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The Lawmen and Outlaws Who Built the Old West

Khalid Elhassan August 29, 2021 35 min

Old West legend Frank Eaton in later years. City of Perkins

5. From Killer to College Mascot

In 1887, Frank Eaton learned that the last target on his vengeance list, Wyley Campsey, was running a saloon in Albuquerque, New Mexico. So he headed west to visit payback upon him. Soon as Eaton entered Campsey’s saloon, he shouted at him: “fill your hand, you son of a bi**h!” As his target reached for a gun under the bar, Frank shot him twice in the heart. Simultaneously, two of Campsey’s employees opened fire on Eaton and hit him in the leg and arm.

Pistol Pete became the mascot of Oklahoma State University. Pinterest

Eaton survived his wounds, settled down in Perkins, Oklahoma, married, and raised a family. He lived to the ripe old of 98 before he died in 1958. As he aged, youngsters loved to visit the Old West legend’s home, listen to his yarns, and watch his lightning-quick draw. In 1923, students at Oklahoma A&M College, now Oklahoma State University, asked Pistol Pete to pose as the school’s mascot. New Mexico State University and the University of Wyoming followed suit, and also adopted Pistol Pete’s likeness as their mascot.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.