View source for Charlie Cardinal

{{Short description|University mascot in Muncie, Indiana, U.S.}}
{{no inline citations|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox College Mascot
| name =Charlie Cardinal
| image = Ball state football.jpg
| image_size = 150px
| caption = Charlie at a [[Ball State Cardinals football]] game in 2011.
| university =Ball State University
| conference =Mid-American Conference
| conference_short = MAC
| description = Anthropomorphic [[northern cardinal|cardinal]]
| name_origin = 
| first_seen = 1927
| related_mascots =  
| official_website =[http://www.ballstatesports.com/ BallStateSports.com]
}}
'''Charlie Cardinal''' is the mascot of [[Ball State University]] in [[Muncie, Indiana]]. He is an anthropomorphic [[northern cardinal|cardinal]].  

<!-- [[Image:charliecardinal.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Charlie Cardinal.]] -->Ball State's athletics teams have been known as the Cardinals since 1927. Originally nicknamed the "Hoosieroons<ref>{{Cite web |title=CONTENTdm |url=https://dmr.bsu.edu/digital/collection/BSUDlyNws/id/1584 |access-date=2024-09-07 |website=dmr.bsu.edu}}</ref>," discontent led to a school newspaper-sponsored contest to find a new nickname. When no acceptable choices came, a committee was formed, and it was a member of this committee, Professor Paul Billy Williams, who came up with the new nickname of Cardinals. He came up with it while talking to Coach Norman G. Wann, another committee member, about how the logo of his favorite team, the [[Saint Louis Cardinals]], looked distinctive on the jersey of [[Rogers Hornsby]].  

Actor and mime [[Doug Jones (actor)|Doug Jones]] portrayed Charlie when he attended Ball State in the early 1980s.

== Former University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee mascot ==
The [[UW-Milwaukee Panthers#History|University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Cardinals (now the Panthers)]] had a "Charlie Cardinal" mascot in the 1956-1964 period. Two characters in the Milwaukee-based [[sitcom]] ''[[Happy Days]]'' appeared in one episode in their Charlie Cardinal outfits.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
[http://www.ballstatesports.com/ BallStateSports.com]

{{Ball State University}}
{{Ball State Cardinals football navbox}}
{{Ball State Cardinals men's basketball navbox}}
{{Mid-American Conference mascot navbox}}

[[Category:Mid-American Conference mascots]]
[[Category:Ball State University]]
[[Category:Bird mascots]]
[[Category:Fictional cardinals (birds)]]
[[Category:Anthropomorphic birds]]
[[Category:Mascots introduced in 1927]]

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