Spurs ceremony welcomes new Pistol Petes to exclusive group

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Media Contact: Jordan Bishop | Editor | 405-744-7193 | jordan.bishop@okstate.edu

Pistol Pete alumni swore in the two latest members of their Oklahoma State University mascot fraternity on Sept. 2 in the ConocoPhillips Alumni Center at the spurs ceremony. 

Scott Petty, Pete No. 40, introduced the ceremony with the story of how the event came to be. It started when Bob Clark approached Petty at the First Bank of Fairfax about why Pete’s regalia didn’t include spurs. Clark collected the spurs of real cowboys and had them hanging on the walls of his bank. Petty explained that the spurs could damage the floors of different buildings, such as the Gallagher-Iba Arena, and Clark responded with an offer. 

“He said, ‘What if I donated spurs for Pistol Pete?’” Petty said. “I said that would be OK, but they would probably get worn down over time. He said, ‘No, no, I want to give them to every Pistol Pete, and when I’m gone, my family will continue to do that.’”

From that point forward, Clark and his family would give each Pete a pair of custom-made and modified spurs that wouldn’t scrape floors.

The two newest Petes — Bryce Coon, No. 95, and Caden Schaufele, No. 96 — were excited to be recognized in front of members of the Alumni Association prior to the football game against Central Arkansas. 

“Getting to go to the alumni center and meeting most of the past Petes there was a cool experience,” Schaufele said. “And sharing that moment with Bryce and I seeing all the older Petes was a lot of fun.”

With 2023 being the Year of the Cowboy — 100 years since Frank Eaton became affiliated with OSU — Coon and Schaufele get to experience being Pete as not many have before and maybe never will. 

Coon tried out to be Pete once before, and this time the committee picked him. He wasn’t originally thinking he would get to be Pete during the 100th year, but Coon said he was excited about the experience. 

“There’s really only one word to describe being Pete during the 100th year. Awesome,” Coon said. “It’s memorable. Getting to be at the Homecoming game in the Year of the Cowboy, and all of the Homecoming decs being based on Pistol Pete, is so cool.

“That type of feeling is hard to put into words.”

Story By: Mak Vandruff | makenzie.vandruff@okstate.edu