasus to
Mount Olympus to join the gods, the winged-steed bolted and cast Bellerophon to
Earth, where he spent the rest of his life wandering the planet shunned by both
gods and man. Pegasus now resides in the heavens as a constellation of stars.
The Pegasus character appeared in the movie Clash of the Titans (1981)
starring Harry Hamlin as Perseus and on the 1963 animated cartoon series THE
MIGHTY HERCULES where Pegasus carried the legendary Hercules on his many
adventures in ancient Greece.
On November 16, 1991, the long-running PBS series
LONG AGO & FAR AWAY produced by Light year Entertainment Production aired an
animated half-hour adventure entitled "Pegasus." Narrated by Mia Farrow, it
retold the mythic tale of Pegasus, the winged horse as he battled a three-headed
monster.
The Mobil "Pegasus" image is featured prominently on
the gas tank of the famous "Bathing
Suit Vincent" motorcycle driven by rider Rollie Free. On September 13, 1948,
he raised a motorcycle speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah to a speed of
150.313 mph. The motorcycle he rode was the very first Vincent HRD Black
Lightning, owned by the California sportsman John Edgar and sponsored by Mobil
Oil.
