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Oregon State University - BEAVERS |
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Oregon State University Traditions and History:
OSU's first football cheer got its debut against the UO in Corvallis in 1894. This was the opening
game of Oregon State's second football season, played on what many today refer to as "lower campus."
All Together Now
Zip Boom Bee
Zip Boom Bee
S. A.
S. A.
S. A. C.
The letters S-A-C., of course, stood for State Agricultural College, OSU's official name at the time.
The problem was, at the end of the cheer, the letters S-A-C sounded too much like a giant snake hissing,
making it impossible for fans to make out the name of the school kicking up all the racket. So the
letter "O" (for Oregon) replaced "S" in the last three lines of the cheer, and its ending became
O-A., O-A.,
O-A-C.
Forgotten Traditions
An interesting sidenote: According to the
1999 OSU Fact Book, "Oregon Agricultural College" did not become the official name of the
university until 1908.
The school's mascot at this time was a Methodist Episcopal minister named J.R.N. Bell,
after whom Bell Field was named. The word "Beaver" is first used to describe an OSU
(or OAC) athletic team in 1910; however, the "Beaver" does not become the official mascot
of the university until long after the death of Rev. Bell in 1928.
"Benny" Beaver, as represented by a student wearing a Beaver costume, first appeared in 1951.
"Angry Benny"
OSU's first mascot was a coyote named "Jimmie." (1892-93)
Introduced in 1999, a new "angry Beaver" logo replaced the kinder, gentler "Benny" logo during the last week of
January 2001. "Benny Beaver" remains OSU's official athletic mascot, even though it has become customary for
the new beaver likeness to be referred to by the campus community as the "angry Beaver." For most alumni and
friends of OSU, any likeness of a beaver representing OSU will still be known as "Benny," as will the
life-sized beaver that always seems to show up at all kinds of Oregon State athletic events. The word "angry"
represents an attempt on the part of Beaver fans today to explain the difference in appearance between the new
and old Beaver logos and is not an attempt to change the name of the school mascot.
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