Tiger–Sooner Peace Pipe

Tiger-Sooner Peace Pipe
Teams	Missouri Tigers Oklahoma Sooners
Originated	1929
Series	Oklahoma leads 65-25-5
Oklahoma (57)	Missouri (16)
1933 1934 1935 1937 1938 1940 1943 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1961 1962 1963 1967 1968 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1982 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1999 2002 2003 2006 2007 2007 2008 2011	1929 1931 1932 1936 1939 1941 1945 1960 1965 1966 1969 1972 1981 1983 1998 2010
Ties (4) 1930 1942 1944 1964

The Tiger-Sooner Peace Pipe is the prize of the semi-annual college football matchup between Oklahoma and Missouri.

History

Oklahoma and Missouri had played each other every season in football from 1919 until 1995, when the Big 12 Conference was formed. The Big 12 was split into two divisions, which prevented an annual matchup. However, the teams now play a home-and-home series with three years in between each series (1998–1999, 2002–2003, 2006–2007, 2010–2011 and so on). The Tiger-Sooner Peace Pipe has been awarded since 1929.^[1]

Peace Pipe

In November 1940, a genuine Indian peace pipe was donated by Dr. John S. Knight of Kansas City to become the traveling trophy of the Missouri-Oklahoma football rivalry. Dr. Knight was a 1923 graduate of the University of Missouri. The peace pipe, in the form of a tomahawk, belonged to Chief White Eagle of the Pawnee tribe. The peace pipe was believed to be over 100 years old at the time it was donated in 1940. An inscription on the peace pipe reads “Mystical Seven Society Ceremonial Tomahawk Pipe, University of Missouri vs. University of Oklahoma, Dr. John S. Knight — donor of peace pipe.” Winners of each game are also inscribed on the pipe. The peace pipe was entrusted to MU's Mystical Seven and OU's Pe-et, who would share the peace pipe in the end zone at halftime to celebrate the two universities. The society of the winning university would return the peace pipe to its university until the next meeting of the two teams.^[2][3]

The Sooners were the first to take possession of the peace pipe following their 7-0 victory over the Tigers in 1940. In fact, Oklahoma was inscribed 19 times on the pipe from 1940 to 1963. After a tie in 1964, OU gave possession of the pipe to MU as Oklahoma had held the trophy so many more times since the trophy's inception. Records indicate that the tradition continued through 1974, but the peace pipe exchange did not take place in 1975. The current location of the pipe is unknown since it was last held by Oklahoma. OU's senior associate athletic director, Kenny Mossman, has indicated that Oklahoma officials have conducted an extensive search of their archives for historical items, and the peace pipe has not been located.^[2][3]

Notable games

2007 Big 12 Championship Game

The Tigers were the Big 12 North's representative to the 2007 Big 12 Championship Game where they faced Big 12 South representative Oklahoma. Missouri came into the game ranked #1 in the AP Poll and the BCS standings. However, they were upset by their rival and then were snubbed by the BCS for another rival, Kansas.

2008 Big 12 Championship Game

The 2008 Big 12 Championship Game featured a rematch between the two schools. This time, Oklahoma was favored and they won again.

October 23, 2010

In their 2010 meeting, Mizzou defeated Oklahoma (then ranked #1 in the BCS standings). The game was the site of ESPN's College GameDay, where Missouri set the on-campus attendance record for GameDay.^[4]

References

1. ^ "Mascot & Football Traditions"
2. ^ ^{a b} http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=alum;cc=alum;sid=e8319a3fa1419338cf773c4bbee6e40c;q1=peace%20pipe;rgn=full%20text;idno=alum194011;view=image;seq=30
3. ^ ^{a b} http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2007/10/11/case-missing-peace-pipe/
4. ^ http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/19822/record-turnout-for-college-gameday