Breaking Trail: Frank “Pistol Pete” Eaton

Frank Eaton also known as “Pistol Pete” lived a life worthy of legend. Now you might be wondering why this name sounds familiar… Well, that’s because “Pistol Pete” is the mascot for Oklahoma State University, the University of Wyoming and New Mexico State University.

Frank Boardman Eaton was born on October 26, 1860, in Hartford, Connecticut. After the Civil War, his family moved to Kansas in 1868 where his father was murdered by vigilantes. Frank promised to bring his father’s killers to justice and began practicing his marksmanship. He moved to Fort Gibson to learn everything the soldiers would teach him and was given the nickname “Pistol Pete” when he outshot everyone at the fort. By the late 1880s, Frank Eaton had found and killed all of his father’s murderers.

Frank Eaton joined the rush to find land in Oklahoma Territory in 1889 settling in Perkins, Oklahoma. He was named a sheriff and blacksmith in the town. He married Orpha Pearl Miller in August 1890, and they had two daughters. Tragically, Orpha passed away in 1902 and he knew that he needed help raising his daughters. He married Anna Rosetta Sillix in 1903 and they had an additional eight children.

Frank Eaton statue by Wayne Cooper in Perkins, Oklahoma at the Oklahoma Territorial Plaza.

Frank Eaton published a weekly column in The Perkins Journal from 1950-1956. It was titled “Truthful Pete Says” and later changed to “Pistol Pete Says.” He’d help set the type by hand and crank the hand press. The newspaper has been digitized and you can read them online.

Eaton was a well-respected member of the community and children loved to hear his stories. He made public appearances until the late 1950s.

Eaton passed away on April 8, 1958, in his sleep. Over a thousand people traveled to Perkins to attend his funeral.

Frank Eaton’s historic home in Perkins, Oklahoma at the Oklahoma Territorial Plaza.

How did “Pistol Pete” become the mascot for several universities?

Frank Eaton was involved in an Armistice Day Parade in 1923 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. A handful of students from Oklahoma A&M saw him riding a horse and decided he should be the mascot rather than the tiger that was currently used by the school. In 1958, the school formally adopted “Pistol Pete” as the mascot.

In 2023, Oklahoma State University celebrated 100 years of “Pistol Pete” being their mascot.

Pistol Pete at the 2023 Cowboy Stampede (Oklahoma State University Rodeo) in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Concluding Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed learning the true story of “Pistol Pete” Frank Eaton. I hope you’ll join me next time as we continue ‘breaking trail’ on the stories of the American West.

I’ll talk to ya soon!