The San Diego Chicken
The San Diego Chicken, a mascot played by Ted Giannoulas, was hatched in 1974 when employees of KGB Radio hired Giannoulas from off-the-street to wear the chicken outfit for a promotion to distribute easter eggs to children at the San Diego Zoo. The chicken, whose antics entertained steadily larger crowds, moved on to features at concerts and sporting events (especially the San Diego Padres - at whose events he appeared in more than 5200 games in a row). Conflict emerged between KGB Radio and Giannoulas, and the latter was fired in 1977. After a lawsuit decided in Giannoulas's favor, in June 1979, Giannoulas was allowed to continue to perform in a chicken costume (though not the same as the original costume), and his chicken emerged from his egg at a "Grand Hatching" seen by 47,000 people as Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra played. The chicken was named one of the 100 most powerful people in sports for the 20th century by The Sporting News.
The success of the San Diego Chicken led to fuzzy mascots becoming widespread at Major League Baseball events.
The current official mascot of the San Diego Padres, however, is not the Famous Chicken, but the Swinging Friar.
