Five-foot-five, 150-pound quarterback Herbert “Butch” Meeker becomes an instant Cougar legend after leading his 1-3-1 team to a stunning 17-12 win over a good USC team in Los Angeles—Washington State’s first-ever win over the Trojans. The team returns to Pullman and is treated to a hero’s welcome, with students let out of class to go to the Union Pacific depot to greet the players’ train.

Meeker repeats his football magic multiple times from 1925 to 1927, earning him the title of “the fightingest little football player ever to don a Cougar uniform.”

After Washington Governor Roland Hartley presents the college with its first live cougar mascot at halftime of a game in 1927, it is quickly named Butch in Meeker’s honor.