Goldy Gopher the mascot was born in 1952. This is the only known photo from that first year. You've come a long way Goldy.
If you're looking for a history of the Gopher. Well let me quote from this 1990 article about the history of advertising characters in the state of Minnesota.
A different Minnesota animal—the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, or gopher—was first chosen by the legislature in 1857 to represent the state. Today, the gopher officially represents both the University of Minnesota and all of Minnesota's cities, towns, and residents, but in one of its first uses St.