It is evident after just a few minutes of speaking with artist Phil Neel that the member of Deerfoot Baptist Church, Trussville, doesn’t fully appreciate the power of his pen — not the way Auburn fans do.
In Auburn, he is revered not just as an artist but as the creator of Aubie, the cartoon tiger turned live-action mascot for Auburn University. Aubie is a character birthed early in Neel’s career as a cartoonist for the Birmingham Post-Herald.
The cartoon version of Aubie eventually graced the cover of nearly every Auburn Tigers football program from 1959 until 1976. As a result, on the Plains, Aubie’s fame is bigger than Mickey Mouse’s — in fact, he could easily eat the mouse for breakfast if that were his style.
But according to Neel, it’s not.
"It started off like he was going to eat up everybody the first two or three times (he appeared on the program) as a wild tiger, but pretty soon, it was that he would just try to trick people," Neel said.
Early program appearances of the orange rascal fetch hundreds of dollars on Internet auction sites like eBay and his 3-D manifestation, more commonly recognized among today’s Tigers fans, garners national collegiate mascot awards on an almost-annual basis.
To hear Neel discuss his best-known creation, however, is to understand a breed more rare than even that of the trickster tiger himself: the humble artist. He speaks of Aubie in terms of detached endearment as a parent or even grandparent quietly proud of a child’s achievements.
"Of course, I drew him and I spent a lot of hours working on it and stuff like that," Neel said of his cartoon companion. "But I never really thought I was creating anything unique exactly. I almost feel like Aubie was a real entity that kind of grew up on his own."
In that light, the recently published collection of Aubie program covers could almost be filed as a biographical work. Released in August, "The Aubie Story" was birthed by a nostalgic appetite for Neel’s work that he never quite realized existed. "I know that the collectors are really having a field day with it and that’s great. I’m not a collector myself. I don’t even have many of the programs," Neel admitted.
According to retired Auburn athletic director David Housel, who framed Neel’s 175-page collection with historical analysis, Auburn is blessed to have been so associated with Neel and his cover art "because of the great tradition it gave us but also because it meant three of his four children would come to school here."
During their time at the school, each of those children — Mike, Rick and Cindy — received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, the university’s highest humanitarian award.
"That speaks volumes for the man. He is one of the finest people I’ve ever known, the consummate professional and a man of great humility," Housel said of Neel.
Both Neel and Housel have attended several book signings across the state supporting their latest work.
And if Deerfoot Baptist Pastor Roger Willmore has anything to do with it, then the Auburn faithful in his Birmingham Baptist Association congregation will have a book signing, too, and get an opportunity to see a different side of the silver-haired man from the front row who rarely skips Sunday School and prayer meeting.
Those two church activities are more important to Neel, a deacon, and Lou, his wife of 57 years, than even football.
"I’ve been a pastor for 36 years, and Phil is one of the greatest encouragers I’ve ever had," said Willmore, president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention. "He’s one of the most humble men I’ve ever known, and the reason he hasn’t formed a sort of celebrity in the church is because he hasn’t presented himself that way."
Neel said he takes any notions of fame or commemorative significance for "The Aubie Story" with a grain of salt. Instead he focuses on celebrating high school athletes with his drawings and lends his talents for Deerfoot outreach efforts.
"I sent one (a copy of "The Aubie Story") to my little grandson," said Neel, smiling. "He called me and said, ‘Thanks for the coloring book, Granddaddy.’"
"The Aubie Story" is available at philneelart.com.
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