By Cody Berry

Growing up in Benton, the first time I remember seeing the Pink Panther character had nothing to do with the movies. It was about football. Since the Panthers were our team, it made perfect sense that our mascot was a cartoon panther. But our mascot was a black panther not a pink one. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who wanted to know how the Pink Panther character came to be used by a small town in the middle of Arkansas. 

The Pink Panther character was created long before the rivalry between Benton and Bryant began. So, what does an old cartoon character have to do with the rivalry? Well, when I was in school, one of the teachers I knew was Coach Zachary. I remember him saying that one day some kids from Bryant drove over to Benton before the game. The Coach said that those kids painted Benton’s wooden panther statue “Pepto Bismol pink.”  

This made us all laugh and for years I never really investigated Coach Zachary’s story. Then at some point I was asked to write an Encyclopedia of Arkansas entry on the Salt Bowl. That led to me visiting Donnie Burks at the Benton Athletic Memorial Museum. He told me a similar story, and later I found an article in the Benton Courier about that first game.  

On September 23, 1974, Sammy Starkey of the Benton Courier wrote an article about the first time the Benton Panthers and Bryant Hornets played each other at C.W. Lewis Stadium. A short note preceding the article said as follows “Note: Subject or subjects unknown allegedly from Bryant painted the panther at Benton High School pink Thursday night. It must have made the old boy mad.”¹ That little note right there confirmed it. The legend of the Pink Panther was true. 

The Panthers came out on top in their first game against the Hornets, scoring 28-0. Starkey wrote that the two teams played to a “near-capacity crowd.”² I imagine the energy in that little stadium on that night was electrifying. I imagine the crowd roaring and the band playing the Pink Panther theme for the first time starting a tradition that has lasted half a century now.  

I often wonder who painted that statue? Were they students or teachers? Or were they just fans? Whoever they were I don’t think they were planning to launch a rivalry that would last 50 plus years. From ancient times to today, history is full of rivalries, the Athenians had the Spartans, the British had the French, and in Arkansas, OBU has Henderson, and Benton has Bryant.³ It works.  

Go Panthers and Go Hornets! 

Citations:

¹ Sammy Starkey, “Bryant outclassed, outmanned, outgunned,” Benton Courier, September 23, 1974, p. 6 

² Sammy Starkey, “Bryant outclassed, outmanned, outgunned,” Benton Courier, September 23, 1974, p. 6 

³ Rex Nelson, “Battle of the Ravine,” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/battle-of-the-ravine-7939/, Date Accessed 8/21/2024 and Cody Lynn Berry, “Salt Bowl.” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/salt-bowl-12242/#:~:text=The%20Salt%20Bowl%20is%20played,become%20a%203%2DA%20school., Date Accessed 8/21/2024