for the prize as both submitted "Buffaloes" as their entry. However, a few days later, the newspaper declared Boulder resident A. J. "Andy" Dickson the winner, after a follow-up investigation revealed his submission of "Buffaloes" had actually arrived several days before those of the original winners. Through the years, synonyms which quickly came into use included Bisons, Buffs, Golden Avalanche, Golden Buffaloes, Stampeding Herd, and Thundering Herd. Live buffaloes made appearances at Colorado games on and off throughout the early years, usually in a pen on the field or sometimes driven around in a trailer. In the 1940s, the school kept a baby buffalo in a special pen at the University Riding Academy. The first named buffalo was "Mr. Chips", who appeared for the first time at the 1957 CU Days Kickoff Rally and was cared for by a men's honorary society. In 1966 the Student Body Government decided that the University of Colorado Boulder needed a full-time live buffalo mascot. Freshman Class Officer Bill Lowery talked to his father who purchased and donated the original "Ralphie" to Colorado in March 1966. The Student Body Government planned for it to be the job of the Sophomore Class Officer's to take Ralphie to all home football games." There are a couple versions of the story on how Ralphie became the name of the beloved mascot. One story says the Student Body Government held a "Name the Buffalo" contest and received many entries. One entry was for "Ralph", in honor of the Junior Class president at the time, Ralph Jay Wallace. Another story says that "Ralph" was chosen as her name by the Student Body Government in reference to the noise made when throwing up. What is known for sure is that the original spelling of her name was "Rraalph" but was changed to "Ralphie" at the end of the 1967 football season. Ralphie first appeared on the sidelines of a football game on October 1, 1966. Colorado beat Kansas State 10–0. Around that same time, head football coach Eddie Crowder was approached with the idea of the buffalo charging out on the field before the game, the team closely following. After much discussion, the debut of this great tradition took place on September 16, 1967. Colorado beat Baylor 27–7. Ever since then Ralphie has been leading the way as the football team takes the field. After the 1967 football season, the