The Cal 100: No. 50 -- Oski
We count down the top 100 individuals associated with Cal athletics, based on their impact in sports or in the world at large – a wide-open category. See if you agree.
No. 50: Oski
Cal Sports Connection: Oski debuted on September 27, 1941 and has remained Cal's athletic mascot for nearly 82 years.
Claim to Fame: Oski's look -- including a yellow cardigan and white gloves -- has remained consistent for eight decades, a nod to his forever-sophomore persona.
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He has never scored a touchdown for Cal, hit a home run or dunked a basketball.
He cannot run or jump. When he walks, his hands clasped behind his hunched back, the gentle back-and-forth sway in his step is reminiscent of Richard Nixon.
And almost no one knows his real name.
But he boasts a longer uninterrupted involvement with Cal athletics than anyone. Ever.
You didn’t really think we were going to forget Oski?
Cal’s unmistakable mascot has been on the sidelines, quietly cheering on his school since 1941. Even Clarence “Nibs” Price coached the basketball team for “only” 30 seasons.
Oski
Photo by Kelley L. Cox, KLC fotos
Oski will celebrate his 82nd birthday on Sept. 27. On that date in ’41 — more than two months before Pearl Harbor was attacked — Oski made his debut as the Bears routed visiting Saint Mary’s 31-0.
He has been a staple on the Cal sideline ever since.
Named for the “Oski Wow-Wow Yell” that was recited at Cal football and basketball games more than century ago, Oski was the creation of William “Rocky” Rockwell and Warrington Colescott.
Rockwell designed the costume as an alternative to live bear cubs that had been used at times during the 1930s, and was the first student to assume the role. In 1942, Rockwell joined the Navy and formed a “Flying Golden Bear Squadron.”
Colescott was art editor of The Daily Californian and had designed Oski as a cartoon strip for the newspaper. Colescott went on to a career as a well-respected cartoon satirist, whose New York Times obituary in 2018 (Colescott lived to age 97) made mention of his work inspiring the Cal mascot.
Colescott years later gave himself away during a lecture titled, “A Few Thoughts about My Life in Art,” acknowledging his drawings of Oski were a “cynical creation meant to be a funny loser,” a reference to Cal football’s record during those seasons.
Oski is the depiction of the forever sophomore, “growing in wisdom, but not yet grown up,” as suggested by a 2016 Berkeley News story.
He has mostly been a fun-loving character, interacting with kids and firing up the home crowd. But he’s had a few run-ins over the years, including a series of skirmishes with the Stanford Tree.
In 1990, Oski flung a cake into the crowd at an Oregon State basketball game, hitting 15 people including the mother of Beavers’ star Gary Payton. He was subsequently suspended, at least partly for drinking alcohol on the job.
Oski over the years
Oski’s identity is kept a secret by a committee that oversees his selection and activities, partly for security reasons and partly as a nod to tradition.
And his look has remained largely unchanged for eight decades: He wears a yellow cardigan sweater and white gloves and he never says a word — his mouth is sewn shut.
Bleacher Report in 2011 rated Oski as the 42nd-best college mascot, hardly high praise but five spots higher than the Stanford Tree.
“While most mascots dress appropriately for the game by adorning a jersey or shirt showing their school pride, Oski is too cool and hipster,” Bleacher Report wrote. “Instead, he wears a cardigan sweater, which is what I imagine every faculty member from Berkeley wears. Don’t let Oski's faux-intellectualism fool you though. He can still pack a punch, especially if it's against a rival tree.”
In 2016, on the occasion of his 75th birthday, a celebration at Sproul Plaza included a lecture titled, “Oski Bear and the Struggles of Being a 75th-Year Sophomore.”
A recent survey involving nearly 1,300 participants labeled Oski as the least-sexy mascot in college sports.
“This is certainly no surprise though, given his weak chin, long face, large nose, and, ahem, soft middle,” the author wrote. “But let’s cut him a break, as some of these features are often associated with age — and Oski’s been around for a while.”
But while he remains rooted in the 1940s, Oski has adjusted to a changing world. He has nearly 7,300 followers on Instagram and almost 5,000 on Twitter.
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Cover photo of Oski by Cary Edmonson, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo