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San Diego Padres (Official Thread)
- By ScriptOhio
- Professional Baseball
- 21 Replies
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Just sayin': Aside from Brutus, the San Diego Chicken may have been the greatest mascot of all time. For those that don't remember....
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www.sandiegouniontribune.com
The Chicken entertained fans for the first time 50 years ago at San Diego Stadium
A San Diego State student named Ted Giannoulas dressed up in a chicken suit, bought a ticket to the Padres game and forever changed the fan experience at sporting events
Ray Kroc had seen enough by the eighth inning of the team’s 1974 home opener.
The new Padres owner already had endured a three-game sweep by the Dodgers (getting outscored 25-2) in Los Angeles to open the season.
The home opener was more of the same. The Padres trailed the Houston Astros 6-0 after two innings and 9-2 in the eighth when Kroc cleared his throat and spoke into the PA microphone about the most “stupid ballplaying” he had seen in his life.
“I have some good news and some bad news,” the McDonald’s magnate said. “The good news is you loyal fans have outstripped Los Angeles. They had 31,000 on opening night. We have nearly 40,000.”
Just then the owner was interrupted when a streaker ran across the field at San Diego Stadium.
“Get him out of here,” Kroc yelled. “Take him to jail.”
And with that, Ted Giannoulas, a San Diego State student walking around the field-level concourse behind home plate, got out of there as well.
Giannoulas was concerned about angering Kroc for his appearance as well.
See, he was dressed in a chicken suit.
“This guy is going to look at me and say, ‘Get that chicken. We’re hamburger people around here,’” Giannoulas thought.
That was the scene on April 9, 1974 — 50 years ago Tuesday — when Giannoulas debuted at San Diego Stadium as the KGB Chicken.
No one had any idea that night, but they were witnesses to a transformative moment in sports history.
The play on the field was the only entertainment then at pro sports events, outside of organ music played during breaks in the action.
“There were no mascots in professional sports,” Giannoulas said last week. “Fans still showed up at the games in shirts and ties. They didn’t go in costumes or face paint or wild hair or anything of that.”
Certainly, no one entertained the crowd — often more than those they had paid to see — throughout the game. Game after game. The ballpark became the KGB Chicken’s regular roost.
A year after that first appearance, a stadium usher approached Giannoulas and said, “They want you up in the owner’s box.”
Giannoulas thought he was going to be dressed down for something he did, but Kroc just wanted to meet him and shake his hand.
“He told me,” Giannoulas said, “ ‘It’s amazing. We’re losing and our customers are going home happy every night because of you, young man. Thank you.’
“He wanted to win a pennant and a championship, of course. But goal No. 2 was, ‘Are my customers going home happy? And they were.”
Giannoulas was a game changer.
By 1979, he had become so popular that, after winning a lawsuit against KGB over rights to the character he created, 47,000 people showed up at the stadium to see his “Grand Hatching” as The Famous San Diego Chicken.
In 2005, The Chicken was part of the inaugural induction class for the Mascot Hall of Fame.
Jack Murphy, the San Diego Union sports editor when Giannoulas stepped on the stage, once said: “The Chicken has the soul of a poet. He is an embryonic Charles Chaplin in chicken feathers.”
Giannoulas, who grew up in Ontario, Canada, before his family moved to San Diego when he was a teenager, was influenced more by The Marx Brothers, The Three Stooges and stand-up comedy routines.
The Sporting News placed him among The Top 100 Most Powerful People in Sports of the 20th Century.
In 1974, Giannoulas was a journalism major at San Diego State, intent on becoming a sportswriter — go figure — or maybe a broadcaster.
He was sitting in the office of KCR, the campus radio station, chatting with half a dozen others when a man from San Diego radio station KGB walked in looking to hire someone for a promotion.
The one-week assignment paid $2 an hour to give out candy Easter eggs to children at the San Diego Zoo.
There was one catch — the person had to wear a chicken suit.
“Everybody pauses a second, but then everybody volunteers,” Giannoulas said. “He scans the room and he sees me in the back corner and he says, ‘You, the short dude. You’ll fit the chicken suit best of all.’ ”
It wasn’t the first time the 5-foot-3 1/2 Giannoulas was presented with such an opportunity.
“When I was a kid at Hoover (High School), they had an open tryout for the Cardinal mascot,” Giannoulas said. “Nobody wanted to do it. My friends said, ‘Ted, you should do that.’ I turned and said, ‘I’m way too hip to be doing anything like that. You guys really think I’m that stupid? To be a goof like that?’ “
Giannoulas didn’t bawk this time.
He was eager to extend his employment beyond one week when the idea of wearing the chicken suit to a Padres game came to him.
He bought a ticket to the home opener, got suited up in the parking lot and walked up to the entrance gates.
“It created a little consternation,” Giannoulas said. “You don’t see somebody coming up to the turnstiles in 1974 wearing a chicken suit expecting to get in.
“They had to radio people in the front office to ask if I could be allowed in.”
Padres President Buzzie Bavasi had just one question: “Does he have a ticket?”
“Yes,” he was told.
“It created a lot of amusement around the sections,” Giannoulas said, “but I figured I better get a little more attention — I had the KGB call letters on my chest — got up and just started walking around the aisles, waving to fans. I would do a little soft shoe in the aisles when the organ music played.
“People were laughing. Those who brought cameras wanted pictures. It was completely off the wall. As irreverent as you can get.”
The radio station got more publicity that one night than it did the entire week at the zoo. And Giannoulas enjoyed the attention.
He returned the next game. And the next game. And the next.
.
.
.
continued
Just sayin': Aside from Brutus, the San Diego Chicken may have been the greatest mascot of all time. For those that don't remember....
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The Chicken entertained fans for the first time 50 years ago at San Diego Stadium
Ray Kroc had seen enough by the eighth inning of the team’s 1974 home opener.The new Padres owner already had endured a three-game sweep by the Dodgers (getting outscored 25-2) in Los Angeles…
www.sandiegouniontribune.com
The Chicken entertained fans for the first time 50 years ago at San Diego Stadium
A San Diego State student named Ted Giannoulas dressed up in a chicken suit, bought a ticket to the Padres game and forever changed the fan experience at sporting events
Ray Kroc had seen enough by the eighth inning of the team’s 1974 home opener.
The new Padres owner already had endured a three-game sweep by the Dodgers (getting outscored 25-2) in Los Angeles to open the season.
The home opener was more of the same. The Padres trailed the Houston Astros 6-0 after two innings and 9-2 in the eighth when Kroc cleared his throat and spoke into the PA microphone about the most “stupid ballplaying” he had seen in his life.
“I have some good news and some bad news,” the McDonald’s magnate said. “The good news is you loyal fans have outstripped Los Angeles. They had 31,000 on opening night. We have nearly 40,000.”
Just then the owner was interrupted when a streaker ran across the field at San Diego Stadium.
“Get him out of here,” Kroc yelled. “Take him to jail.”
And with that, Ted Giannoulas, a San Diego State student walking around the field-level concourse behind home plate, got out of there as well.
Giannoulas was concerned about angering Kroc for his appearance as well.
See, he was dressed in a chicken suit.
“This guy is going to look at me and say, ‘Get that chicken. We’re hamburger people around here,’” Giannoulas thought.
That was the scene on April 9, 1974 — 50 years ago Tuesday — when Giannoulas debuted at San Diego Stadium as the KGB Chicken.
No one had any idea that night, but they were witnesses to a transformative moment in sports history.
The play on the field was the only entertainment then at pro sports events, outside of organ music played during breaks in the action.
“There were no mascots in professional sports,” Giannoulas said last week. “Fans still showed up at the games in shirts and ties. They didn’t go in costumes or face paint or wild hair or anything of that.”
Certainly, no one entertained the crowd — often more than those they had paid to see — throughout the game. Game after game. The ballpark became the KGB Chicken’s regular roost.
A year after that first appearance, a stadium usher approached Giannoulas and said, “They want you up in the owner’s box.”
Giannoulas thought he was going to be dressed down for something he did, but Kroc just wanted to meet him and shake his hand.
“He told me,” Giannoulas said, “ ‘It’s amazing. We’re losing and our customers are going home happy every night because of you, young man. Thank you.’
“He wanted to win a pennant and a championship, of course. But goal No. 2 was, ‘Are my customers going home happy? And they were.”
Giannoulas was a game changer.
By 1979, he had become so popular that, after winning a lawsuit against KGB over rights to the character he created, 47,000 people showed up at the stadium to see his “Grand Hatching” as The Famous San Diego Chicken.
In 2005, The Chicken was part of the inaugural induction class for the Mascot Hall of Fame.
Jack Murphy, the San Diego Union sports editor when Giannoulas stepped on the stage, once said: “The Chicken has the soul of a poet. He is an embryonic Charles Chaplin in chicken feathers.”
Giannoulas, who grew up in Ontario, Canada, before his family moved to San Diego when he was a teenager, was influenced more by The Marx Brothers, The Three Stooges and stand-up comedy routines.
The Sporting News placed him among The Top 100 Most Powerful People in Sports of the 20th Century.
An idea hatches
It is a most unlikely origin story.In 1974, Giannoulas was a journalism major at San Diego State, intent on becoming a sportswriter — go figure — or maybe a broadcaster.
He was sitting in the office of KCR, the campus radio station, chatting with half a dozen others when a man from San Diego radio station KGB walked in looking to hire someone for a promotion.
The one-week assignment paid $2 an hour to give out candy Easter eggs to children at the San Diego Zoo.
There was one catch — the person had to wear a chicken suit.
“Everybody pauses a second, but then everybody volunteers,” Giannoulas said. “He scans the room and he sees me in the back corner and he says, ‘You, the short dude. You’ll fit the chicken suit best of all.’ ”
It wasn’t the first time the 5-foot-3 1/2 Giannoulas was presented with such an opportunity.
“When I was a kid at Hoover (High School), they had an open tryout for the Cardinal mascot,” Giannoulas said. “Nobody wanted to do it. My friends said, ‘Ted, you should do that.’ I turned and said, ‘I’m way too hip to be doing anything like that. You guys really think I’m that stupid? To be a goof like that?’ “
Giannoulas didn’t bawk this time.
He was eager to extend his employment beyond one week when the idea of wearing the chicken suit to a Padres game came to him.
He bought a ticket to the home opener, got suited up in the parking lot and walked up to the entrance gates.
“It created a little consternation,” Giannoulas said. “You don’t see somebody coming up to the turnstiles in 1974 wearing a chicken suit expecting to get in.
“They had to radio people in the front office to ask if I could be allowed in.”
Padres President Buzzie Bavasi had just one question: “Does he have a ticket?”
“Yes,” he was told.
“It created a lot of amusement around the sections,” Giannoulas said, “but I figured I better get a little more attention — I had the KGB call letters on my chest — got up and just started walking around the aisles, waving to fans. I would do a little soft shoe in the aisles when the organ music played.
“People were laughing. Those who brought cameras wanted pictures. It was completely off the wall. As irreverent as you can get.”
The radio station got more publicity that one night than it did the entire week at the zoo. And Giannoulas enjoyed the attention.
He returned the next game. And the next game. And the next.
.
.
.
continued
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Philadelphia Phillies (2x World Series Champions)
- By ScriptOhio
- Professional Baseball
- 22 Replies
Phils turn rare 1-3-5 triple play, 1st since 1929
The Phillies turned a rare triple play to snuff out a possible Tigers rally in the third inning Monday night.
Phillies turn rare 1-3-5 triple play, MLB's first since 1929
Login to view embedded mediaThe Philadelphia Phillies turned a rare triple play to snuff out a possible Detroit Tigers rally in the third inning Monday night.
Trailing 4-0, the Tigers had a chance to get something going when Zach McKinstry and Carson Kelly hit back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners.
Matt Vierling hit a broken-bat liner back to Aaron Nola, who tossed to Bryce Harper to double Kelly off first.
Catcher Garrett Stubbs, noticing McKinstry had never stopped running from third, signaled to Harper to throw to third, where Alec Bohm stepped on the bag to finish the triple play.
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Ohio State Rowing Team (6 Straight B1G Champs, 2013-2014-2015 National Champs)
- By ScriptOhio
- Other OSU and Professional Sports
- 97 Replies
Ohio State Rowing Promotes Veteran Assistant Coach Emily Gackowski to Head Coach
Ohio State rowing promotes veteran assistant Emily Gackowski to head coach of the program. “The future is bright under her leadership,” incoming AD Ross Bjork said in a statement.
OHIO STATE ROWING PROMOTES VETERAN ASSISTANT COACH EMILY GACKOWSKI TO HEAD COACH
Ohio State rowing didn't need to look far for its next head coach.
On Tuesday, Ohio State senior deputy athletic director Janine Oman announced veteran assistant Emily Gackowski will be the program's newest leader. Gackowski agreed to a five-year contract with the Buckeyes that will continue through the 2029 season.
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“We’re thrilled to promote Emily Gackowski to lead our rowing program,” Oman said in a statement. “She’s earned this opportunity, not only through the good work she’s done as assistant coach and the personal connections she’s made with our student-athletes and staff, but also because of her long-range vision for the program.”
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2028 Olympics Planners Failed Geography
- Other OSU and Professional Sports
- 2 Replies
The boathouse downtown has a lot of Olympic training going on, and the hard on for softball in this state is profound.
Never would've thought those would be two deciding factors though.
Never would've thought those would be two deciding factors though.
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Butch Reynolds (400M Olympian, former OSU coach)
- By AKAK
- Buckeye Alumni
- 114 Replies
Watched this tonight, very angering
Skull Session: Roddy Gayle Jr. Heads Up North, Mike Hall Explains How Ohio State Prepared Him for the NFL and ESPN’s Butch Reynolds Documentary Debuts This Week
Roddy Gayle Jr. commits to Michigan, Mike Hall says Ohio State prepared him for the NFL and ESPN Films will debut its Butch Reynolds documentary this week.www.elevenwarriors.com
ESPN’S BUTCH REYNOLDS DOCUMENTARY DEBUTS THIS WEEK
WHAT IF I TOLD YOU...? Former Ohio State sprinter and world record holder Butch Reynolds is the subject of ESPN’s newest 30 for 30 documentary, “False Positive,” which details the events prior to Reynolds testing positive for steroids in 1990 and the fallout from that result.
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Reynolds and documentary director Ismail Al-Amin will appear at the Central Ohio premiere of the film at the Southern Theatre on Wednesday. The film is part of the Columbus Association of Performing Arts (CAPA) Columbus Film Festival.
Here is how CAPA describes the film:
This looks and sounds like another banger for ESPN Films and 30 for 30.
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2027 GA TE Cole Crawford (Verbal Offer)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
- 0 Replies
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Class: 2027
School: Cartersville(GA) Cartersville
Position: TE
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 210lbs
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Class: 2027
School: Cartersville(GA) Cartersville
Position: TE
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 210lbs
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2026 FL(VA) DL Elijah Golden (Notre Dame Verbal)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
- 0 Replies
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Class: 2026
Position: DE
School: Bradenton(FL) IMG Academy
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 270lbs
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Class: 2026
Position: DE
School: Bradenton(FL) IMG Academy
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 270lbs
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2026 MO LB Keenan Harris (Mizzou Verbal)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
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Class: 2026
Position: LB
School: St. Louis(MO) St. Louis University
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 200lbs
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Class: 2026
Position: LB
School: St. Louis(MO) St. Louis University
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 200lbs
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2027 MS RB Tyson Robinson (Verbal Offer)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
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Class: 2027
Position: RB
School: Brandon(MS) Brandon
Height: 5-foot-9
Weight: 185lbs
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Class: 2027
Position: RB
School: Brandon(MS) Brandon
Height: 5-foot-9
Weight: 185lbs
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2026 VA WR Connor Salmin (Clemson Verbal)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
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Class: 2026
Position: WR
School: Purcellville(VA) Woodgrove
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 190lbs
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Class: 2026
Position: WR
School: Purcellville(VA) Woodgrove
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 190lbs
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