Benny Beaver - Mascot History

Mascot History

The university's school newspaper is the first known organization on campus to adopt the beaver as its namesake, with its use occurring as early as 1908. The school yearbook's long use of the name (it was known as "The Beaver starting in 1916) eventually helped solidify the beaver as the university's official mascot. The popularity of the beaver was also shared by students at University of Oregon. For several early publishings, students at this school also used "The Beaver" as their yearbook's title. Oregon State University's first documented use of "Benny Beaver" was found in a photograph showing students posing next to a statue of a beaver inscribed with the name "Benny Beaver." This photograph appears in the 1942 edition of the yearbook.

Prior to the beaver, Oregon State's mascot was an individual known as John Richard Newton Bell (1893–1928). A longtime member of the university's board of regents, Bell became hugely popular among the students for his ritual of marching to the Marys River after each of Oregon State's Civil War victories. He was said to have tossed his top hat into the water as a token of celebration. Earlier mascots include "Jimmie" the Coyote (1892–1893) and "Bulldog" (1906–1910, unofficial and for specific teams only, such as the Wrestling squad). The beaver mascot's name, "Benny," was officially adopted in 1945. Two failed attempts to maintain a live beaver mascot include Bevo Beaver (rescued from Mary's River in 1921 and later stolen ) and Billy Beaver (made mascot in 1935, and later fell ill and died). Although Oregon State did not adopt Benny until much later, many yearbooks and athletic programs in the OSU Archives refer to the athletic teams as the "Beavers," albeit in an unofficial capacity.

The early Benny Beaver "cartoon" icon/logo was created by famous graphic illustrator, and former Disney employee, Arthur C. Evans. As the art director for Angelus Pacific Company, Evans submitted his design to OSU and it was approved for use in 1951. His logos were used at hundreds of other universities and high schools throughout the nation. Evans' beaver logo also appeared in the 1985 movie "Teen Wolf."

The first appearance of the beaver mascot, in costume and during an athletic event, was performed by Ken Austin on September 18, 1952 . Austin later founded Newberg, Oregon-based A-dec, the largest privately held dental equipment manufacturer in North America. Austin is also a major Oregon State donor.

Between the early 1980s and mid-1990s, Benny was often joined at sporting events by a co-mascot, known as "Bernice Beaver."

In 2001 the Benny Beaver costume changed to match the new logo, but was not well accepted by younger fans. In 2005 the mascot costume was changed to a more family-friendly version. This is the version in use today (2007). Benny wears #0 at football games and #6 at basketball games.

In December of 2010, Benny Beaver was ranked 13th on a list titled 20 Worst Behaved Mascots Of All Time, in part due to an incidence, caught on film, of Benny fighting with the Oregon Duck mascot, who was ranked #1 on this list. However, Benny Beaver won the 2011 Capital One Mascot of the Year write-in campaign, earning the mascot program $1000 and inclusion in the following year's Capital One All-America Mascot Team.