Bedlam Series

The Bedlam Series is the name given to the Oklahoma–Oklahoma State rivalry.[1][2] It refers to the athletics rivalry between Oklahoma State University Cowboys and Cowgirls and the University of Oklahoma Sooners of the Big 12 Conference. Both schools were also members of the Big Eight Conference before the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996, and both were divisional rivals in the Big 12 South Division prior to 2011.

Bedlam Series
Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma State Cowboys
First meeting1900 (track and field)
1904 (football)
Locations of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State

The Bedlam Series is, like most other intrastate rivalries, a rivalry that goes beyond one or two sports. Both schools also have rivalries with other schools, though most of those rivalries are limited to one or two sports at the most. The rivalry is all the more intense since their games often decide the conference championship.

While the football and basketball games stand today as the marquee events in the Bedlam Series, the term "Bedlam" actually began with the rivalry between the schools' prestigious wrestling programs,[3] more particularly the raucous crowds that attended the matches held at Oklahoma State's Gallagher-Iba Arena.[4]

Football
Football series
Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma State Cowboys
First meetingNovember 6, 1904
Oklahoma, 75–0
Latest meetingNovember 21, 2020
Oklahoma, 41–13
Next meeting2021 (TBA)
Statistics
Meetings total115
All-time seriesOklahoma leads, 90–18–7[5]
Largest victoryOklahoma, 75–0 (1904)
Longest win streakOklahoma, 19 (1946–1964)
Current win streakOklahoma, 6 (2015–present)
The original Bedlam Series logo.

The first Bedlam football game was held at Island Park, now known as Mineral Wells Park, in Guthrie, Oklahoma. It was a cold, and very windy day with the temperatures well below the freezing mark. At one moment in the game when the Oklahoma A&M Aggies were punting, the wind carried the ball backwards behind the kicker. If the Oklahoma A&M squad recovered the ball it would be a touchback, but if the University of Oklahoma squad recovered it, it would be a touchdown. The ball rolled down a hill into the half-frozen creek. Since a touchdown was at stake, members of both teams dove into the icy waters to recover the ball. A member of the OU team came out with the ball and downed it for a touchdown. OU won the game, 75–0.[6]

In 2007, author Steve Budin, whose father was a New York bookie, publicized the claim that the 1954 Bedlam Game was fixed by mobsters in his book Bets, Drugs, and Rock & Roll (ISBN 1-60239-099-1).[7] Allegedly, the mobsters threatened and paid off a cook to slip laxatives into a soup eaten by many OU Sooner starting players, causing them to fall violently ill in the days leading up to the game. OU was victorious in the end, but their 14–0 win did not cover the 20-point spread they had in their favor. However, many people involved in the 1954 contest do not recall any incident like the one purported by Budin to have occurred.[8] Nor do any of the pregame and postgame newspaper articles mention any such condition. One possible reason for the Sooners' lackluster performance, according to one coach, was that the players were "beat up" from the previous game against Nebraska.[9]

Game results
Oklahoma victoriesOklahoma State victoriesTie games
No.DateLocationWinnerScoreAttendance
1 November 6, 1904 Guthrie Oklahoma 75–0
2 October 19, 1906 Stillwater Oklahoma 23–0
3 November 9, 1907 Norman Oklahoma 67–0
4 October 3, 1908 Stillwater Oklahoma 18–0
5 October 21, 1910 Norman Oklahoma 12–0
6 October 20, 1911 Stillwater Oklahoma 22–0
7 November 16, 1912 Norman Oklahoma 16–0
8 November 21, 1913 Stillwater Oklahoma 7–0
9 November 6, 1914 Norman Oklahoma 28–6
10 November 25, 1915 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 26–7 5,000
11 November 30, 1916 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 41–7
12 November 29, 1917 Oklahoma City Oklahoma A&M 9–0
13 November 28, 1918 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 27–0
14 November 27, 1919 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 33–6
15 November 13, 1920 Stillwater Oklahoma 36–0
16 October 15, 1921 Norman Oklahoma 6–0
17 November 25, 1922 Stillwater Tie3–3
18 October 27, 1923 Norman Oklahoma 12–0
19 November 1, 1924 Stillwater Oklahoma A&M 6–0
20 November 26, 1925 Norman Oklahoma 35–0
21 November 25, 1926 Stillwater Tie14–14
22 November 19, 1927 Norman Oklahoma A&M 13–7
23 November 24, 1928 Stillwater Oklahoma 46–0
24 November 23, 1929 Norman Tie7–7
25 November 22, 1930 Stillwater Oklahoma A&M 7–0
26 November 26, 1931 Norman Tie0–0
27 October 29, 1932 Stillwater Oklahoma A&M 7–0
28 November 23, 1933 Norman Oklahoma A&M 13–0
29 November 22, 1934 Stillwater Tie0–0
30 November 28, 1935 Norman Oklahoma 25–0 10,000
31 November 26, 1936 Stillwater Oklahoma 35–13
32 November 25, 1937 Norman Oklahoma 16–0
33 November 24, 1938 Stillwater #6 Oklahoma 19–0
34 October 28, 1939 Norman #6 Oklahoma 41–0
35 October 5, 1940 Norman Oklahoma 29–27
36 October 4, 1941 Norman Oklahoma 19–0 25,453
37 September 26, 1942 Stillwater Tie0–0
38 October 2, 1943 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 22–13
39 November 25, 1944 Oklahoma City Oklahoma A&M 28–6
40 November 24, 1945 Norman #6 Oklahoma A&M 47–0 33,000
41 November 30, 1946 Stillwater #17 Oklahoma 73–12 18,500
42 November 29, 1947 Norman #20 Oklahoma 21–13 33,945
43 November 27, 1948 Stillwater #6 Oklahoma 19–15 30,000
44 November 26, 1949 Norman #3 Oklahoma 41–0 47,937
45 December 2, 1950 Stillwater #1 Oklahoma 41–14 28,530
46 December 1, 1951 Norman #10 Oklahoma 41–6 33,103
47 November 29, 1952 Stillwater #4 Oklahoma 54–7 21,408
48 November 28, 1953 Norman #4 Oklahoma 42–7 50,524
49 November 27, 1954 Stillwater #3 Oklahoma 14–0 38,000
50 November 26, 1955 Norman #1 Oklahoma 53–0 40,182
51 December 1, 1956 Stillwater #1 Oklahoma 53–0 36,500
52 November 30, 1957 Norman #5 Oklahoma 53–6 52,366
53 November 29, 1958 Stillwater #3 Oklahoma 7–0 37,014
54 November 28, 1959 Norman #17 Oklahoma 17–7 59,136
55 November 26, 1960 Stillwater Oklahoma 17–6 32,381
56 December 2, 1961 Norman Oklahoma 21–13 52,598
57 December 1, 1962 Stillwater #8 Oklahoma 37–6 35,757
58 November 30, 1963 Norman #10 Oklahoma 34–10 50,678
No.DateLocationWinnerScoreAttendance
59 November 28, 1964 Stillwater Oklahoma 21–16 36,987
60 December 4, 1965 Norman Oklahoma State 17–16 54,876
61 December 3, 1966 Stillwater Oklahoma State 15–14 36,581
62 December 2, 1967 Norman #3 Oklahoma 38–14 62,038
63 November 30, 1968 Stillwater #11 Oklahoma 41–7 38,515
64 November 29, 1969 Stillwater Oklahoma 28–27 41,315
65 November 28, 1970 Norman Oklahoma 66–6 60,300
66 December 4, 1971 Stillwater #3 Oklahoma 58–14 36,571
67 December 2, 1972 Norman #3 Oklahoma 38–15 62,363
68 December 1, 1973 Stillwater #2 Oklahoma 45–18 50,964
69 November 30, 1974 Norman #1 Oklahoma 44–13 62,619
70 November 1, 1975 Stillwater #2 Oklahoma 27–7 49,358
71 October 23, 1976 Norman Oklahoma State 31–24 72,041
72 November 5, 1977 Stillwater #3 Oklahoma 61–28 50,088
73 November 18, 1978 Norman #4 Oklahoma 62–7 72,339
74 November 3, 1979 Stillwater #7 Oklahoma 38–7 51,453
75 November 29, 1980 Norman #6 Oklahoma 63–14 75,681
76 November 28, 1981 Stillwater Oklahoma 27–3 51,100
77 October 23, 1982 Norman #20 Oklahoma 27–9 76,406
78 October 15, 1983 Stillwater #15 Oklahoma 21–20 50,440
79 November 24, 1984 Norman #2 Oklahoma 24–14 76,198
80 November 30, 1985 Stillwater #3 Oklahoma 13–0 44,000
81 October 18, 1986 Norman #5 Oklahoma 19–0 76,022
82 November 7, 1987 Norman #1 Oklahoma 29–10 75,004
83 November 5, 1988 Stillwater #8 Oklahoma 31–28 50,440
84 October 7, 1989 Norman #16 Oklahoma 37–15 74,610
85 October 6, 1990 Stillwater #7 Oklahoma 31–17 49,800
86 November 16, 1991 Norman #18 Oklahoma 21–6 68,778
87 November 14, 1992 Stillwater Tie15–15 50,440
88 November 13, 1993 Norman #17 Oklahoma 31–0 65,275
89 November 13, 1994 Stillwater Oklahoma 33–14 50,116
90 November 11, 1995 Norman Oklahoma State 12–0 75,004
91 November 8, 1996 Stillwater Oklahoma 27–17 51,416
92 November 8, 1997 Norman #25 Oklahoma State 30–7 72,422
93 October 24, 1998 Stillwater Oklahoma State 41–26 50,614
94 November 27, 1999 Norman Oklahoma 44–7 75,374
95 November 25, 2000 Stillwater #1 Oklahoma 12–7 48,500
96 November 24, 2001 Norman Oklahoma State 16–13 75,537
97 November 30, 2002 Stillwater Oklahoma State 38–28 48,500
98 November 1, 2003 Norman #1 Oklahoma 52–9 84,027
99 October 30, 2004 Stillwater #2 Oklahoma 38–35 48,837
100 November 26, 2005 Norman Oklahoma 42–14 84,875
101 November 25, 2006 Stillwater #13 Oklahoma 27–21 42,819
102 November 24, 2007 Norman #10 Oklahoma 49–17 85,238
103 November 29, 2008 Stillwater #3 Oklahoma 61–41 49,031
104 November 28, 2009 Norman Oklahoma 27–0 85,606
105 November 27, 2010 Stillwater #14 Oklahoma 47–41 51,164
106 December 3, 2011 Stillwater #3 Oklahoma State 44–10 58,141
107 November 24, 2012 Norman #13 Oklahoma 51–48OT 85,824
108 December 7, 2013 Stillwater #17 Oklahoma 33–24 58,520
109 December 6, 2014 Norman Oklahoma State 38–35OT 85,312
110 November 28, 2015 Stillwater #3 Oklahoma 58–23 58,231
111 December 3, 2016 Norman #5 Oklahoma 38–20 87,527
112 November 4, 2017 Stillwater #5 Oklahoma 62–52 56,790
113 November 10, 2018 Norman #6 Oklahoma 48–47 87,635
114 November 30, 2019 Stillwater #7 Oklahoma 34–16 54,575
115 November 21, 2020 Norman #18 Oklahoma 41–13 22,700
Series: Oklahoma leads 90–18–7[5]

Men's basketball

Oklahoma owns the all-time series record in men's basketball, 140–100, and have won 22 of the last 34 meetings. The Sooners swept the Cowboys in 2018–2019, giving Oklahoma its seventh Bedlam sweep since 2006, including 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16 regular season Bedlam series. Oklahoma State has swept just once in that span, in 2017.[10]

Wrestling

Oklahoma State holds a lopsided advantage in the schools' wrestling rivalry, the original "Bedlam Series."[3][4] The Cowboy wrestling program currently holds a 141–27–10 record against the Sooners, which is all the more remarkable considering that both schools have long been national powers in wrestling. Oklahoma has won seven team national championships in its history, while Oklahoma State's wrestling program has a record thirty-four team national titles.[11]

See also

References
  1. World, Tulsa. "The Bedlam Series". Tulsa World. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  2. "Nobody really knows why OU-OSU is called 'Bedlam'". Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  3. "Postscript: The Historic Field House" (PDF). Sooner Magazine. Summer 2011. p. 32.
  4. "Facilities: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Oklahoma State Official Athletic Site)". Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  5. "Winsipedia - Oklahoma Sooners vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys football series history". Winsipedia.
  6. Long, Charles F. (September 1965). "With Optimism For the Morrow: A History of The University of Oklahoma". Sooner Magazine.
  7. Budin, Steve with Schaller, Bob (2007). Bets, Drugs, and Rock & Roll: The Rise and Fall of the World's First Offshore Sports Gambling Empire. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 1-60239-099-1.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  8. "Book claims '54 Bedlam Game was fixed by mob". ESPN. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved October 2, 2007.
  9. Meece, Volney (November 28, 1954). "Both Dressing Rooms Quiet After Sooners Edge Aggies". The Daily Oklahoman. p. D7.
  10. "Bedlam basketball debate | Berry Tramel's Blog". Blog.newsok.com. June 29, 2009. Archived from the original on July 3, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  11. "History – Past Champions". NCAA. Archived from the original on November 17, 2006. Retrieved December 11, 2006.
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