Ralphie History
In 1934, a contest in the Silver & Gold newspaper determined the school mascot to be the buffaloes. For the final football game of the 1934 season, a group of students paid $25 to rent a buffalo calf to stand on the sidelines. Along with a real cowboy caretaker, it took four students to keep the calf, the son of “Killer,” a famed bison at Trails End Ranch in Fort Collins, calm on the sidelines. As far as luck though, Colorado won 7-0 against the University of Denver on Thanksgiving Day.
Prior to 1934, CU athletic teams were referred to as Arapahoes, Big Horns, Frontiersmen, Grizzlies, Hornets, Silver and Gold, Silver Helmets, and Yellow Jackets. The student newspaper decided to sponsor a national contest in the summer of 1934, with a $5 prize to go to the author of the winning selection. Over 1,000 entries arrived from almost every state. Athletic Director Harry Carlson, Graduate Manager Walter Franklin, and Kenneth Bundy of the Silver and Gold were the judges.
Local articles first reported that Claude Bates of New Madrid, Missouri, and James Proffitt of Cincinnati, Ohio, were co-winners for the prize as both submitted “Buffaloes” as their entry. However, a few days later, the newspaper declared Boulder resident A.J. “Andy” Dickson the winner, after a follow-up investigation revealed his submission of “Buffaloes” had actually arrived several days before those of the original winners. Through the years, synonyms which quickly came into use included Bisons, Buffs, Golden Avalanche, Golden Buffaloes, Stampeding Herd, and Thundering Herd.
Live buffaloes made appearances at Colorado games on and off throughout the early years, usually in a pen on the field or sometimes driven around in a trailer. In the 1940s, the school kept a baby buffalo in a special pen at the University Riding Academy. The first named buffalo was "Mr. Chips," who appeared for the first time at the 1957 CU Days Kickoff Rally and was cared for by a men's honorary society.
In 1966 the Student Body Government decided that the University of Colorado Boulder needed a full time live buffalo mascot. Freshman Class Officer Bill Lowery talked to his father who purchased and donated the original "Ralphie" to Colorado in March of 1966. The Student Body Government planned for it to be the job of the Sophomore Class Officer's to take Ralphie to all home football games."
There are a couple versions of the story on how Ralphie became the name of our beloved mascot. One story says the Student Body Government held a "Name the Buffalo" contest and received many entries. One entry was for "Ralph," in honor of the Junior Class president at the time, Ralph Jay Wallace. Another story says that "Ralph" was chosen as her name by the Student Body Government in reference to the noise made when throwing up. What is known for sure is that the original spelling of her name was "Rraalph" but was changed to "Ralphie" at the end of the 1967 football season.
Ralphie first appeared on the sidelines of a football game on October 1, 1966. Colorado beat Kansas State 10-0. Around that same time, head football coach Eddie Crowder was approached with the idea of the buffalo charging out on the field before the game, the team closely following. After much discussion, the debut of this great tradition took place on September 16, 1967. Colorado beat Baylor 27-7. Ever since then Ralphie has been leading the way as the football team takes the field.
After the 1967 football season, the Student Body Government realized it was not smart to have it be the tradition for the Sophomore Class Officers to run with Ralphie, and instead it would be better to have trained individuals with large animal experience take the tradition over.
The Ralphie Live Mascot Program has since evolved, becoming a prestigious athletic endeavor for student athletes and buffalo enthusiasts.
Buffalo Facts
Buffalo Behavior
During the winter months, buffalo use their strong horns and large heads to plow away the snow so they can get to grasses underneath. During winter, the buffalo’s metabolism slows down and they lose around 10% of their body weight. Many feel this is to prepare themselves for weight gain in the spring leading up to the calving season and nursing their calves. Buffalo grow a heavy winter coat to protect them from harsh winter winds. During the spring, buffalo use trees and rocks to rub off their winter coat, and to help relieve the irritation of bug bites. Buffalo also wallow, roll around, in mud and dusty areas to keep cool and to fight off bugs. Buffalo have very poor eyesight, but an extraordinary sense of smell and hearing. Bulls often try to impress other buffalo by fighting with one another, but rarely do they fight to the death.
Buffalo are very intelligent animals. Many habits have been witnessed, such as laying down at the beginning of a snow storm then standing up once it stops snowing. That way the buffalo have a small patch of snow free grass to eat. Buffalo are also one of the only mammals to turn and face into the wind, allowing the wind to aerodynamically pass around their bodies.
About the species
Scientifically named the American Bison, it is widely accepted that they are called buffalo. Buffalo are North America’s largest mammals, are herbivores, and part of the bovine family. Wild buffalo live to be 15 to 20 years old, but there have been examples of buffalo living over 30 years old. Both bulls (males) and cows (females) grow a single set of horns, if they break a horn, a new one will not replace the lost horn, but they will still continue to grow. Buffalo can reach speeds of 25 miles per hour, jump over six feet high, and are considered excellent swimmers. Buffalo are herd animals, but the bulls typically stray away from the herd until mating season; the cows stay together to protect the other cows and calves (babies).
Bulls stand more than six feet tall at the hump and can weigh over 2,000 pounds. Bulls’ heads are twice the size as cows, measured across the forehead, and their horns are drastically thicker and larger.
Cows average five feet tall at the hump and weigh around 1,200 pounds. Cows can begin to breed at the age of two, with the calf gestation period being about nine months. Cows bread once a year and go through a rut. The rut begins around the beginning of July and ends towards the end of August. Calves are born from the middle of April until the middle of May. Cows are very protective mothers and often form bonds with other mothers to help fight off predators to protect the young.
Calves are born at 35 to 50 pounds with no hump and very tiny horns. Initially calves have a red coat, but will turn brown after a few weeks. Calves can stand and walk immediately and soon run as fast as the herd. They nurse for about 7 months before being weaned, but begin eating grass one month after birth. Calves can constantly be seen playing with the other calves of the herd.
There are two sub-species of buffalo, the Plains Bison and Woods Bison, although there is a very small difference in genetic makeup. Woods typically live at higher latitudes, have a darker coat, weigh a little more, and have a hump that is further up their bodies above the shoulders.
Buffalo History
A common misconception is that buffalo were on the endangered species at one point. It was estimated that there were 30 million buffalo in North American prior to 1830. After Lewis and Clark made their report about the buffalo in the west, hunting parties were soon killing up to 250 head a day. By the late 1800’s it was estimated that there was less than a 1,000 buffalo left in North America, but they were never listed as endangered. Today there are over 600,000 head of buffalo in North America on both public and private lands, and that number is growing. Private ranchers are the primary reason for the rebirth of buffalo, due to the large demand for buffalo meat. With approximately two million acres of land to his name, Ted Turner is the largest individual landholder in North America and has over 50,000 buffalo on that land. Currently the only true free-ranging buffalo are located in Yellowstone Nation Park, but other public herds are established across the country on vast tracks of land. In 2016 the bison became the official mammal of the United States.