AUSTIN, Texas — Nearly 108 years ago, in November 1916, the first mascot named Bevo made his appearance at a University of Texas football game.
He was a scrawny longhorn steer introduced at half time of a UT-Texas A&M football game. It was reported at the time that he was hard to handle and was not particularly well-liked by the students.
After all, UT already had a football mascot: a tan and white dog named “Pig Bellmont,” adored by students and faculty alike. The dog roamed the campus freely and was even welcomed inside classrooms. When he died in 1923, students led a solemn funeral procession down The Drag.
At Clark Field for that 1916 game, UT beat Texas A&M, 21-7. When a UT editor wrote a story about the game, he mentioned the steer and proclaimed in print:
“His name is Bevo. Long may he reign.”
But where he got the name Bevo isn’t exactly clear.
There was a popular non-alcohol drink from Anheuser-Busch – a near-beer at the time called Bevo. Could that be where Bevo’s name came from?
Or did the name originate from the actions taken by a small group of Texas A&M students who broke into Bevo’s shelter and branded him with the score of 17-0, a 1915 football game that the Aggies had won against Texas?
The legend goes that when UT students saw the branded Bevo, they converted the score – 17-0 – into the name “Bevo.” However, UT historians dispute that story.
The most likely origin of the Bevo name has to do with beef. It possibly came from the words "beeves" or "beev," which was used to describe cattle at the time. Add the letter “o,” and you’ve got “beev-o.”
And speaking of beef, we’re sad to report that Bevo No. 1 met an unfortunate demise. He was retired, fattened and served-up as a BBQ dinner for the annual UT football banquet in 1919.
A most unfortunate end to the beginning of a Longhorn legend.