Bedlam Series

Bedlam Series
Oklahoma State Cowboys	Oklahoma Sooners
Originated	1904

The Bedlam Series (officially known for sponsorship purposes as The Oklahoma Farm Bureau Bedlam Series) refers to the athletics rivalry between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, of the Big 12 Conference's South Division. Both schools were also members of the Big 8 Conference before the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996.

History

The Bedlam Series is, like most other intrastate rivalries, a rivalry that goes beyond one or two sports. Both schools also have rivalries with other schools, though most of those rivalries are limited to one or two sports at the most.

When the Bedlam Series gained Ford and the Bank of Oklahoma as corporate sponsors, the series became much more formalized. A points system was adopted in order to award a winner of the all athletic competitions combined between the two schools. A crystal bell trophy is awarded to individual Bedlam game winners (such as football), in addition to a trophy for the overall series champion for that year. The "Bedlam Bell" is modeled after the bell clapper in Old Central, the oldest building on Oklahoma State's campus. For a time, the actual bell clapper was a traveling trophy for the two schools, until the popularity of this tradition waned.

Douglas Cup

Well over a 100 years ago, on the windswept plains of Oklahoma Territory, Dr. L.L. Lewis a veterinary medicine professor assembled a group of Oklahoma A&M students to participate in the first ever territorial Track and Field Meet. Held on May 4, 1900, the event included Alva Normal College, Central Normal of Edmond, Kingfisher College and the University of Oklahoma, along with OAMC. A local jeweler named Douglas donated a silver cup for prize of the tournament. To everyone?s surprise, A&M won the meet and returned to Stillwater with the traveling trophy.

In 1901, A&M won for a second time, a third consecutive win would mean the Douglas Cup was theirs to keep. The meet was held on May 23, 1902, and by the end of the day, the Aggies had amassed the most points. The team from Norman filed a protest on the grounds that the pole vault competition had been completed due to darkness, but their protest was overruled. The Douglas Cup belonged to Oklahoma A&M.

The next day, the Sooners held their own vault competition and declared themselves the winner. Several weeks later, the Douglas Cup went missing from its place in a glass case in the chemistry lab. Many students recalled seeing some unfamiliar boys around campus, and students from OU were immediately suspected. A number of A&M students made a surprise trip to Norman and soon returned with the Douglas Cup, reportedly burying it under Old Central for safekeeping.

When excavation was being done for Gundersen Hall ten years later, the trophy was found. Though dented and tarnished from its past, the Douglas Cup was given a place of honor on campus. Today it resides in Heritage Hall, a proud symbol of the tradition that is Oklahoma State University.

Football

The first Bedlam game was held at Island Park in Guthrie, Oklahoma. It was a cold, and very windy day with the temperatures well below the freezing mark. At one moment in the game when the Oklahoma A&M Aggies were punting, the wind carried the ball backwards behind the kicker. If the Oklahoma A&M squad recovered the ball it would be a touchback and if the University of Oklahoma squad recovered it, it would be a touchdown. The ball kept going backwards and rolled down a hill into the half-frozen creek. Since a touchdown was at stake, members of both teams dove into the icy waters to recover the ball. A member of the OU team came out with the ball and downed it for a touchdown, eventually winning the game 75-0. Thus was the beginning of Bedlam.

Author Steve Budin, whose father was a New York bookie, has recently publicized the claim that the 1954 Bedlam Game was fixed by mobsters in his book Bets, Drugs, and Rock & Roll (ISBN 1-60239-099-1).. Allegedly, the mobsters threatened and paid off a cook to slip laxatives into a soup eaten by many OU Sooner starting players, causing them to fall violently ill in the days leading up to the game. OU was victorious in the end, but their 14-0 win did not cover the 20-point spread they had in their favor. However, many people involved in the 1954 contest do not recall any incident like the one purported by Bodin to have occurred.

Oklahoma currently leads the series 82-16-7.

Football Series Records

Season	Date	Site	Rank(OU-OSU)	Winner	Score	Attendance	Overall Record (OU-OSU-Tie)
2010	11/27	Stillwater	13-9		47-41	51,164	82-16-7
2009	11/28	Norman	NR-12		27-0	85,606	81-16-7
2008	11/29	Stillwater	3-11		61-41	49,031	80-16-7
2007	11/24	Norman	10-NR		49-17	85,238	79-16-7
2006	11/25	Stillwater	13-NR		27-21	42,819	78-16-7
2005	11/26	Norman	NR-NR		42-14	84,875	77-16-7
2004	10/30	Stillwater	2-20		38-35	48,837	76-16-7
2003	11/1	Norman	1-14		52-9	84,027	75-16-7
2002	11/30	Stillwater	3-NR		38-28	48,500	74-16-7
2001	11/24	Norman	4-NR		16-13	75,537	74-15-7
2000	11/25	Stillwater	1-NR		12-7	48,500	74-14-7
1999	11/27	Norman	NR-NR		44-7	75,374	73-14-7
1998	10/24	Stillwater	NR-NR		41-26	50,614	72-14-7
1997	11/8	Norman	NR-25		30-7	72,422	72-13-7
1996	11/9	Stillwater	NR-NR		27-17	51,416	72-12-7
1995	11/11	Norman	NR-NR		12-0	75,004	71-12-7
1994	11/13	Stillwater	NR-NR		33-14	50,116	71-11-7
1993	11/13	Norman	17-NR		31-0	65,275	70-11-7
1992	11/14	Stillwater	NR-NR	TIE	15-15	50,440	69-11-7
1991	11/16	Norman	18-NR		21-6	68,778	69-11-6
1990	10/6	Stillwater	7-NR		31-17	49,800	68-11-6
1989	10/7	Norman	16-NR		37-15	74,610	67-11-6
1988	11/5	Stillwater	8-12		31-28	50,440	66-11-6
1987	11/7	Norman	1-12		29-10	75,004	65-11-6
1986	10/18	Norman	5-NR		19-0	76,022	64-11-6
1985	11/30	Stillwater	3-17		13-0	44,000	63-11-6
1984	11/24	Norman	2-3		24-14	76,198	62-11-6
1983	10/15	Stillwater	15-NR		21-20	50,440	61-11-6
1982	10/23	Norman	20-NR		27-9	76,406	60-11-6
1981	11/28	Stillwater	NR-NR		27-3	51,100	59-11-6
1980	11/29	Norman	6-NR		63-14	75,681	58-11-6
1979	11/3	Stillwater	7-NR		38-7	51,453	57-11-6
1978	11/18	Norman	4-NR		62-7	72,339	56-11-6
1977	11/5	Stillwater	3-NR		61-28	50,088	55-11-6
1976	10/23	Norman	5-NR		31-24	72,041	54-11-6
1975	11/1	Stillwater	2-19		27-7	49,358	54-10-6
1974	11/30	Norman	1-NR		44-13	62,619	53-10-6
1973	12/1	Stillwater	2-NR		45-18	50,964	52-10-6
1972	12/2	Norman	3-20		38-15	62,363	51-10-6
1971	12/4	Stillwater	3-NR		58-14	36,571	50-10-6
1970	11/28	Norman	NR-NR		66-6	60,300	49-10-6
1969	11/29	Stillwater	NR-NR		28-27	41,315	48-10-6
1968	11/30	Stillwater	11-NR		41-7	38,515	47-10-6
1967	12/2	Norman	3-NR		38-14	62,038	46-10-6
1966	12/3	Stillwater	NR-NR		15-14	36,581	45-10-6
1965	12/4	Norman	NR-NR		17-16	54,876	45-9-6
1964	11/28	Stillwater	NR-NR		21-16	36,987	45-8-6
1963	11/30	Norman	10-NR		34-10	50,678	44-8-6
1962	12/1	Stillwater	8-NR		37-6	35,727	43-8-6
1961	12/2	Norman	NR-NR		21-13	52,598	42-8-6
1960	11/26	Stillwater	NR-NR		17-6	32,381	41-8-6
1959	11/28	Norman	17-NR		17-7	59,136	40-8-6
1958	11/29	Stillwater	3-NR		7-0	37,014	39-8-6
1957	11/30	Norman	5-NR		53-6	52,366	38-8-6
1956	12/1	Stillwater	1-NR		53-0	36,500	37-8-6
1955	11/26	Norman	1-NR		53-0	40,182	36-8-6
1954	11/27	Stillwater	3-NR		14-0	38,000	35-8-6
1953	11/28	Norman	4-NR		42-7	50,524	34-8-6
1952	11/29	Stillwater	4-NR		54-7	21,408	33-8-6
1951	12/1	Norman	10-NR		41-6	33,103	32-8-6
1950	12/2	Stillwater	1-NR		41-14	28,530	31-8-6
1949	11/26	Norman	3-NR		41-0	47,937	30-8-6
1948	11/27	Stillwater	6-NR		19-15	30,000	29-8-6
1947	11/29	Norman	20-NR		21-13	33,945	28-8-6
1946	11/30	Stillwater	17-NR		73-12	18,500	27-8-6
1945	11/24	Norman	NR-6		47-0	33,000	26-8-6
1944	11/25	Oklahoma City	NR-NR		28-6	NA	26-7-6
1943	10/2	Oklahoma City	NA		22-13	NA	26-6-6
1942	9/26	Stillwater	NA	TIE	0-0	NA	25-6-6
1941	10/4	Norman	NA		19-0	NA	25-6-5
1940	10/5	Norman	NA		29-27	NA	24-6-5
1939	10/28	Norman	6-NR		41-0	NA	23-6-5
1938	11/24	Stillwater	6-NR		19-0	NA	22-6-5
1937	11/25	Norman	NR-NR		16-0	NA	21-6-5
1936	11/26	Stillwater	NR-NR		35-13	NA	20-6-5
1935	11/28	Norman	NA		25-0	NA	19-6-5
1934	11/22	Stillwater	NA	TIE	0-0	NA	18-6-5
1933	11/23	Norman	NA		13-0	NA	18-6-4
1932	10/29	Stillwater	NA		7-0	NA	18-5-4
1931	11/26	Norman	NA	TIE	0-0	NA	18-4-4
1930	11/22	Stillwater	NA		7-0	NA	18-4-3
1929	11/23	Norman	NA	TIE	7-7	NA	18-3-3
1928	11/24	Stillwater	NA		46-0	NA	18-3-2
1927	11/19	Norman	NA		13-7	NA	17-3-2
1926	11/25	Stillwater	NA	TIE	14-14	NA	17-2-2
1925	11/26	Norman	NA		35-0	NA	17-2-1
1924	11/1	Stillwater	NA		6-0	NA	16-2-1
1923	10/27	Norman	NA		12-0	NA	16-1-1
1922	11/25	Stillwater	NA	TIE	3-3	NA	15-1-1
1921	10/15	Norman	NA		6-0	NA	15-1-0
1920	11/13	Stillwater	NA		36-0	NA	14-1-0
1919	11/27	Oklahoma City	NA		33-6	NA	13-1-0
1918	11/28	Oklahoma City	NA		27-0	NA	12-1-0
1917	11/29	Oklahoma City	NA		9-0	NA	11-1-0
1916	11/30	Oklahoma City	NA		41-7	NA	11-0-0
1915	11/25	Oklahoma City	NA		26-7	5,000	10-0-0
1914	11/6	Norman	NA		28-6	NA	9-0-0
1913	11/21	Stillwater	NA		7-0	NA	8-0-0
1912	11/16	Norman	NA		16-0	NA	7-0-0
1911	10/20	Stillwater	NA		22-0	NA	6-0-0
1910	10/21	Norman	NA		12-0	NA	5-0-0
1908	10/3	Stillwater	NA		18-0	NA	4-0-0
1907	11/9	Norman	NA		67-0	NA	3-0-0
1906	10/19	Stillwater	NA		23-0	NA	2-0-0
1904	11/6	Guthrie	NA		75-0	NA	1-0-0

Basketball

Oklahoma owns the all-time series record in basketball, 126–89. With the rise of coaches Kelvin Sampson and Eddie Sutton at the two schools, the basketball series had been especially intense the last few years, with games rarely being certain between the teams, regardless of ranking. Time will tell how the school's two new coaches, Jeff Capel at Oklahoma and Travis Ford at Oklahoma State, will affect the heated rivalry between these two schools. Currently Capel is 3–1 versus Sean Sutton, winning 2 games in Norman, winning in Stillwater in 2008, while Sutton won in 2007 in Stillwater. On April 1, 2008, Sutton was fired from OSU and successor Travis Ford was named. As of 2010, Capel and Ford are tied with 3 games a piece (counting the Big 12 Tournament games).

Wrestling

While the football and basketball Bedlam games stand today as the marquee events in the series, the term 'Bedlam', as it refers to this rivalry, has its roots based in the rivalry between the schools' prestigious wrestling programs. Originally named after the atmosphere during a heated wrestling duel between the two schools (a newspaper writer emerged from Gallagher Hall exclaiming "It's bedlam in there!"), the Oklahoma State team holds a large advantage in the series. The Cowboy wrestling program currently holds a 124-27-9 record against the Sooners. Both programs have been very successful on the national level, Oklahoma winning seven team national championships in its history, while Oklahoma State's highly decorated wrestling program has amassed a record thirty-four team national titles.

External links

• Oklahoma State University Athletics
• University of Oklahoma Athletics