MONDAY, APRIL 26, 1999

The evolution of CSULB's Prospector Pete

By Nicola Chadwick

On-Line Forty-Niner

Believe it or not, Prospector Pete, Cal State Long Beach's beloved-ballooned mascot, has been around since the beginning of CSULB. But he hasn't always looked like he does today.

The original Prospector Pete costume was made out of suit material that consisted of a vest. Pete's head was constructed of Styrofoam, and often the person in the costume would wear his or her own black sweats and shoes.

Four years ago, Pete was replaced by an orange basketball called "The Beach Ball." The spherical mascot did not last long, and was thrown out officially for being ugly, said Christian Spears, CSULB marketing assistant director.

School colors used to be gold and brown. The new school colors, gold and black, were adopted by George Allen, the university's former football coach. Allen felt that gold and brown were not the proper colors for the Forty-Niner's football team, Spears said.

Once the football team embraced Allen's new colors, the rest of the CSULB family was quick to follow.

The new and improved Prospector Pete who graces the games and raises school spirit was first unveiled last year on October 10 at the CSULB Women's Volleyball game against UC Irvine.

The idea for the current Prospector Pete was inspired by the University of Nebraska's mascot Little Red, Spear said.

A few alterations later, Signs 'N' Shapes Company delivered a transformed Prospector Pete with a whopping price tag of $4600. The cost was spilt four ways between the Bookstore, the President's Office, the Alumni Office and the Athletic Department.

The current outfit is an inflated costume. The mascot handler gets into the harness-styled ensemble and turns on the motor via the belt of the costume. A pipe behind the costume's right knee sucks in air, inflating the costume.

The feet of the costume are made of cardboard-like material and vinyl, which can make movement difficult and strenuous.

How does Prospector Pete handle such a busy sports schedule? Due to the delicate construction of his feet, Pete primarily attends volleyball and basketball events. In some instances when there are two sports events scheduled in a night, Prospector Pete will attend neither in order to not show preference.

What about the person behind the balloon mask?

The primary mascot volunteer is CSULB junior Angel Luna. Luna, who has always been an advocate of school spirit, has been playing Prospector Pete since last year's fall semester.

"It originally started out as a dare during my sophomore year. I would tell my friends I can do better then that guy," Luna said.

The dare turned into a hobby after Luna filled out an application at the athletic department and became the main man behind Prospector Pete.

"This is definitely not for everyone. It's self gratifying since no one knows who you are," said Luna.

One of the major dangers Luna encounters as Prospector Pete is the occasional attacks from fraternity members and small children, he said. "I've been tag-teamed behind the bleachers," Luna recalled.

Biological Science professor Charles Galt substitutes for Luna as Prospector Pete when he is unavailable.

Galt originally volunteered because of his interest in women's volleyball. With some additional encouragement from his friends, he decided to don the hefty outfit.