Pistol Pete (Oklahoma State University)

Frank Eaton, the inspiration for Pistol Pete

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]

History

Pistol Pete, mascot of the Oklahoma A&M Aggies

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]

References

^ "Pistol Pete: more than a mascot - Oklahoma State University". news.okstate.edu. 2006-12-01. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
^ "International Agricultural Programs". Archived from the original on 2012-02-16.
^ ghtd36 (July 14, 2009). "Better Know An Opponent: Oklahoma State". Rock M Nation. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved June 25, 2014. 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links

[1] "Pistol Pete: more than a mascot - Oklahoma State University". news.okstate.edu. 2006-12-01. Retrieved 2023-10-20.

[2] "International Agricultural Programs". Archived from the original on 2012-02-16.

[3] td36 (July 14, 2009). "Better Know An Opponent: Oklahoma State". Rock M Nation. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved June 25, 2014. 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

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v t e Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball
Venues	Armory–Gymnasium (1919–1938) Gallagher-Iba Arena (1938–present)
Rivalries	Oklahoma
Culture & lore	Bullet Pistol Pete 2001 team plane crash 2017–18 corruption scandal
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Oklahoma State Cowboys football
Venues	Boone Pickens Stadium (1920–present) Sherman E. Smith Training Center
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Oklahoma: Bedlam Series Tulsa
Culture & lore	Bullet Pistol Pete "The Waving Song" "Ride 'Em Cowboys" Marching band 1951 Drake game 2011 Iowa State game 2015 homecoming parade attack
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

Pistol Pete (Oklahoma State University)

History

See also

References

External links

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