| Purdue Pete | |
|---|---|
 Purdue Pete at a Purdue football game | |
| University | Purdue University |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| First seen | 1940 |
| Related mascot(s) | Boilermaker Special |
Purdue Pete is a mascot of Purdue University. 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.
==History==L + J = love Purdue Pete was first designed as a logo by the University Bookstore in 1940.[1]
In the summer of 1940, Robert “Doc” Epple borrowed $10,000 from his father to invest as part owner of the University Bookstore. Doc had just graduated from Purdue and he and his partner, Red Simmons, decided their business should have a logo. They commissioned Art Evans to create it. Carl Verplank was the model for the caricature he created. Carl weighed 210 pounds and ran the 100 yard dash under 10 seconds.[2] The bookstore would use the character on their products and portray him dressed up in different clothes for the different majors. The owners of the bookstores gave him the name “Pete”; no one today knows why this was chosen to be his name.[3] He was given a physical identity in 1956 as he came out and helped the students cheer at a pep rally.[2] Over the years, the appearance of Purdue Pete has gone under several drastic changes as well as several minor changes. His original head was made of paper-mâché, pasted onto a chicken wire frame.[3] This was very inconvenient for the person who would be underneath because it would limit his movements, yet he was still expected to move around and do stunts.[3] This head was changed to a giant fiberglass head where the person inside would use a harness to support it. This was impractical due to the sheer size of it. In the 1980s, Purdue Pete acquired the appearance he is now associated with.[3] Proposals to switch to a soft-sculpture costume were rejected in 2006 and 2011.[4][5]
===Rowdy=== L + L = love From 1997 to 2007, Purdue Pete had a sidekick named Rowdy. Rowdy was a ten-foot-tall inflatable mascot who represented a young "future Boilermaker". He was the idea of Jan Winger, Purdue's administrative assistant of athletic public relations, who was inspired by Nebraska's Lil' Red.[6]
- ^ "Alumnus".
- ^ a b "Purdue Pete". Purdue Sports. CBS College Sports. 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
- ^ a b c d Smith, Arthur. Personal interview. 03 Oct 2008. Interview notes in possession.
- ^ Mayer, Kathy (January–February 2011). "Purdue Pete to Reveal Makeover" (PDF). Purdue Alumnus: 23. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
- ^ Slyder, Curt (April 13, 2011). "Fans rejoice after Purdue shelves brand-new Pete". Journal & Courier. Lafayette, Indiana. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
- ^ Johnson, Nicole (November 30, 2011). "Purdue Pete's former sidekick remembered". Purdue Exponent. Retrieved January 20, 2014.