{{Infobox College Mascot| name = HokieBird| image = Hokiebird.jpg| image_size = 200| caption = HokieBird runs onto the field with Virginia Tech Cheerleaders| university = Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University| conference = Atlantic Coast Conference| conference_short = ACC| description = [[Anthropomorphic]] [[Turkey (bird)|turkey]]-like bird| name_origin =| first_seen = 1962| related_mascots = [[Fighting Gobblers|Fighting Gobbler]]| official_website = [http://www.hokiesports.com/hokiebird/about.html HokieBird]}}The '''HokieBird''' is the Virginia Tech's official mascot of [[Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University|Virginia Tech]]. It has been named as one of the top college football mascots in the United States,<ref>{{cite news |last=Fiutak |first=Pete |titleHistory=College Football's Top 25 Mascots |url=http://msnThe original mascot, an actual turkey trained by Floyd Meade, first appeared in 1913. Meade and later William Byrd Price continued to bring turkeys to football games until 1953.foxsportsMercer MacPherson purchased and wore the first costume in 1962.com/collegefootball/story/CollegeThe long-Football%27s-Top-25-Mascots |date=2007-09-04}}</ref> and spawned a series of children's books featuring college and pro sports mascotsnecked HokieBird costume debuted in 1971. In 1982, including Hellothe costume was changed again, [[HokieBird]]this time to a shorter version, published by [[Mascot Books]]which some disliked for not looking much like a turkey.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Morgan |title=Series of mascot books began in ride from game |url=http://www.mywirehokiesports.com/pubshokiebird/USATODAY/2006/09/01/1789992?extID=10051 |date=2006-09-01}}about.html</ref>The HokieBird's current incarnation debuted in 1987 in the Football season opener against Clemson.

==GobblersReferences==Fans of Virginia Tech athletics have referred to the teams by the nickname '''Fighting Gobblers''' since the early 20th century. According the Virginia Tech university relations, the name originated in 1909, when football Coach Branch Bocock initiated his players into the "Gobbler Club", a name which appeared in print that same year.<ref>{{cite web |title= Hokie, Hokie, Hokie Hy! and a Few Other Virginia Tech Symbols and Traditions |url=http://www.vt.edu/about/traditions.pdf |publisher=University Relations, Virginia Tech |year=2006}}</ref> Another popular legend regarding the origin of the "Gobblers" moniker refers to when the university was a military college known as the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (VAMC). As future military officers and gentlemen, cadets were not allowed to look at their plates as they ate. To do so was termed "gobbling" your food and was a cause for punishment. Athletes were given increased portions of food and in consideration of the limited meal time, were allowed to "gobble" their meals. Because of this, the sports teams for VAMC became known as "The Gobblers".{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Regardless of the true origin, the "Gobbler" nickname had already been popularized by 1913 when local resident and VPI employee Floyd Meade trained a large turkey to perform various stunts, including pulling him in a decorated cart before a football game. Meade and other mascots to follow continued having a live turkey on the sidelines of games into the 1950s.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is a Hokie? |url=http://www.vt.edu/about/hokie.htmlreflist}}</ref> ==Fighting Gobblers==The first permanent costumed Gobbler took the field in the fall of 1962, when a civil engineering student raised $200 to create a costume which had a head resembling a cardinal and included real turkey feathers dyed in school colors. This mascot debuted at the then-annual Thanksgiving Day football game between military school rivals VPI and VMI. This costume was modified in 1971 to include a long neck, making it more than seven feet tall, and the name was changed to the "Fighting Gobbler".

==HokieBirdExternal links==In reaction to *[http://www.hokiesports.com/hokiebird/about.html History of the earlier myths about students "gobbling" their meals, football coach and athletic director HokieBird]*[[Bill Dooley]] spearheaded a campaign for a new look and name for the mascot, which debuted at the 1981 football game against Wake Foresthttp://en.wikipedia. The turkey-like figure was referred to as "org/wiki/HokieBird Wikipedia Article on the Hokie mascot," "the Hokie," and "the Hokie bird" (derived from the "[[Old Hokie]HokieBird]" cheer), which resulted in changing the official designation of the Virginia Tech mascot to the '''Hokies'''.

[[Category:Virginia Tech HokiesHistory]][[Category:College mascots in the United StatesAthletics]]