Auburn University’s Aubie was forming the character that made him one of the most well-known college mascots in the country twenty years prior to becoming a live mascot. Phil Neel, an artist for the Birmingham Post-Herald, created him in 1959 after he started creating cartoon mascots for football program covers.
I began by applying a tiger to the covers. Neel stated in an interview for the book Hidden History of Auburn that they became more of a stand-up animated character.
Aubie was upright by 1962; Neel sketched the tiger wearing clothing the following year. Neel thought the tiger needed a name as he began to resemble a human. Neel gave him the name Aubie.
Aubie gained a personality and became a beloved, mischievous figure. Neel remarked, “I would draw these scenes where he was doing something to the other school’s mascot.”
James Lloyd, the student Spirit Director, made Aubie a reality in 1979. Lloyd started requesting a tiger costume from Auburn officials in the fall of 1978. He requested permission from the Alumni Office to use Neel’s creation’s name and appearance.
To view further old pictures of Aubie, browse the gallery at the top of this article.
Lloyd then called Disney World to find out where the costumes were ordered. Then he got in touch with New York’s renowned Brooks-Van Horn Costume Company. The costume would cost $1,350, he was informed.
According to Lloyd, the costume was funded by students and alumni. When it arrived in late February 1979, Lloyd couldn’t wait because he was so excited. The following day, he showed up at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center for the SEC basketball championship wearing the costume.
According to a history on Auburn’s Student Affairs website, Aubie made his debut as a live Tiger mascot and helped lead Auburn to an upset victory over Vanderbilt.The Tigers shocked Georgia in the longest game in SEC tournament history—four overtimes—when Aubie returned to the arena the next day.
When Lloyd returned to Auburn, he joined the students at Toomer’s Corner in celebrating the team’s victory. Students welcomed the mascot with open arms, and one of Auburn’s finest traditions was born.
Aubie attended football games that fall, which resulted in a prank by one squad that seemed jealous. Crowds of Tech students swarmed Aubie at the Georgia Tech game that October, forcing him to flee. According to a story in the Opelika-Auburn News, it turned out that someone at Georgia Tech promised $350 to the freshman who could retrieve Aubie’s tail.Aubie’s tail was eventually cut off the costume, but a replacement was promptly obtained. Auburn prevailed 38–14.
In November 1979, a writer in the Montgomery Advertiser reviewed the first season of Aubie. The adorable, life-sized cat has won over the hearts of almost everyone at Jordan-Hare stadium with his inventive dancing skills and ability to make fun of the rival team’s socks.
Read more about the unusual origin of Auburn’s 70-year-old War Eagle war song
“Almost all schools have jumped on the bandwagon now of getting a human mascot,” according to a 1980 article by Al Burleson that appeared in the Huntsville Times. In other words, someone who will dress up as the specific mascot designate. Auburn’s Aubie the Tiger is by far the best.
Being Aubie
College sports have mascots for a long time, but in the 1970s, there weren’t many costumed mascots.
In March 1979, Lloyd told a reporter for the Birmingham Post-Herald, “Nobody knows if we’re the Tigers, the War Eagles of the Plainsmen.” For Auburn, the War Eagle is a symbol of honor and a battle cry. However, we are attempting to return to our true mascot, which is a tiger.
Tryouts were arranged to select a student or students to play Aubie shortly after the first outfit arrived in Auburn in early 1979. According to Lloyd, the costume was designed for a man who was between five and seven feet, six feet, and weighed between 160 and 190 pounds, but that doesn’t stop either sex from wearing it.
In that inaugural season, the first and only female Aubie was chosen. From 1979 to 1980, Daphne, Alabama native Viki Leach McGinty Woerner played the adored character alongside two men, Bob Harris and Barry Mask. In 1982, she received her degree from Auburn.
Aubie was the first to be inducted into the College Mascot Hall of Fame in 2006 and has won the UCA college mascot championship eleven times.Go here to learn more about Aubie’s accolades.
