CREDIT TK PHOTO BY FIRSTNAME LAST Spring 2026 35 Orange Express Days One of the worst seasons in OSU sports history overlapped one of its greatest, and Ben Hermon, ’83, had a front-row seat for it all. He was Benny during 1980-81, when the football team went winless, and then the men’s basketball season was ranked No. 1 in the country for eight weeks, playing to sold-out crowds in a deafeningly loud Gill Coliseum. “The energy that was coming off the people was just tremendous,” Hermon said. “I really fed off that energy, and we were always trying to come up with ‘What can we do during breaks, halftime, that would just keep that energy rolling and increase it?’” He took to swing dancing with a cheerleader at midcourt. Occasionally he’d take an opposing cheerleader out there — and then abandon her halfway through the dance. One of his Phi Gamma Delta brothers on the Rally Squad sometimes boosted Hermon onto his shoulders and carried Benny as he dribbled from one end of the court to the other and dunked the ball. Hermon also got into it with a few opposing mascots, including a memorable tussle with Oski.Theywere wrestling on the court when Hermon inadvertently discovered the wearer of the Oski suit’s gender: “I hit one of her breasts, and I went, ‘Oh, [bleep]. This isn’t good.’ So, I got up and I think to kind of end that I stole one of her shoes and she chased me around.” Ouch. And Ouch Again. Every so often a mascot will make national headlines. For Benny, it happened twice in a three-week span during the fall of 1995 when Marri (Hollen) Ashley, ’97, was in the suit. Cal visited then-Parker Stadium on Oct. 21. It was Homecoming, and Benny wore a tuxedo for the occasion. Benny was at the top of the ramp leading down to the field. The assistant for the day handed Ashley a blowup toy hammer with the suggestion that she tap one of the visiting players who was heading for the field. “Like, ‘Let’s go!’” Ashley remembered the handler saying. “Not trying to provoke anything.” But it did. The 6-foot-5 offensive lineman Tarik Glenn felt the tap, turned, reared back and punched Benny — and thus Ashley — right in the furry snout. “He hit so hard the mask ricocheted off my face,” said Ashley, who went tumbling down the ramp. She was brought to the OSU locker room for treatment, where the Beavers saw her and vowed to take their revenge. Cal won 13-12. Two weeks later Arizona was in town. Benny was standing in the middle of the OSU cheerleaders along the visitors’ sideline when the Wildcats scored and headed for their bench. Lineman Frank Middleton Jr. detoured into the Rally Squad and punched Benny/Ashley in the face. She left the field and didn’t return. Later, Glenn wrote Ashley a letter of apology, and no charges were filed. Middleton was charged with assault, andAshley recalls he was fined $500.When football season ended, she stepped out of the Benny suit for good, weary of the national publicity the incidents brought on. With her, Ashley took good memories along with the bumps and bruises: “Just being something special for your school. Going out and representing that you cheer on your team regardless of whether you win or lose.” 1983 1988 1991 2001 ↑ From shag carpet to injectionmolded plastic, Benny has worn many different faces. OREGON STATER; OSU SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES; 2002 BEAVER YEARBOOK
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcxMjMwNg==