50 Years of the Masked Rider, LIB-2004

This exhibit is dedicated to Arch Lamb,
alumni and supporter of Texas Tech University

          During the early years when the athletic teams were known as the Matadors, Texas Tech did not have a mascot.  After a sportswriter dubbed the team “Red Raiders,” a group of students decided the team should have a Red Raider Rider.  These early ghost riders would unexpectedly circle the football field before home games and then vanish, creating the aura of mystery.  In those early appearances, students who had access to horses, but not necessarily permission to ride them at games, would sneak the horses to games and hurriedly return them after the impromptu rides.
                                             Statue Dedication 9/9/2000
          George Tate said that it was Arch Lamb, head yell leader and founder of the Saddle Tramps in the mid-1930’s, who came up with the idea of the Red Raider Rider.  It was Tate, the student horse herdsman, however, who posed as the mysterious figure for the first time on September 26, 1936, during a game against TCU.  “The way Arch suggested to me was just to come in and make an appearance and then sort of disappear like a phantom,” Tate recalled.  “Of course, I had a mask on and nobody recognized me - and I’m glad they didn’t.”  Tate stated also he rode at one other football game that year.
          To eliminate confusion between the names of the two Tech mascots, the Red Raider officially became the “Masked Rider” in 1983.  This year also marked the mascot’s 30th anniversary.

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