Oski, Calk's mascot Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Cal’s Oski Snubbed in ESPN’s Mascot Rankings

Originally posted on Cal Bears on SI | By Jake Curtis | Last updated Jul 24, 2025 6:39 PM ET

Cal mascot Oski may throw a cake in the face of ESPN’s Ryan McGee for his rankings of college mascots, which was posted Thursday. Afterall, that’s what Oski did when he threw a cake into the crowd at a Cal basketball crowd, splattering the family of Oregon State All-American Gary Payton.

The outrage is a reaction to McGee's decision to keep Oski off his mascot rankings, which feature five categories with five mascots in each.

If nothing else Oski should be part of a special category, such as best mascot instigators. News and ramifications of the cake throw, which got Oski suspended in 1990, were reported in both the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. It was big news.

And that wasn’t Oski’s only newsworthy endeavor. He once got thrown out of a Stanford-Cal basketball game for a fight with the Stanford Tree in 1995.

And Oski got more attention than the players in the 1988 Big Game when he got into a brutal fight with the Tree. Troy Taylor, who was a quarterback at Cal that year remembered it.

“It was a legitimate fight; they were trying to hurt each other,” Taylor said several years ago. “I think it was in between series, and I remember Oski trying to tear the Tree apart and got pulled apart, and I remember Oski pointing his finger – one of his, whatever, four fingers he has – at The Tree like, ‘This isn’t over.’”

What makes the Oski snub worse is that the Stanford Tree was mentioned in the ESPN rankings, coming in at No. 4 in the Costume Division. How can anyone not adore Oski's tradition-rich costume?

The Tree was one of two Bay Area mascots to be cited, with the Saint Mary’s Gael getting a No. 2 ranking in the Non-Football Division. But there is no mention of Oski, who has more tradition wrapped up in his oversized head and distinctive strut than the Tree and the Gaels combined.

A category of the most tradition-rich mascots would have to include Cal's mascot. Oski has been a Cal mascot since 1941, when the image evolved from the so-called Oski yell, which began: “Oski wow wow! Whiskey wee wee!” Oski could also be part of a category of best mascot origins based on that unique and inspiring chant.

Or perhaps he would fit in the category of the best road mascots. He’s even big in New York, and if you can make it there . . . .