How a group of Yellow Jacket pranksters in 1979 were responsible for Auburn University’s mascot missing an appendage.
By Jack Purdy, BA 22
While Yellow Jackets have been known to nab the occasional whistle, a group of students stole a much rarer item in the fall of 1979: the tail of an opposing mascot.
On October 20, 1979, during the Georgia Tech versus No. 14 Auburn University football game, students Mike Morris, IE 83, and Keith McMullen disguised themselves as Auburn fans and found their way into the Auburn section of Grant Field. They got close to the side of the field where Auburn’s mascot, Aubie, was roaming the sidelines and taking breaks from entertaining.
In the third quarter, Morris and McMullen beckoned Aubie over for a photo. He obliged and walked to them. As soon as the mascot got close, Morris yanked his tail off and sprinted up the east stands’ staircase with Auburn fans in pursuit. Fellow Tech students were prepared, positioned along the concourse in a line ready to exchange the tail relay-style until it was out of the stadium.
The tail made it to Brown Hall, where Doug Morrell, HS 81, who lived at the dorm, arrived soon after.
“I made my way back to the dorm only to find it surrounded by hundreds of Auburn fans screaming ‘We want the tail! We want the tail!’” Morrell says. “GT Police had ringed the dorm to prevent any unauthorized entry. I made my way through the crowd, showed my ID, and was allowed in, and went to the third floor. I found the freshman crew in the hall acting like nothing had happened.”
Morrell asked the group what was happening.
“One of them beckoned me into his room and told me they had the tail. ‘Where?’ I asked. ‘Can’t tell you. Best you don’t know.’ Fine with me,” he says.
According to a Oct. 26, 1979, article in the Technique, six intoxicated Auburn fans found their way into Brown and “raised hell while trying to find the tail.” A floor counselor eventually removed them from the building.
That night, it was clear to the students that the tail was not going to stay in their possession much longer, even though it was hidden in the attic above Morrell’s room.
“Our RA called a mandatory floor meeting for 8 p.m. We dutifully complied,” Morrell says. A graduate student, identified as an emissary from Dean Dull’s Office, explained that the Dean of Students knew where the tail was, and while he found the situation humorous, his counterpart at Auburn did not. Students were told that they wouldn’t face repercussions if the tail was returned to Dean Dull’s office by noon the next day (Sunday).
Dean Dull apologized to Auburn for the theft, saying “it’s not good no matter how you look at it. We need to cut out that junk,” according to an article in The Plainsman about the incident.
Before returning the tail, the Brown residents brought it to midfield at Grant Field and took a photo with the tail. Then, they returned the tail to Dean Dull on schedule, who returned it to Auburn.
“We decorated it appropriately, with white and gold ribbons and bows, and stuck a yellow jacket on the end,” said the late Dean Dull in the Technique article.
The box exploded with the streamers once it was opened.
The most recognized and lauded student to attend Georgia Tech, George P. Burdell, made his first appearance at Tech in 1927 and has since earned degrees, played pranks, and seems to be everywhere. If you've ever experienced a Burdell sighting in the wild, tell us your story.
