His Name is Bevo! Long May He Reign!

All You Need to Know About the Official Mascot(s) of the University of Texas

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/grownnflown.jpg Credit: Grown and Flown

 

 

 

A young neighbor was asking me about some of the history of the University of Texas, and the conversation turned to the university’s mascot. The young man explained that he had heard that Bevo, the longhorn steer that is the university’s official mascot, received his name as the result of a prank perpetrated by the fans of a rival school. I asked him where he got this misguided information, and he said some unnamed little brother was running around claiming the story to be true. After admonishing the young man to be careful because any little brother who would tell a lie of that sort would probably also not hesitate to also cheat or steal. I then began to explain the actual story of the university’s beloved mascot. His name is Bevo. Long may he reign! The Early Years

 

 

 

The first recorded college football game in America was played between Princeton and Rutgers in 1869. Twenty-four years later, on November 30, 1893, the University of Texas played its first official game (Texas not only won its first official game, it went undefeated its first season).

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Game-program-1893.gif first UT football game. Credit: Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin

 

 

 

In 1893, there was little in the way of the pageantry that is such a part of college football today. There were no bands, no official uniform colors and no mascots. In fact, they barely had rules to the game they were playing. In 1880 Walter Camp, the “Father of Football,” had begun developing the rules of the game, bringing the teams from 15 players to 11, instituting a seven-man line, a backfield consisting a quarterback, two halfbacks and a fullback and turning the original rugby-style game into the game we know today. By 1892, he was done writing the rulebook. Starting in 1893, the University of Texas was ready to write the record book.

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/UT-football-1893.jpg 1893 University of Texas football squad. Credit: Jim Nicar

 

 

 

By 1914, football at the University of Texas was firmly entrenched in campus life. In early April of that year, L. Theo Bellmont, UT’s first athletic director, arrived on campus and brought with him a seven-week-old pit bull–mix puppy. The puppy was soon named “Pig” after Gus “Pig” Dittmar, the center on the football team (teammates noticed the puppy and Dittmar shared the same awkward bowlegged walk). With an official name, Pig Bellmont was voted by students as the first mascot of the University of Texas.

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/pig-bellmont.jpg

 

Interestingly, during World War I, Pig was a favorite of the cadets from the U.S. School of Military Aeronautics, which was located on the University of Texas campus. The school, the precursor to the Air Force Academy, was known as “The West Point of the Air” and trained aspiring military pilots. Pig was said to have never missed a hike and was present with the cadets in all the class graduation photos.

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_8534" align="aligncenter" width=805]https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Texas-Longhorn-mascot-Pig.jpg Pig Bellmont (right) supervises drilling of air cadets on the University of Texas campus during World War I

 

 

 

Pig Bellmont’s service with the cadets is part of the rich, respectful and illustrious history of both military and civilian service to our nation by the students, alumni and even mascots of the University of Texas.

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Aeronautics.jpg WWI era photo of the cadets of the U.S. School of Military Aeronautics on the UT campus. Pig Bellmont is seen lower left.

 

 

 

Pig Bellmont’s first two years as the UT official mascot (and Theo Bellmont’s first two years as athletic director) were quite successful. The Texas football team, coached by Dave Allerdice, went 8-0 in 1914 and 6-3 in 1915 (the inaugural year of the Southwest Conference). The 1916 campaign would prove to be a significant year, not for the events on the gridiron, but for what occurred during halftime of the game on Thanksgiving Day that year. It was an event that would effect the lives of each and every Longhorn fan to this day and would add to the pageantry of college football itself. Bevo Arrives on Campus

 

 

 

Thursday, November 30, 1916, Thanksgiving Day, was a red-letter day for the city of Austin as well as the University of Texas. Austin was packed with dignitaries and alumni who had come for both homecoming festivities and the inauguration of university President Robert Ernest Vinson, who was taking over for interim President William Battle. It was estimated almost 15,000 people had travelled by train and automobile to be in attendance. For Austin, then a city of approximately 30,000, such an influx created quite a stir. In addition to alumni, the dignitaries on hand for the inauguration included the presidents of Yale, Harvard, Columbia, University of Virginia, University of Indiana, Baylor, University of Iowa, Johns Hopkins and Rice Institute, to name just a few. Even in 1916, the University of Texas was a nationally prestigious institution. The alumni present constituted the largest assemblage of Texas Exes ever before gathered at the university on one day.

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/faculty-Nov-1916.jpg Univ of Texas faculty assembled on Nov 30, 1916 for inauguration of President Robert Ernest Vinson

 

The inauguration speeches were concluded with President Vinson proclaiming “no man or set of men should ever be permitted to interfere with the orderly development of the University of Texas” (an exceptionally poignant message even today). The traditional turkey dinner was served throughout the city. A full turkey dinner at what served as the university cafeteria was available for 50 cents ($10.75 in today’s money). At 3 p.m. the assembled visitors packed the stands at Clark Field, the university’s first football stadium (near present day 24th Street and Speedway).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/clarkfield1930s.jpg Clark Field, UT’s first football stadium. Credit: Jim Nicar

 

The scene was a riot of color, orange and white and red and blue for the game between the University of Texas and A. and M. College (in 1900 students at the University of Texas voted to make UT’s official colors orange and white. A. and M. College had not yet settled on official colors and at that time were represented by red and blue).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/team_1916.gif 1916 University of Texas football team.

 

 

 

Various accounts of the excitement and incidents of the game are offered elsewhere. What is of note is what happened during halftime. Pig Bellmont was the official university mascot during the game and by all accounts was present on the sideline for the game. The December 1916 edition of The Alcalde describes what happened at halftime:

 

 

 

Mr. Pinckney (Stephen Pinckney ’11) and one hundred and twenty-four other good fellows purchased and presented to the students of the University a longhorn steer of the old time Spanish variety with horns reaching seven or eight feel from tip to tip. The steer was then formally transferred to the students. (See December 1916 Alcalde, p. 101.)

 

 

 

After describing the gifting of the steer to the students, Alcalde Editor Ben Dyer penned words now known to every Longhorn fan to this day. Dyer wrote: “His name is Bevo. Long may he reign!” (see December 1916 Alcalde, p. 102). And, with those words, Bevo, one of the most iconic mascots in college sports, entered into history.

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/bevopresented.jpg The original Bevo being presented on November 30, 1916

 

 

 

Whether Dyer or someone else came up with the name “Bevo” is the subject of debate. Dyer’s Alcalde article is the first know instance of the steer being called by that name. Normally, one would turn to the next day’s edition of The Daily Texan to read about football games or activities on campus. Interestingly, the edition of The Daily Texan that would have the story of that day’s activities is missing from the University of Texas archives. It remains one of the more sought-after items not currently in the UT archives. Why “Bevo”?

 

 

 

Until we determine for certain who actually named Bevo, we can’t know why the name “Bevo” was chosen. The most popular and most widely accepted theory is that he was named after a popular “near-beer” introduced into the marketplace by Anheuser-Busch in 1916. At that time, prohibitionists were making great political strides in their desire to have alcohol banned by law in the United States. The U.S. military had prohibited the possession of alcohol by or the sale of alcohol to anyone in uniform. Anheuser-Busch, needing a product for the marketplace that would comply with the legal limit of no more than 1.4% by volume came to market with “Bevo,” whose name came from a derivation of “pivo,” the Slavic word for beer.

 

 

 

Bevo was a new product in 1916 and while sales were modest, the younger, college-age crowd was probably one of the first segments of the population to know of the new product. Eventually marketing of Bevo included the use of specially designed automobiles known as “Bevo Boats,” which if not the first, were one of the earliest examples of custom-designed cars being used in marketing campaigns, today exemplified by such examples as the Oscar Mayer weinermobile.

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/bevoboat.jpg Advertisement for Bevo including the first design of the Bevo Boat

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/amelia-concours-033.jpg The only Bevo Boat still known to exist

 

 

 

Some time ago, the students at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (“A&M College”) began to circulate the story that they were responsible for naming UT’s mascot “Bevo.” Their story says the UT mascot was a steer named “Varsity” until students from A&M College branded the score of a football game A&M College played against Texas in 1915, which A&M College won 13-0, on the side of the steer. Supposedly, to create a cover story and try to hide the fact another school branded their mascot with the score of a game the team lost, students at Texas simply changed the “13” to appear as a “B,” changed the dash between the scores to appear as an “E,” snuck in a “V” and then with the zero as the final digit of the score, the branded animal appeared with “B-E-V-O” branded on his side. This makes a quaint story but, as with many of the stories A&M College students circulate, the story isn’t true.

 

 

 

It is true the University of Texas played A&M College in November 1915 and lost by the score of 13-0. It is also true that some time later the students from A&M College snuck into the South Austin stockyard and branded Bevo with the 13-0 score of the 1915 game.

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/bevo-13-0.jpg Bevo branded with the score of the 1915 game

 

 

 

However, the story quickly falls apart upon examination.

 

 

 

As for the connection between “Varsity” and UT football, UT never had a mascot named “Varsity.” The only other official mascot UT ever had was Pig Bellmont. As Jim Nicar, renowned expert on the history of the University of Texas, explains:

 

 

 

At the start of the 20th century, the term ” ‘varsity ” — with the apostrophe at the front — was a nationally accepted abbreviation of the word “university” (university -> ’versity -> ’varsity). Look through old Austin and UT student newspapers, as well as Cactus yearbooks, and you’ll find mentions of the ’varsity football team, ’varsity band, ’varsity glee club, and so on. This doesn’t mean UT was home of the “Texas Varsities.” It was a general term for a UT group, and was used by universities across the country. In Texas at the time, a person who was “going to ’Varsity” was understood to be enrolled at the University in Austin, as opposed to be “going to the College,” which was a reference to the A&M College of Texas — or A&M College — in College Station.

 

 

 

So, “Varsity” was never the name of a UT mascot. If, in the early 1900s, two university teams had been playing a game in any sport, newspaper reporters would have referred to both teams as ’Varsity. To avoid confusing readers, in the early 1900s sportswriters began to develop informal nicknames for teams. In 1904, David Frank, a sportswriter for the Texan (the then UT student newspaper, published bi-weekly), began to call the team the Longhorns. The name caught on and was later officially adopted by the university. To “saw varsity’s horns off” has nothing to do with the Longhorn’s mascot. In fact, the song lyrics “saw varsity’s horns off” were written in 1928, well after Texas started to be called the Longhorns and before Bevo had even become the official mascot of the Texas Longhorns.

 

 

 

As for the actual branding, according to the Austin American Statesman, it occurred in the early morning hours of Sunday, February 11, 1917, a number of weeks after Ben Dyer had penned and published the December Alcalde with the account of the 1916 game and those immortal words “His name is Bevo. Long may he reign!”

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/aggy-brands-Alfred-Bull.jpg Picture of A&M College students who branded Bevo, dated 2/10/17

 

 

 

One week later, in response to information that students from the rival College wanted to kidnap Bevo, the animal was moved to safety at a ranch 60 miles away from Austin. Things quieted down until on April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany. Students from both schools set idle pursuits aside and turned their attention to preparing for war in Europe. Bevo as the Official Mascot

 

 

 

Bevo remained in the possession of the University of Texas throughout the war. The steer presented at the 1916 game was far from “robust.” However, by late 1919, Bevo had gained more than a little weight and was costing the university 60 cents a week to feed. A decision was made, and the steer became the main course for the January 1920 UT football banquet. Guests from A&M College were invited to attend. The guests were served the side that they had branded and were ceremoniously presented with the hide that still read “13-0.” Alfred Bull, one of the miscreants who had branded Bevo in 1917, not only was present, but also gave his account of the branding (and evidently relished in telling the story). After taking the branded hide with them, it is unknown what the A&M College guests eventually did with their trophy. Its whereabouts today, or whether it still even exists, is unknown. Over the years, stories have been circulated that the UT mascot was served for dinner at the 1920 banquet. These stories are not true. In 1920, Pig Bellmont was still the UT mascot.

 

 

 

Pig Bellmont survived until New Year’s Day 1923, when he was hit by a car in the vicinity of 24th Street and Guadalupe. After his death, Pig lay in state in front of the University Co-Op in a coffin draped with orange and white ribbons until January 5 when, at approximately 5 p.m., he was carried by members of the Texas Cowboys to a site where the Graduate School of Business now stands. As he was laid to rest, a lone trumpeter played Taps. On his grave was placed a market that read “Pig is dead. Dog gone.”

 

 

 

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/pig-bellmont1.jpg Texas Cowboys carrying casket of Pig Bellmont, UT’s first mascot, Jan. 1923

 

 

 

After Pig’s death, the university went without an official mascot until 1932, when Bevo II was introduced. Since then, Bevo has been the official mascot of the University of Texas. Not surprisingly, Bevo the mascot has reflected the spirited and independent nature of the UT student body. Bevo II famously charged an SMU cheerleader, who was left with nothing but a megaphone as a defensive weapon. Bevo III escaped from his enclosure and roamed freely across campus for two days. Bevo IV attacked a parked car, while Bevo V broke loose and scattered the Baylor band. While some believe the mascot is sedated for appearances at football games, he is not. The fact that he is a steer and not a bull accounts for his more docile nature.

 

 

 

Since 1945, the care of Bevo has been the responsibility of the Silver Spurs, a honorary student service organization at the university. The current mascot is Bevo XIV, and he hails from the Sunrise Ranch in Liberty Hill northwest of Austin. His name is Bevo. Long may he reign!

 

 

 

Note:

 

 

 

The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (A&M College), pursuant to the Texas Constitution, was created as a branch of the University of Texas. Twice, in 1915 and 1919, proposed constitutional amendments designed to separate the University of Texas and A&M College were rejected by voters. In 1931, following the lead of the university, A&M College adopted a dog as its mascot. Its mascot remains a dog to this day. In 1963, the name of A&M College was changed by the legislature to “Texas A&M University.” Although operated as a separate institution, Texas A&M University still legally remains designated as a branch of the University of Texas.

 

 

 

I am deeply indebted to Jim Nicar, who is a wealth of knowledge about the University of Texas, for his help on this article. His website, jimnicar.com, has additional historical information about UT.

 

 

 

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[*]utexas.edu/opa/video/closeup/2006-older/bevo_history.mp4

 

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[*]texasexes.org/uthistory/traditions.aspx?tradition=pigbellmont

 

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[*]texasexes.org/uthistory/traditions.aspx

 

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[*]alcalde.texasexes.org/2012/01/time-to-remember-pig/

 

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[*]alcalde.texasexes.org/2011/11/thanksgiving-1916-the-bevo-tradition-is-born/

 

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