COWBOY FOOTBALL TRADITIONS
Created By Amanda Brown
The Oklahoma A&M Aggies In 1901, Oklahoma State started its first season of football, formerly known as Oklahoma A&M. Its schedule was nothing compared to today. The first game played was against Kingfisher, played in Kingfisher, Okla. The Oklahoma Aggie’s lost 0-12. The rest of that season included four more games, with two more losses and two wins. During this time, the Aggie’s did not have a head coach. In 1902 there was not a team. The 1903 season was lacking a head coach as well, and with two losses and two ties, it was in desperate need of a head coach. The 1904 season was not looking good and things needed to change quickly. In 1905, The Oklahoma Aggie’s had its first win since their first season in 1901. They beat Central State 5-0 at home. For the next couple of years they had one win each season. Then, in 1908, they had their best season yet with four wins and three losses. In 1906, the Aggie’s got its first head coach, Boyd A. Hill.
In 1915, the Aggie’s would join its first conference, the Southwest conference. There were 15 men on the roster, and they left that season with a 4-5-1 record. The Aggie’s continued in the Southwest conference until 1925 when it joined the MVIAA conference. This didn’t last very long. In 1928, they joined the Missouri Valley Conference, which was also considered the Big 6, and would stay in this conference until 1956. During this period, the Aggie’s would go through five plus head coaches and be Missouri Valley Champions five times while going to bowl games like the Sugar Bowl, Delta Bowl and Cotton Bowl. In 1956, The Aggies announced they would join the Big Seven, also known as the Independent Conference. They stayed in this conference through the 1959 season, and then joined the Big Eight, but in May of 1957, Oklahoma A&M changed its name to Oklahoma State University.This lasted for several decades up until 1996. In 1997, the Cowboys joined the Big 12 Conference.
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Pistols Firing!! Since Oklahoma A&M football started, it has always been considered an agriculture school, which is why it was called the Aggies. That all changed when sports editor of the Oklahoma City Times and other writers considered the team the A&M Cowboys. The name “Cowboys” stuck. In 1923, Frank B “Pistol Pete” Eaton, who was a U.S. deputy marshal, lead the Armistice Day Parade in Stillwater. At that point, the search for a new mascot was over.
Eaton was a symbol of toughness and was the perfect image of a self-reliant cowboy, but it was not until 1984 that he was considered the official “Pistol Pete”.
Pistol Pete attended all of the athletic activities and building dedications. He would pose for photos, sign autographs and talk to anybody who would listen about the “Old West” and “back in the day”. He was a living symbol of Oklahoma State for 35 years. Each year, 10 to 15 people try out to be Pistol Pete. Past Pistol Petes form a panel of judges to see who has the passion to wear the famous head. The tryouts are based on a mime, an interview and and a pose for different “game situations”. From the tryouts, two people are picked to split the roughly 500 appearances that are made by the mascot each year. You can read a complete history of Frank B “Pistol Pete” Eaton at: http://www.okstate.com/trads/ pistol-pete.html
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Ki Yi! Ki Ye! The Waving Song is one of the many traditions at OSU that has been around for a long time. The thought of it started in 1908 when a speech instructor named H.G. Seldy Seldombridge made a trip to New York for to scout for a senior class play. While there, he heard people humming the tune “In Old New York”, a hit classic from “The Red Mill”. He returned to Oklahoma humming the same tune. Shortly after, he incorporate the tune into one of his closing numbers for a college follies show. While rehearsing at Stillwater’s Grand Opera House, he realized, with the orange and black decorations on the stage, that New York’s style was out of place for a college setting. “Suddenly OAMC flashed to my mind,” he explained in 1941. Within 10 minutes, he had new lyrics to the same tune. For the finale of the college follies show, students added their own memorable touch to the song that would forever be continued. The students waved in unison to the audience while singing “OAMC! OAMC! We’ll sing your praise tonight!”
Lyrics to The Waving Song Oklahoma State! Oklahoma State! We’ll sing your praise tonight; To let you know where e’re we go, For the Orange and Black we’ll fight We’ll sing your worth o’er all the Earth And shout: Ki Yi! Ki Ye! In books of fame we’ll write your name, Oklahoma State!
Check out a video of The Waving Song in action at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orvHXlKt6S0
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Traditions There are many traditions that take place at Oklahoma State. From Orange Peel to Homecoming, Pistol Pete to Bullet, there are many things that factor in to make the “college experience” unique on the OSU campus. Two of the biggest and most well-known traditions at OSU are the Spirit Walk and the Alma Mater. Les Miles, the previous head football coach at OSU started the Spirit Walk. The night before game-day, the whole team would spend the night in the famous Atherton Hotel located at the Student Union on campus. Then two hours and fifteen minutes before
Marching Band, Pistol Pete, and the spirit squad. Fans gather along the sides of Hester Street and cheer on the Cowboys. This has become a favorite tradition of the OSU fans. Les Miles started another tradition in 2002, the Alma Mater, a post-game tradition at Boone Pickens Stadium. After each win, the coaches and players gather near the student section, and all fans are encouraged to rise and lock arms to sing the Alma Mater hymn.
Lyrics to the Alma Mater
kick-off, the team walked down Hester Street to Boone Pickens Stadium. This tradition is carried on by Head Coach Mike Gundy. He leads the team along with the OSU
Proud and immortal Bright shines our name Oklahoma State We herald your fame, Ever you’ll find us Loyal and true, To our Alma Mater O - S - U!!
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