The Finding Aid for the Pepperdine University Athletics Records 0077
Finding aid prepared by Jamie Henricks
The processing of this collection and the creation of this finding aid was funded by the generous support of the National
Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Pepperdine University. Special Collections and University Archives.
January 2013
24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA, 90263-4786
(310) 506-4434
specialcollections@pepperdine.edu
Title: Pepperdine University Athletics records
Identifier/Call Number: 0077
Contributing Institution:
Pepperdine University. Special Collections and University Archives.
Physical Description:
9.47 linear feet
(8 boxes, 1 oversized drawer)
Date: ca. 1945-2000
Abstract: The collection contains materials related to and produced by Pepperdine University Athletics and its predecessor at George
Pepperdine College. Items range in date from approximately 1945 to 2000, and primarily include game programs, sports schedules,
brochures, newspaper clippings about athletes and events, photographs of teams, videocassettes, and memorabilia (including
uniforms).
Advance notice required for access.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
[Box/folder# or item name], Pepperdine University Athletics records, Collection no. 0077, Special Collections and University
Archives, University Libraries, Pepperdine University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials in the collection were collected from the University Archives files. Memorabilia including cheerleading uniforms
and other outfits, a flag, plastic megaphones, and pennants were transferred to the archives from Pepperdine University Athletics
in August, 2012. The letterman jacket was donated by Darwin Horn in January, 2012.
George Pepperdine College and Pepperdine University students have participated in a variety of sports over the decades. Currently,
Pepperdine is an NCAA Division I-AAA school (meaning it does not participate in football) and part of the West Coast Conference.
As of 2013, Pepperdine students compete in the following sports: baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, track,
volleyball, water polo, sand volleyball, soccer, and swimming.
Pepperdine's football team was active from 1946 to 1961. The football program started soon after World War II ended as a
result of an influx of returning servicemen students interested in picking up a sport. Their first game was September 28,
1946, in which they won against Whittier College. The team had a good second season, and was named the 1947 National Small
College Champion. By the end of the 1950s, the team was not as successful and the sport was expensive to maintain, so the
program was dropped in 1961.
The team name of "Waves" and the school colors (blue and orange, to represent the blue of the Pacific Ocean and the orange
of the State of California) were chosen in 1937. The mascot was originally named Roland the Wave, but for nearly 60 years
the mascot has been Willie the Wave.
Pepperdine has had approximately 50 athletes compete in the Olympics, from 1956 to the present. A former Olympian and Pepperdine
water polo player, Terry Schroeder, currently coaches men's water polo at Pepperdine. During the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles,
water polo matches were held at the Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool at Pepperdine.
Athletic history and sport lists were taken from the Pepperdine University Athletics website.
The collection contains materials related to and produced by Pepperdine University Athletics and its predecessor at George
Pepperdine College. Items range in date from approximately 1945 to 2000, and primarily include game programs, sports schedules,
brochures, newspaper clippings about athletes and events, photographs of teams, and videocassettes. Materials primarily relate
to the sports of football, basketball, golf, water polo, baseball, soccer, volleyball, and tennis. Videocassette topics range
from NCAA championship games in baseball and volleyball, stories about the Pepperdine mascot, and tapes of the 1947 Will Rogers
Bowl game between Pepperdine and Nebraska Wesleyan in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Also included is a 1998 NCAA Certification
Study report. Three boxes and one oversized drawer contain uniforms, pennants, banners, pompoms, Darwin Horn's letterman jacket
(GPC '49), and other non-paper memorabilia.
Materials are loosely arranged by topic.
Files on university athletics can also be found in the M. Norvel and Helen Young papers. Photographs of athletic events and
facilities may be found in the collection of Pepperdine University Photographs, Negatives, and Slides, and online in the Pepperdine
Digital Collections in the University Archives Photograph Collection. The university archives also holds items related to
the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, as well as a 1984 Olympic torch. University publications created about Pepperdine University
Athletics can be found in the Pepperdine University Archives Publications 0064.
The collection was arranged and described by Jamie Henricks in January, 2013.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Field, Eddy D.
Pepperdine College.
Pepperdine University. Pepperdine University Athletics.
Pepperdine University.
Schroeder, Terry
Articles
Brochures
Clippings
College sports
Fliers (Printed matter)
Los Angeles (Calif.)--History
Malibu (Calif.)--History--20th century
Newsletters
Pepperdine College--Football
Pepperdine University--Baseball
Pepperdine University--Basketball
Pepperdine University--Golf
Pepperdine University--Soccer
Pepperdine University--Tennis
Pepperdine University--Volleyball
Periodicals
Photographs
Programs
Water polo