Traditions
Nickname - The Beavers
In the early days of the institution, Oregon State University's athletic teams were known as the Aggies. When orange uniforms replaced the drab sweatshirt gray and tan jerseys, the teams were referred to as the Orangemen.
In 1916 the school yearbook was renamed "The Beaver" and the name Beaver became associated with the school. It is believed the press also had some influence in changing the name, particularly L.H. Gregory of The Oregonian newspaper. The name gained instant popularity among alumni and students.
The Beaver is the state's official animal.
The Mascot - "Benny Beaver"
Benny Beaver was adopted as Oregon State University's mascot in 1952 after the school had a reported three previous mascots. The first mascot in 1893 was a coyote named Jimmie, owned by M.M.H. Kriebel. In 1909, a second mascot appeared on the scene. Dr. John Bell, a Corvallis pastor and former regent of Corvallis when the college was taken over by the state and became Oregon Agricultural College, became the OSU mascot. In the early 1900s, "Doc Bell" was considered to be the varsity football squad's "mascot" because of his steadfast attendance and advising. In 1921 there was an attempt to make a live Beaver, "Bevo," into the school mascot, but with little success.
Benny Beaver, OSU's current mascot, was introduced to the student body by the school's rally squad on September 18, 1952, in an effort to pick up sagging school spirit.
"Benny Beaver, the rally squad's candidate for handsomest man in school, has never been on campus before," according to The Barometer (student paper), at the time.
"The animal stands six-feet tall, wears vivid orange knickerbockers, a black jersey, and his familiar orange and black rooters lid."
Adopted as the official mascot in 1952, Benny Beaver still fires up the crowds at OSU athletic events today.
Benny Beaver, while official accepted as the school's mascot in 1952, actually can be traced back to the 1940-41 school year. A statue of a beaver named "Benny" appears in the school's yearbook, and later a barometer sports columnist used the pen name "Benny Beaver."
Team Colors - Orange & Black
Oregon State was known as Corvallis College until the mid 1890s and the school color was navy blue. A faculty committee appointed by school President John Bloss voted to replace blue with orange. Not long after, black was selected by the student body as a background color. A local tailor named J.H. Harris donated black uniforms for the baseball team in this time frame, and it is believed to be where the black color scheme began in athletics, although that is debatable. An article in the local Corvallis Gazette-Times in 1892 describes the use of orange and black in commencement ceremonies, nearly a year prior to orange becoming the official color.
While orange was originally the official color, over the years black has become more universally accepted as one of the official colors. Today, nearly all of OSU accepts black and Pantone 165 orange as the official colors.
Oregon State Fight Song
OSU our hats are off to you,
Beavers, Beavers fighters thru and thru.
We'll cheer throughout the land,
We'll root for ev'ry plan,
(LET’S X GO X O-S-U!)
Watch our team go tearing down the field,
Those of iron their strength will never yield.
Hail, hail, hail, hail,
Hail to old OSU.
(OSU Fight! B-E-A-V-E-R-S)
