OK HCR1017

Oklahoma State University celebrated the 100th anniversary of its mascot Pistol Pete on October 28, 2023.

Pistol Pete was modeled after Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton, a real-life cowboy, gunslinger, scout, and law enforcement officer who led the 1923 Armistice Day parade in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

OSU students requested permission to use Frank Eaton's "Pistol Pete" persona as the school symbol after seeing him in the 1923 parade, and Eaton regularly appeared on campus and at sporting events.

After Eaton's death in 1958 at age 97, "Pistol Pete" became the official OSU mascot with 96 men carrying on the cowboy spirit tradition.

The House and Senate recognize OSU's Pistol Pete mascot as one of the nation's most recognized college mascots and the only one modeled after a real-life folk hero.