What Is The History Behind Purdue University Named Boilermaker?

The official collegiate sporting teams of Purdue University, situated in West Lafayette, Indiana, are called the Purdue Boilermakers. The Boilermakers moniker is also used to refer to the general population of Purdue students and alumni, as is typical for sports nicknames. Fans commonly abbreviate the moniker as “Boilers”.

What Is The History Behind Purdue University Named Boilermaker?

One of the few collegiate sports programs not supported by the institution or paid for by student fees is Purdue.

With a 29-5 record and the Big Ten Tournament championship, Purdue has clinched one of the top seeds in the 2023 NCAA Tournament and is ranked first overall in the East Region.

Zach Edey, who stands at 7-4 and is among the top big men in college basketball, has been a phenomenal asset to Matt Painter’s team as they have progressed to this point in the season.

Purdue University has maintained its reputation as a globally recognized university that encourages students to have a good impact on society since its founding in 1869. Several Purdue graduates, like Drew Brees, Neil Armstrong, and Eugene Cernan, take great pride in being referred to as “Boilermakers.” However, many individuals are unaware of where this term comes from.

It also begs the question: Why did Purdue choose to go by the moniker “Boilermaker” and what does that mean? It is one of the most recognizable brands in collegiate sports, and Purdue’s quest to make a long run in the NCAA Tournament in 2023 will undoubtedly get a lot of attention.

The university’s sports teams were known as “corn huskers,” “blacksmiths,” or “cornfield sailors” prior to the title “Boilermaker.” The university’s reputation for producing students majoring in mechanical arts and agriculture explained why the football squad, with just eleven players, lacked exceptional skill. The Purdue University football team didn’t become well-known until 1891, when they defeated Wabash College 44-0.

Tensions were high when Wabash collegiate, a dominant team in collegiate football at the time, was defeated by an underachieving squad. With the heading “Wabash Snowed Completely Under by the Burly Boiler Makers From Purdue,” the Daily Argus-News published a story following the game. The university welcomed the moniker “Boiler Makers” and permitted it to symbolize the university and its students as it gained popularity.

By definition, a boilermaker is a person who manufactures boilers. Purdue observed that the distinctive moniker of its sports teams originated from the type of instruction the land-grant institution, established in 1869, offered: It imparted working-class skills and was, at the time, seen as lowbrow.

In order to establish a new locomotive laboratory, Purdue University purchased a functional 85,000-pound Schenectady No. 1 locomotive engine the same year it defeated Wabash College 44-0. This served to solidify the university’s position as a leader in engineering research and technology and added relevance to the Boilermaker moniker.

Purdue University has won the title of top engineering research and development university in the world. The school gave pupils practical experience using top-notch tools and fostering expertise. Purdue acquired the Schenectady, a fully functional steam locomotive, as the program grew. The locomotive, which gave Purdue University its nickname, the Boilermaker Special, made them well-known.

Four decades have passed since the release of the original Boilermaker Special model, which was a miniature locomotive with the university’s emblem affixed to a vehicle frame. Boilermakers boast that the Boilermaker Special VIII is now the “largest, fastest, heaviest, and loudest collegiate mascot in the world.”

What is Purdue’s mascot?

Though he is one of the university’s mascots, Purdue Pete is not, in contrast to common assumption, the school’s official mascot.

In 1940, local artist Art Evans was commissioned by Doc Epple and Red Sammons, the bookstore’s then proprietors, to create an illustration of a boilermaker for use as the bookstore’s advertising emblem. At University Bookstore, they continue to utilize a more updated version for that purpose. The editors of the university’s Debris yearbook asked University Bookstore for permission to put Purdue Pete on the cover of the 1944 edition of the yearbook, and they were granted it.

Epple came up with the moniker “Pete” when asked what the boilermaker featured in the advertisement graphic was called. Purdue Pete has been a fixture at Purdue games since 1956. One of four spirit squad members is normally chosen to represent Purdue Pete, who usually dons a football or basketball outfit on his head.

The headgear was originally constructed from papier-mâché and chicken wire, but fiberglass was eventually added for durability in the event of wet football games.36] “Bruno the Boilermaker” is the mascot of Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School in northeastern Illinois, which is comparable to Pete.

That honour goes to the Boilermaker Special, a functional locomotive styled during the Victorian era that made unfavourable news during the 2022 football season when it stalled on the field.

According to Purdue, the Boilermaker Special has been produced in five different iterations, the most recent of which is known as the “Special VII.” Purdue also explains the present model’s moniker, “Special VII,” given that it is the fifth model.

According to Purdue, the most recent model was introduced in 2011 following the dedication of Special IV, sometimes referred to as the Xtra Special, and its current second iteration, Xtra Special VI. They are described by the university as “faux locomotives” constructed on golf cart chassis.

Originally planned in the 1930s as a way to showcase the school’s technical capabilities, “Special I” made its debut on the first day of courses in 1940. Over the years, many models have made their debuts in 1953, 1960, 1993, and “Special VII” in 2011.

NCAA team championships

Purdue University has won 3 NCAA national championships:

Men’s (1)
Golf (1): 1961
Women’s (2)
Basketball (1): 1999
Golf (1): 2010

Other national team titles:

Not bestowed by the NCAA:
Men’s basketball (1): 1932 (retroactive Helms and Premo-Porretta selections)
Football (1): 1931 (Parke Davis)

 

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