The Saddle Tramps is a student spirit organization established in 1936 by former Texas Tech student, Arch Lamb. The name Saddle Tramps came from the stories of Passersby who traveled to farms, stayed for a brief time to make repairs, and then moved on to the next farm. With this in mind, Lamb had the idea he would like to make improvements to the university during his time at Texas Tech before graduating and moving on and thus, the Saddle Tramps were born. The Saddle Tramps is rooted in tradition. These traditions include wrapping Will Rogers and Soap Suds, called “Midnight Raiders,” before football games and hosting a pep-rally immediately following the wrapping, ringing the Victory Bells after Red Raider sporting victories, forming the Bell Circle before football and baseball games, and ringing “Bangin Bertha” at football games following TTU touchdowns. The original “Bangin Bertha” bell was donated to the Saddle Tramps by the Santa Fe Railroad in 1959 and designed by former Saddle Tramp, Joe Winegar. The Saddle Tramps also provide tours of the bell tower to campus visitors, participate annually in parades, the homecoming bonfire, and the Carol of Lights. Around 1971, the Southwest Conference created a rule forbidding live animal mascots at away games unless the host school permitted it. Since the Masked Rider's horse might have been prohibited from attending some games under this rule, Jim Gaspard, a member of the Texas Tech Saddle Tramps student spirit organization and the first Raider Red, created the original Raider Red design as an alternate mascot. In the first Raider Red costume, Gaspard used paper mache to create Raider Red’s head. The design was based on a character created by Lubbock, Texas, cartoonist and former mayor Dirk West. The student serving as Raider Red must be a member of the Saddle Tramps or High Riders.
