Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State University took the nickname
"Tigers" and adopted the colors orange and
black based on the suggestion of two Princeton
graduates in their faculty. The colors remained,
while the proposed mascot did not.
It was only natural for the team to be called
Aggies since it was an agriculture school,
and in 1925 the name was officially adopted.
Sports writers took it upon themselves to call
the Oklahoma State (at that time Oklahoma
A&M) teams "Cowboys" but it was not until
1956 that the school itself adopted the cowboy
as its mascot. This was also the year the
school's name changed to Oklahoma State
University.
It's wild to think that a famous western
gunman was still alive in the 1950s, but
Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton was alive,
albeit in his 90s, in Perkins OK. As a nod
to the famous gunman that roamed around
the Stillwater campus, I doubt this would
fly on any U.S. campus anymore, but Eaton
carried his pistol wherever he went. It was
common for him to stop in on classes and
show off his great shooting skills. Due to
Pistol Pete's popularity on campus, school
officials adopted the nickname Cowboys, and
Pistol Pete is their mascot.
Oklahoma State University took the nickname
"Tigers" and adopted the colors orange and
black based on the suggestion of two Princeton
graduates in their faculty. The colors remained,
while the proposed mascot did not.
It was only natural for the team to be called
Aggies since it was an agriculture school,
and in 1925 the name was officially adopted.
Sports writers took it upon themselves to call
the Oklahoma State (at that time Oklahoma
A&M) teams "Cowboys" but it was not until
1956 that the school itself adopted the cowboy
as its mascot. This was also the year the
school's name changed to Oklahoma State
University.
It's wild to think that a famous western
gunman was still alive in the 1950s, but
Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton was alive,
albeit in his 90s, in Perkins OK. As a nod
to the famous gunman that roamed around
the Stillwater campus, I doubt this would
fly on any U.S. campus anymore, but Eaton
carried his pistol wherever he went. It was
common for him to stop in on classes and
show off his great shooting skills. Due to
Pistol Pete's popularity on campus, school
officials adopted the nickname Cowboys, and
Pistol Pete is their mascot.