What is the story behind the iconic San Diego Chicken?

Above: The Famous San Diego Chicken hanging out in the FOX 5 backlot on Friday, Oct. 11.

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Fifty years ago, an iconic professional mascot emerged in San Diego, clad in bright orange and yellow feathers. For decades since, the San Diego Chicken has captivated fans with his comedic bits and sketches in various venues around the world.

As the San Diego Padres take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the National League Division Series Friday, the bird made an appearance again, dropping by the FOX 5 backlot to rally up other members of the Friar Faithful and bring some of its good luck.

But how did the reputation of what also became known as The Famous Chicken come to be?

Origin story

The floppy-footed chicken made its first appearance over half a century ago on April 9, 1974, debuting at San Diego Stadium as “the KGB Chicken.”

At the time, the man behind the mask, Ted Giannoulas, was a student at San Diego State University, majoring in journalism.

According to Giannoulas , a representative from the KGB radio station had come by searching for an intern to help with a promotion. Although other students volunteered, Giannoulas was picked for the project — a 10-day stint at the San Diego Zoo that required wearing a chicken suit.

After the promotion ended, Giannoulas brought up the idea of wearing the suit to the Padres opening night, hoping to get in and watch the game for free. The station agreed, and the KGB Chicken continued to entertain fans in stadiums and arenas for years to come.

“The Grand Hatching”

Trouble ensued when the chicken reportedly took off a vest showing KGB’s call letters for an away game, leading the station to fire Giannoulas, seek $250,000 in damages and hire a substitute.

Giannoulas won the lawsuit against KGB over rights to the character and had become so popular that 47,000 people showed up to watch his “Grand Hatching” from a 10-foot Styrofoam egg as The Famous San Diego Chicken.

To date, he has performed nearly 10,000 times in more than 900 venues across the U.S. and eight other countries.

Back in the day, the San Diego Chicken would make between 250 to 275 appearances a year. Now 71 years old, Giannoulas stated that he keeps his bookings to around 75 a year. However, he remains adamant that he is the one and only person who dons the yellow feathers.

“Just as there’s only one Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky or Babe Ruth, no one else will carry on in this uniform when I’m done one day,” he stated on his official website.

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