The name refers to the early land rushes that opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory up to non-native owners.
There were seven land rushes from 1889 to 1895. The movie "Far and Away" depicts a land rush.
The name itself comes from the "sooner clause" of the Indian Appropriations Act which basically said that a person who entered and occupied the land sooner than the government-assigned start time to the rush would be denied the claim to the land. The term "Sooners" describes those who cheated, and possessed the land early, usually camping out in a low lying area near the claim stake in order to claim the land as soon as the start time passed.
"Boomers" is a related term that refers to white settlers that had illegally occupied Unassigned Land prior to a land rush in the mistaken belief that they were unincorporated public lands open to any claim of settlement under the 1862 Homestead Act.
Ironically, the phrase "Boomer Sooner" is a modern phrase that originally meant an illegal, land-stealing cheat.
This is not a improved answer but here.....originally called "moonshiners" Sooners was the name given to the settlers in the Midwest. They decided to adopt the nickname because of the location of OU in the Midwest.
Sooners
The Sooners
The Longhorns and the Sooners are big rivals
Yes the Sooners will beat the Gators. Ever since Sooners got beat by Texas the Sooners been making a scoring 60+ points. I will always go with the Sooners. Sooners may have been getting when they go to bowl but this the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!! So Sooners will win.
Yes, Oklahoma Sooners
oklahoma sooners
Ottawa Sooners was created in 1960.
Oklahoma University is nicknamed the Sooners.
I've never heard of "tarheels sooners". "Tarheels" is a term for people from North Carolina; "Sooners" is a term for people from Oklahoma.
The athletic teams for the University of Oklahoma (Norman OK) is named the Sooners. The name is also used for a type of covered wagon. During the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889, the prospect of free land had many homesteaders sneaking in and claiming land before the date of the Act, and they became known as "Sooners."
Sooners. The name originated as those who snuck in before the official start of the land run and staked claims before they were legally allowed to. In the movie McLintock with John Wayne, settlers are referred to as a "grubby bunch of sooners."
The Oklahoma Sooners were number one in 2002