Pistol Pete is the athletics mascot of Oklahoma State University. The Pistol Pete mascot costume features traditional cowboy attire and a headpiece resembling Frank Eaton. Pistol Pete has been the mascot for the Oklahoma State Cowboys since 1923. [1]
From the 1890s on, Oklahoma A&M sports teams had been referred to as the Agriculturists or Aggies, the Farmers, and officially but unpopularly, the Tigers. By 1924 Charles Saulsberry, sports editor of the Oklahoma City Times, and other writers who regularly covered college events had begun to refer to Stillwater's teams as the A&M Cowboys. The Athletic Council authorized Athletic Director Edward C. Gallagher to have 2,000 balloons printed, "Oklahoma Aggies - Ride 'Em Cowboy" for sale at football games in 1926.
Around 1923, when Oklahoma A&M College was searching for a new mascot to replace their tiger (which had been copied from Princeton and accounts for the orange and black school colors), a group of students saw Frank Eaton leading Stillwater's Armistice Day Parade. He was approached to see if he would be interested in being the model for the new mascot, and he agreed. A likeness was drawn and began to be used on sweatshirts, stickers, etc. and a tradition was born. That caricature was the basis for what is used today as the official Oklahoma State University mascot. For thirty-five years, the crusty old cowboy was a living symbol of OSU, representing the colorful past of the area. As such, he would attend OSU athletic events, building dedications, etc., and sign autographs, pose for photographs and reminisce about the American Old West with anyone who would listen. In more recent years, the University of Wyoming and New Mexico State University began using variations of OSU's artwork as logos for their schools. To this day, his likeness is a visible reminder of the Old West to literally millions of people yearly as a symbol of colleges whose mascots pay homage to the cowboy.
However, it was not until 1958 that "Pistol Pete" was adopted as the school's mascot. The familiar caricature of "Pistol Pete" was officially sanctioned in 1984 by Oklahoma State University as a licensed symbol.
Each year, an average of 15 Oklahoma State students audition to portray Pistol Pete. A panel of former "Petes" conduct the tryouts and select two replacements based largely on an interview. Candidates are also asked to exhibit themselves as they would during in-game scenarios.
The two students chosen share around 650 appearances per year, which includes all OSU Cowboy and Cowgirl athletic events, though Pistol Pete has also assumed a significant role as an ambassador and symbol for Oklahoma State University at large. As such, Pistol Pete is often asked to make appearances in parades, community festivals, corporate functions, weddings and birthday parties.
President Thep Phongparnich of Thailand's Maejo University received Oklahoma State's Distinguished International Alumni Award on November 12, 2005, following which his university also adopted Pistol Pete as a mascot. [2] [3]
Stillwater is the tenth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and the seat of Payne County. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177 and State Highway 51. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 48,394. The Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 78,399 according to the 2012 census estimate. Stillwater was part of the first Oklahoma Land Run held on April 22, 1889, when the Unassigned Lands were opened for settlement and became the core of the new Oklahoma Territory. The city charter was adopted on August 24, 1889, and operates under a council-manager government system.
Oklahoma State University is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma. OSU was founded in 1890 under the Morrill Act. Originally known as Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, it is the flagship institution of the Oklahoma State University System that enrolls more than 34,000 students across its five institutions with an annual budget of $1.69 billion for fiscal year 2024. As of Fall 2023, 26,008 students are enrolled at the university. OSU is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". According to the National Science Foundation, OSU spent $226.5 million on research and development in 2023.
Gallagher-Iba Arena, also known as "The Rowdiest Arena in the Country" and "The Madison Square Garden of the Plains”, is the basketball and wrestling venue at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. Originally completed in 1938 and named the 4-H Club and Student Activities Building, it was soon renamed Gallagher Hall to honor wrestling coach Ed Gallagher. After renovations in 1987, the name became Gallagher-Iba Arena, as a tribute to longtime basketball coach and innovator Henry Iba.
The Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA) was a college athletic conference and the second college conference formed upon its foundation on January 12, 1907. The conference was initially formed by an agreement among representatives of five schools, the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska, University of Iowa, and Washington University in St. Louis. Iowa State College and Drake University, both joined the conference together in March 1907. The University of Iowa, which had only taken part in football, left after the 1908 season and remained a member of the Big Ten Conference, but other schools joined the MVIAA, including Kansas State University, Grinnell College, the University of Oklahoma, and Oklahoma A&M.
Pistol Pete may refer to:
The Bedlam Series is the name given to the Oklahoma–Oklahoma State rivalry. It refers to the athletics rivalry between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys and Cowgirls of the Big 12 Conference and the University of Oklahoma Sooners of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Both schools were also members of the Big Eight Conference before the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996, and both were divisional rivals in the Big 12 South Division prior to 2011. Since Bedlam began in 1900, 40 years of the rivalry's games were played without the teams playing in the same conference. The rivalry concluded as an annual conference matchup for football following the 2023–24 NCAA Division I FBS season, after which Oklahoma joined the SEC; while scheduling issues preclude the resumption of the Bedlam Series for football until the 2031 season, the Series will continue for basketball as a non-conference game for the 2024–25 season.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The university's current athletic director is Chad Weiberg, who replaced the retiring Mike Holder on July 1, 2021. Oklahoma State has won 55 national championships, including 53 NCAA team national titles, which ranks sixth in most NCAA team national championships. These national titles have come in wrestling (34), golf (11), cross country (5), basketball (2), and baseball (1), and the Cowboys also claim non-NCAA national titles in football (1) and equestrian (1). In addition, Oklahoma State athletes have won 183 individual national titles.
The athletic nickname, or equivalently athletic moniker, of a university or college within the United States and Canada is the name officially adopted by that institution for at least the members of its athletic teams. Typically as a matter of engendering school spirit, the institution either officially or unofficially uses this moniker of the institution's athletic teams also as a nickname to refer to people associated with the institution, especially its current students, but also often its alumni, its faculty, and its administration as well. This practice at the university and college tertiary higher-education level has proven so popular that it extended to the high school secondary-education level in the United States and Canada and even to the primary-education level as well.
Frank Boardman "Pistol Pete" Eaton was a scout, sheriff, and cowboy.
Maejo University (MJU.) in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand, is the oldest agricultural institution in the country. Founded in 1934 as the Northern Agricultural Teachers Training School, it was restructured and renamed several times until it gained the status of a full-fledged public university in 1996 and since then has been known as Maejo University.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys football program represents Oklahoma State University–Stillwater in college football. The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Cowboys are led by Mike Gundy, who is in his 20th year as head coach. Oklahoma State plays its home games at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The New Mexico State University teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. The mascot is known as "Pistol Pete". NMSU's colors are crimson and white. Since 2023 the Aggies have competed in Conference USA in all men's and women's sports. New Mexico State sponsors six men's and ten women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports. The athletic director is Mario Moccia, who has held the position since January 2015.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team represents Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. All women's teams at the school are known as Cowgirls. The Cowboys currently compete in the Big 12 Conference. In 2020, CBS Sports ranked Oklahoma State the 25th best college basketball program of all-time, ahead of such programs as Oklahoma and Texas. Oklahoma State men’s basketball has a very rich history of success, having won more national titles and advanced to the NCAA Championship, Final Four, Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen more times than any other school in the state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma State has won a combined 23 regular season conference titles and conference tournament titles, which is the most of any program in the state of Oklahoma.
The 1948–49 Oklahoma A&M Aggies men's basketball team represented Oklahoma A&M College, now known as Oklahoma State University, in NCAA competition in the 1948–49 season.
The 1945–46 Oklahoma A&M Aggies men's basketball team represented Oklahoma A&M College, now known as Oklahoma State University, in NCAA competition in the 1945–46 season. The Aggies won their second consecutive NCAA championship, defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels by a score of 43–40 in the championship game of the NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma A&M was also retroactively named the national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.
The 1944–45 Oklahoma A&M Aggies men's basketball team represented Oklahoma A&M College, now known as Oklahoma State University, in NCAA competition in the 1944–45 season.
The 1945 Oklahoma A&M Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1945 college football season. The team was led by seventh-year head coach Jim Lookabaugh and played its home games at Lewis Field in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Oklahoma A&M was awarded a retroactive national championship and The Coaches' Trophy by the AFCA after compiling a 9–0 record, winning the Missouri Valley championship, defeating Saint Mary's in the 1946 Sugar Bowl, and being ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll. In addition, the Aggies also outscored all opponents by a combined total of 285 to 76. The 1945 season remains the only undefeated season in school history.
Since 2013, NMSU's athletics logo has been a caricature of Old West gunfighter and lawman Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton, copied from that of Oklahoma State. Pistol Pete is portrayed by a NMSU student dressed in traditional cowboy attire, including a cowboy hat, a vest, and chaps, and armed with twirling pistols. NMSU licenses Pistol Pete from Oklahoma State University for $10/year as part of a settlement of a copyright infringement lawsuit.
Cowgirl Stadium is a softball facility and home field to the Oklahoma State University softball team. The team is an NCAA Division I competitor, and plays in the Big 12 Conference. The stadium is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on the northeast corner of the Oklahoma State University campus, north of the corner of Duck and near the men's baseball Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, and Bennett Hall.
The 2015 Oklahoma State University homecoming parade attack occurred on October 24, 2015, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, when Adacia Avery Chambers intentionally drove her sedan into a crowd watching the homecoming parade for Oklahoma State University–Stillwater on the university's campus. Four people were killed in the crash, and 47 others were reported injured. Chambers pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and assault charges, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
In 2005, Thep Phongparnich, the president of Maejo University in Thailand, received Oklahoma State's Distinguished International Alumni Award. In a show of appreciation, they actually adopted Pistol Pete as the mascot of Maejo. No, seriously! Though, they changed it around a little bit.
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