The Masked Rider
Encyclopedia
The Masked Rider is the primary mascot
of Texas Tech University
. It is the oldest of the university's mascots still in existence today. Originally called "Ghost Rider", it was an unofficial mascot appearing in a few games in 1936 and then became the official mascot with the 1954 Gator Bowl
. The Masked Rider has led the team onto the field at nearly every football
game since. It is the nation's first school mascot to feature a live horse at a football game, ahead of Florida State
's Chief Osceola and Renegade
and 25 years before USC
's Traveler
and all other such mascots in existence today.
In fact, after learning of the Masked Rider, other schools emulated the idea of a mounted mascot. Florida State began their tradition in 1978, immediately after seeing Texas Tech's live mascot at the 1977 Tangerine Bowl that pitted the two. The Oklahoma State Cowboys
copied the Masked Rider in 1984 when Eddy Finley, a Texas Tech alumnus became an Oklahoma State University
agricultural education professor, and started the Spirit Rider Program
when both schools were still in separate conferences.
The Masked Rider is adorned from head to toe in black, including a black gaucho
hat and a black mask. The only other color present is the scarlet rider's cape. The current horse is also black, a tradition for the last 40 years, although horses prior to the 70s were on occasion other colors.
Students must pass a rigorous interview and testing process in order to be selected for this honor by The Masked Rider Advisory Committee. The Masked Rider is available for public appearances for no fee, though a donation is encouraged.
In 2000, The Masked Rider tradition was commemorated with the unveiling of a sculpture outside of Frazier Alumni Pavilion on Texas Tech's campus. The Grant Speed sculpture is 25 percent larger than life.
In 1936 the first rider, George Tate (class of 1937), led the football team onto the football field then left the field. Tate, whose identity was kept a secret at the time, was wearing a scarlet satin cape made by the Home Economics Department. He had borrowed a horse from the Tech barn as a prank. Tate was quoted in the November 4, 1984, issue of The Dallas Morning News
as saying that Arch Lamb, who was then the head yell leader of the Saddle Tramps, "dreamed up this Red Raider thing." The prank was pulled a few more times that season but didn't surface again until the 1950s, when another Tech student was approached about creating a mascot.
In 1953 Texas Tech football coach DeWitt Weaver
approached a student named Joe Kirk Fulton about becoming The Masked Rider. DeWitt's Red Raiders were 10-1-0 in football and headed to Jacksonville, Florida
for the Gator Bowl. At the time, Texas Tech was hoping to be invited to join the Southwest Conference. All the other teams had a mascot, and it is thought that DeWitt believed creating a mascot for Texas Tech might aid the school's chances for admission into the conference. Fulton agreed to ride a horse named Blackie in the bowl game.
Texas Tech's Center for Campus Life explains:
Beginning in the early 1960s the Texas Tech marching band has played a composition written expressly for the mascot. "Ride, Raider, Ride" (commonly known as The Horse Music) is performed in quick time as the horse is galloped around the stadium sidelines. The highly spirited tune was composed by faculty member Richard Tolley, Professor of trumpet and Associate Director of Bands, 1959-1991.
football season, the Southwest Conference created a rule forbidding the bringing of live animal mascots to away games unless the host school allowed it. Since the Masked Rider's horse might be prohibited from traveling to some games under this rule, an alternate mascot named Raider Red was created; Raider Red is a person wearing a normal mascot costume.
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
of Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
. It is the oldest of the university's mascots still in existence today. Originally called "Ghost Rider", it was an unofficial mascot appearing in a few games in 1936 and then became the official mascot with the 1954 Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
. The Masked Rider has led the team onto the field at nearly every football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
game since. It is the nation's first school mascot to feature a live horse at a football game, ahead of Florida State
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
's Chief Osceola and Renegade
Chief Osceola and Renegade
Chief Osceola and Renegade are the official symbols of the Florida State University Seminoles. During home football games at Florida State, Chief Osceola, portraying the Seminole leader Osceola, charges down the field at Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium riding an appaloosa horse named...
and 25 years before USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
's Traveler
Traveler (mascot)
Traveler is a horse who is the mascot of the University of Southern California. He appears at all USC home football games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as well as many other outdoor events, including numerous Rose Parades. The current horse is Traveler VII...
and all other such mascots in existence today.
In fact, after learning of the Masked Rider, other schools emulated the idea of a mounted mascot. Florida State began their tradition in 1978, immediately after seeing Texas Tech's live mascot at the 1977 Tangerine Bowl that pitted the two. The Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State Cowboys are the athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University. Their mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates in the NCAA's Division I-A and in the Big 12 Conference's South Division. The university's current athletic director is Mike Holder...
copied the Masked Rider in 1984 when Eddy Finley, a Texas Tech alumnus became an Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater is a land-grant, sun-grant, coeducational public research university located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA. OSU was founded in 1890 under the Morrill Act...
agricultural education professor, and started the Spirit Rider Program
Bullet (mascot)
Bullet is the name of the horse ridden by the "Spirit Rider" at Oklahoma State University-Stillwater football games and other special events. The current Bullet is a black American quarter horse gelding. Bullet was introduced as an Oklahoma State tradition in 1984 by the late Dr. Eddy Finley as...
when both schools were still in separate conferences.
The Masked Rider is adorned from head to toe in black, including a black gaucho
Gaucho
Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
hat and a black mask. The only other color present is the scarlet rider's cape. The current horse is also black, a tradition for the last 40 years, although horses prior to the 70s were on occasion other colors.
Students must pass a rigorous interview and testing process in order to be selected for this honor by The Masked Rider Advisory Committee. The Masked Rider is available for public appearances for no fee, though a donation is encouraged.
In 2000, The Masked Rider tradition was commemorated with the unveiling of a sculpture outside of Frazier Alumni Pavilion on Texas Tech's campus. The Grant Speed sculpture is 25 percent larger than life.
History
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
as saying that Arch Lamb, who was then the head yell leader of the Saddle Tramps, "dreamed up this Red Raider thing." The prank was pulled a few more times that season but didn't surface again until the 1950s, when another Tech student was approached about creating a mascot.
In 1953 Texas Tech football coach DeWitt Weaver
DeWitt Weaver
DeWitt Thompson Weaver, Sr. was the head football coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders from 1951 to 1960.He was the first head football coach at Texas Tech to win a bowl game during his first season—an accomplishment unmatched at Texas Tech until Tommy Tuberville's first season, in 2010-2011.In...
approached a student named Joe Kirk Fulton about becoming The Masked Rider. DeWitt's Red Raiders were 10-1-0 in football and headed to Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
for the Gator Bowl. At the time, Texas Tech was hoping to be invited to join the Southwest Conference. All the other teams had a mascot, and it is thought that DeWitt believed creating a mascot for Texas Tech might aid the school's chances for admission into the conference. Fulton agreed to ride a horse named Blackie in the bowl game.
Texas Tech's Center for Campus Life explains:
According to reports from those present at the 1954 Gator Bowl, the crowd sat in stunned silence as they watched Fulton and Blackie rush onto the football field, followed by the team. After a few moments of stunned disbelief, the silent crowd burst into cheers. Ed Danforth, a writer for the Atlanta JournalThe Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the only major daily newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and its suburbs. The AJC, as it is called, is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the result of the merger between The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta...
and a press box spectator later wrote, "No team in any bowl game ever made a more sensational entrance."
Beginning in the early 1960s the Texas Tech marching band has played a composition written expressly for the mascot. "Ride, Raider, Ride" (commonly known as The Horse Music) is performed in quick time as the horse is galloped around the stadium sidelines. The highly spirited tune was composed by faculty member Richard Tolley, Professor of trumpet and Associate Director of Bands, 1959-1991.
- In 1963, the horse, Tech Beauty, was kidnapped and spray-painted with the letters "AMC" prior to Tech's football game against rival Texas A&MTexas A&M AggiesTexas A&M Aggies refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "Aggie" is common at land-grant or "Ag" schools in many states. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports...
. - In 1974, the selection of the first female Masked Rider, Ann Lynch, caused widespread controversy.
- In 1975, the horse was kidnapped and received chemical burns after being painted with orange paint prior to Tech's football game against Texas.
- In 1982, The Masked Rider was involved in injuring an opposing school's cheerleader. Ten years later, The Masked Rider was involved in the injuring of a referee.
- In 1994, an accident as The Masked Rider entered the football stadium resulted in the death of the horse, Double T; named after the Double T logoDouble TThe Double T is a logo that is the most readily identified symbol of Texas Tech University.-History:The Double T is generally attributed to Texas Tech University's, then Texas Technical College, first football coach, E. Y. Freeland, and assistant coach, Grady Higginbotham. The Double T's design...
. - In 2001, The Masked Rider horse trailer was involved in a car accident. The horse, Black Phantom Raider, sustained serious injuries which led to his euthanization.
- In 2006, The Masked Rider appeared as number twenty-four on the CollegeFootballNews.com list of "College Football's 25 Greatest Mascots".
- The horse, Midnight Matador, has served as The Masked Rider's mount since 2002.
Raider Red
Around the 19711971 in sports
1971 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Gustav Thöni, Italy** Women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria-American football:...
football season, the Southwest Conference created a rule forbidding the bringing of live animal mascots to away games unless the host school allowed it. Since the Masked Rider's horse might be prohibited from traveling to some games under this rule, an alternate mascot named Raider Red was created; Raider Red is a person wearing a normal mascot costume.