Photo by Makinzi Burgs
Who is Pistol Pete? the story behind CCHS’ mascot
Pistol Pete has been Cooper City High’s mascot for almost all of the school’s 49-year existence. You can’t really talk about CCHS culture without mentioning him; he’s plastered on top of lunch tables, present at all of the football games and always patrolling the bottom floor of the 3900 building. He’s ever-present in the CCHS
community, and yet, no one really has an idea of who he is. Sure, he’s a cowboy— he wouldn’t be the mascot if he weren’t one—but where did he come from? What’s his life like? Why is he so important? “The Legend of Pistol Pete,” which can be found in the school’s display case and in the 2003 volume of The Round Up, attempts to explain the enigmatic mascot:
“Pistol Pete, known for his bad attitude, unstoppable rebellion and plain old rotten outlook on life was struck by a bolt of lightnin’ and died instantly,” the legend reads. “One hundred years later, January 1971 to be exact, a school was being built on the very same spot of the unmarked grave of Pistol Pete. That ol’ Pete seized the opportunity and his soul was revived. Only
