
What is the Purdue mascot?
Despite his on-field presence at Purdue sporting events, Pete is only the athletic mascot of the university, and the official mascot of Purdue University is the Boilermaker Special . Purdue Pete was first designed as a logo by the University Bookstore in 1940.
What does Purdue Pete look like?
Purdue Pete’s uniforms are old gold and black, which are Purdue’s school colors. Purdue Pete carries a large hammer, reminiscent of the type of large mallets used to mold steel by boilermakers. The current head utilizes a fiberglass frame, but is much smaller and lighter than previous designs, as it is made primarily of a composite.
How many Purdue Petes are there each year?
Being selected as Purdue Pete is an honor that has belonged to many people over the past 45 years. There are only four Purdue Petes selected for each year. According to a Petes representative in the athletic office, about fifty people tryout for the role of the mascot each year.
Who is Purdue Pete?
Purdue Pete is not only a fixture at athletic events but he is involved with the community as well. Pete attends numerous charitable events each year and makes visits to schools to promote A drug free environment. Pete is involved in hundred of events each year.

How old is Purdue Pete?
Purdue Pete can trace his heritage back to 1940 when University Book Store owners Doc Epple and Red Sammons hired artist Art Evans to create Pete an advertising logo. However, Pete didn't get his name until four years later. In 1944 the Purdue yearbook, Debris, wanted to use Pete on the cover.
How many Purdue Petes are there?
Since his 1956 adoption into Purdue's official sports mascot, over 40 people have played the role of Purdue Pete.
What is on Purdue Pete's head?
A Tip of the (Hard) Hat. Purdue Pete flipped his lid. Literally. In 1983, Purdue's athletic mascot took off the boxy hat he had worn at a jaunty angle atop his raven hair for two decades and donned a new skimmer — a construction hard hat.
Who has been Purdue Pete?
Evolution of Purdue Pete He would be played by Larry Brumbaugh in which he wore a wore a 36-pound papier-mâché head with bulging eyes, giant grin, and perched-high eyebrows (Meyer, Kathy).
What do Purdue students call themselves?
The Purdue BoilermakersThe Purdue Boilermakers are the official intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname is also used as colloquial designation of Purdue's students and alumni at large.
What is a Boilermaker train?
The Boilermaker Special is the official mascot of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. It resembles a Victorian-era railroad locomotive and is built on a truck chassis. It is operated and maintained by the student members of the Purdue Reamer Club.
Is Purdue Pete a Boilermaker?
A Boilermaker if ever there was one, Purdue Pete first took the field to cheer on the Boilermakers in 1956.
Is Purdue Ivy League?
No, Purdue University is not an Ivy League school. The Ivy League is a group of prestigious universities mainly located in the eastern US. These universities have a reputation for high academic standards and strict admissions policies.
Why are Purdue called Boilermakers?
In 1891, Purdue's football team put a 44-0 beating on its rivals at the liberal arts Wabash College in nearby Crawfordsville, Indiana. Afterward, one write-up on the game appeared in the Daily Argus-News under the headline, "Wabash Snowed Completely Under by the Burly Boiler Makers from Purdue." The name stuck.
Where is Purdue Pete?
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Pete is creepy? Apparently so. His blank stare and disproportionately large head don't help matters, according to Quality Logo Products Blog, which conducted a survey this month that found Purdue Pete as the creepiest mascot among NCAA Division 1 football teams.
What is Purdue University known for?
Purdue is a Big Ten school that provides "a world class education" with a name "that is known all over the world and not just the state of Indiana." The university is especially "known for being a great engineering school," but has a bevy of amazing programs including "a great nursing program," "a great Pharmacy ...
Is Purdue a good school?
The annual Best Colleges rankings compared more than 1,500 institutions on a variety of metrics. Overall, Purdue ranked 53rd among all institutions, up four spots from the previous year, and 17th among public institutions, up one spot from 2019.
How many times has Purdue made Sweet 16?
Sweet Sixteen Appearances: 13 (1969, 1980, 1988, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022)
What is the furthest Purdue has gone in March Madness?
In the 2017 NCAA Tournament, Purdue reached the Sweet Sixteen, losing to #1 seed Kansas.
How many times has Purdue been in the Elite 8?
1) Purdue is making its fourth Sweet 16 appearance in the last five tournaments, the third-most in the country (Gonzaga, Michigan - 5). 2) Purdue went 19 years between Elite 8 appearances (2000 to 2019).
How many Big Ten championships does Purdue have?
Purdue has a 14-22 all-time record in the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament. The Boilermakers won their first and only tournament championship in 2009. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Since its inception in 1998, Purdue has a 14-22 all-time record in the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament.
Who was Pete from 1989 to 1992?
The look has largely remained unchanged since. Christian “John” Coder (LA’92), Pete from 1989 to 1992, remembers frantic fun. “I did birthday parties, alumni functions, barbecues. I changed in restrooms and ducked behind cars to change.”
What department is Pete's head made of?
Now: The newest head of Pete (1989 to today) was designed and created by students in the Aeronautical Engineering Technology department. They make several heads out of composite materials over the course of the year and also fix the heads when they get damaged, whether from use or bumping into things. (Purdue University photo)
What is the memory of the Purdue basketball player who broke his collarbone?
His favorite memory: Making a backward hoop shot during halftime at the 75th anniversary of Purdue Basketball. He also broke his collarbone when fans piled on during a bit of horseplay with Bucky Badger.
How much did John Knote's head weigh?
John Knote (LA’59), the third Purdue Pete, from spring 1958 to spring 1959, says the head weighed 36 pounds. He lost it when he tackled Bucky Badger after the Wisconsin mascot stole his hammer. “I tackled him in the end zone, and the head fell off and rolled near the goal post,” Knote recalls.
When did Pete move to personhood?
Pete moved from page to personhood on Sept. 28, 1956, at a pep rally before Purdue played Missouri, when student Larry Brumbaugh (ME’57) donned foam rubber padding, football shoulder pads, long black pants, sweater with a P, and a papier-mâché head.
When did Pete lose his head?
Poor Pete lost his head again in 1962, according to the “Purdue Pete History” on the Engineering Computer Network website. The head flew out of the back of the Boilermaker Special on the drive back from an Iowa City game and never was found.
When did the boilermaker Pete logo come out?
In 1944, the logo jumped from retail to academe, starring in Purdue’s Debris yearbook. “Introducing Boilermaker Pete,” a headline read, with Pete drawings appearing throughout in various outfits: with signs for the Marines, Army, and Navy; carrying a rifle; toting a hoe; and wearing a home economics apron among them.
Why was Purdue Pete chosen to play the Boilermaker?
Initially, students were chosen to portray Pete because of tumbling ability. In those days, Pete had a papier mache head and a bit of padding but was expected to tumble along with the cheerleaders. Today, Pete's head is crafted in the same aviation technology lab that produced the locomotive body of the X-tra Special. In addition to the head, the four students who portray Pete wear shoulder pads and carry a hammer.
When did Purdue Pete start cheering on the boilermakers?
PURDUE PETEA Boilermaker if ever there was one, Purdue Pete first took the field to cheer on the Boilermakers in 1956. Initially, students were chosen to portray
What is Purdue Reamer Club?
The Purdue Reamer Club is responsible for the care of the Boilermaker Special and X-tra Special. The Club was founded in 1923 and is dedicated to fostering the observance of school traditions, supporting all sporting events, and aiding in the development of proper school spirit. Visit http://www.purduereamerclub.org/for more information.
When did Purdue Pete remake?
In 2010, the university attempted a remake of Purdue Pete after reports the mascot was frightening children.
How tall is Cayenne?
Coming in as second creepiest, Cayenne, the 8 feet tall, anthropomorphic mascot for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
What sport does Purdue Pete play?
Purdue Pete plays around with a volleyball while getting the crowd excited.
What are the Purdue Petes' responsibilities?
Other responsibilities of the Purdue Petes include being at every home football game, volleyball game, men and women’s basketball game and wrestling match, along with traveling to every football and basketball post-game and attending half of soccer, baseball and softball games. Pete occasionally makes appearances at other sports as well.
Who greets the fans at Purdue?
Before the start of the game, Purdue Pete greets Boilermaker fans.
Who had Pete's face tattooed on his butt?
Kaylee Stowe, a freshman in the College of Science, attended a wedding of a Purdue alumnus where the groom, a former Purdue Pete, had Pete’s face tattooed on his buttocks.
Who was the first person to jump in the water outside of Lambert Fieldhouse?
Starting off the 2018 Polar Plunge, Purdue Pete is the first to jump in the water outside of Lambert Fieldhouse.
How many Purdue Petes are there?
There are only four Purdue Petes selected for each year. According to a Petes representative in the athletic office, about fifty people tryout for the role of the mascot each year. Of those fifty, six to ten are selected for the final cut. These finalists must then perform a skit that they themselves create.
Who was the first Purdue Pete?
In 1956 athletic director Guy "Red" Mackey gave the go ahead to create a sports mascot to inspire fans at home football games. Larry Brumbaugh was selected to be the first Pete by the Pep Committee.
What are the Purdue mascots?
The four Petes share the responsibility of being both Purdue mascots, Pete and Rowdy, at football and basketball games, other athletic events and activities around the community. Each year, all four Petes attend the National Mascot Competition.
How did Pete lose his head?
Pete has lost his head a couple of times, literally. Pete lost his original head in 1962 on the way back from Iowa City. Pete's head was in the back of the Boilermaker Special when a strong gust of wind blew it out into the road. The crew stopped the Special and searched for hours for the head without any luck. The only thing they found was little piece of the shoulder pad.
What is Purdue Pete made of?
Pete evolved from a smallish papier-mâché version to a huge fiberglass version that was more harness than head, and finally to a smaller version made of fiberglass as well.
When did Purdue Pete appear on the cover of Debris?
In 1944 the Purdue yearbook, Debris, wanted to use Pete on the cover. The editors went to Epple and asked for Petes name. According to one account, Epple out of the blue said "Pete". So the famed Boilermaker was named, and in the 1944 issue of Debris, Purdue Pete was everywhere. Pete wouldn't assume a human form for another 4 years after that. The 1948 Debris yearbook hosts the first photograph of Purdue Pete.
When did Purdue Pete start playing football?
Pete's Origins and History. Purdue Pete ran onto the field in 1956, at the pep rally before the September 29 Purdue-Missouri football game. However, that was not the first time that Purdue students had heard of their new mascot. Purdue Pete can trace his heritage back to 1940 when University Book Store owners Doc Epple and Red Sammons hired artist ...
