An armored truck flanked by California Highway Patrolmen on motorcycles carried the Styrofoam egg into San Diego Stadium that night in 1979. Fans stood as baseball players lifted the egg off the truck.
The theme song from “2001: A Space Odyssey” blared in the background.
The egg hatched, revealing The Famous Chicken.
Twenty-six years have passed since Ted Giannoulas emerged from his foam coop, and his voice still rises as he describes the “Grand Hatching,” the moment the greatest mascot of all time staged his greatest stunt.
“I think that was a watershed moment for me in my career,” Giannoulas says. “Nobody even figured a guy in a chicken suit could single-handedly sell out a stadium just to debut his new chicken suit.”
Giannoulas built his entire career around gags that turned stadiums, gyms and even TV shows into his own personal laugh factories.
The countless laughs have earned him a place in the first class of the brand-new Mascot Hall of Fame, along with the Phillie Phanatic and the Phoenix Suns Gorilla. The induction ceremony will be held Tuesday at the Thomas Paine Plaza in Philadelphia. The hall doesn’t yet have a permanent home.
“He created the whole new genre of what a mascot can be,” says Dave Raymond, who played the Phanatic and whose company, Raymond Entertainment Group, created the Mascot Hall of Fame.
Until the Chicken flew into the picture, mascots did nothing much more than wave, pose for pictures and sign autographs, Raymond says.
Giannoulas, who turns 52 on Wednesday and still lives in San Diego, continues to make appearances throughout the U.S.
He has always excelled at improvisational comedy, and his peculiar brand of “chicken schtick” distinguished him from his furry-costumed predecessors.
“If you’re sitting in the second deck,” Giannoulas says, “it looks like a cartoon come to life and kind of like a fuzzy Harpo Marx–a hybrid of activity, satire, mischief, slapstick and goofy antics all rolled into one.”
He approaches umpires, stops and raises his leg, like a dog who sees a fire hydrant. He engulfs children’s heads with his foam beak. He mimics Pete Rose by sliding head-first into bases and barreling into catchers.
“He brought a new light to the ballgame,” says Baltimore Orioles third-base coach Rick Dempsey, who staged fake fights against the Chicken during his playing days. “That was the beginning of a whole new sideshow for baseball. I thought Ted was outstanding. He and the Phillie Phanatic are just awesome.
“They’re worth the money just to watch them. They were funny, and they created a whole new atmosphere at the ballpark.”
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Famous Chicken
Played by: Ted Giannoulas
Debut: San Diego Zoo, 1974. Handed out Easter eggs for a radio station. … Made his sporting-event debut April 9, 1974, at San Diego Stadium.
Fun facts: Originally known as the San Diego Chicken. … Has had three costume styles. … Appeared on “The Baseball Bunch” in the 1980s.
Signature move: His reaction to the “Holy Roller” play that gave the Oakland Raiders a 21-20 win over the Chargers in 1978 is often replayed by NFL Films. He grabbed his chest, stumbled and fainted.
Phillie Phanatic
Played by: Dave Raymond, from 1978 to 1993
Debut: April 25, 1978, according to the Phillies’ Web site.
Fun facts: Raymond is the son of Harold R. “Tubby” Raymond, former Delaware football coach who amassed a 300-119-3 record. … The Phanatic is listed as 6 feet 6 with a 90-inch waist.
Signature move: Rides an all-terrain vehicle before games.
Phoenix Suns Gorilla
Played by: Bob Woolf
Debut: Signed on March 20, 1980, according to the
Suns’ Web site.
Fun facts: Character is named “Go.” … Has made
appearances worldwide.
Signature move: Using a trampoline, specializes in acrobatic
dunks that often make “SportsCenter’s” highlight reels.
