 In 1966 , John Lowery , the father of a Colorado freshman from Lubbock , Texas , donated a six @-@ month old buffalo calf from Sedgewick , Colorado to the University . Lowery bought the calf from rancher Art Kashcke . Bill Lowery ( John ’ s son ) , John McGill , Don Marturano , and Vic Reinking were the original Ralphie Handlers who trained Ralphie I. The original Handlers say she was named “ Ralph ” after the class president at the time , while another story says she was named “ Ralph ” after the sound she made while running . After it was noted that the buffalo was a female and Ralph was a male ’ s name , the name was changed to Ralphie . 
