The Story of Jerry Quy – The Original Gunnersaurus

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Arsenal crowds with mascot
CHEN WEI SENG | Bigstockphoto

Having first appeared in 1994, the Gunnersaurus has been a familiar sight at Arsenal home matches for decades. His green skin and long neck make him a particularly striking mascot and one most football fans recognise. While the exterior is relatively famous, however, much less is known about the man who spent 26 years underneath the suit, before being laid off in 2020.

Having played such an iconic footballing mascot for so long, we wanted a closer look at Jerry Quy’s story and how he came to lose his dream job.

The Gunnersaurus Is Born


During the 1993/94 season, Arsenal ran a competition for young fans to design a new club mascot. From all the entries, the chosen winners were 13-year-old Andrew Wainwright and 11-year-old Peter Lovell who both opted for what they called the ‘Gunnersaurus Rex’, inspired by Jurassic Park, released just months earlier.

Peter Lovell’s ‘friendly dinosaur’ prototype ended up looking more similar to the final design but both received credit for conceptualising the idea. Having had the necessary inspiration, Arsenal began crafting the costume and the Gunnersaurus made his debut at Highbury on 20th August, 1994, a 3-0 win over Manchester City.

Quy Makes His Debut

When the dinosaur suit arrived at Arsenal, Jerry Quy was the first person to try it on. His first impression was that it was extremely hot and heavy, and not at all comfortable. After giving it a test drive, Jerry said he did not fancy putting it on again. He changed his mind quickly though because when the club needed a suit volunteer for the opening game of the 1994/95 season, Jerry stepped forward.

Gunnersaurus Role Evolves


During its early years, fulfilling the mascot role was a part-time gig. This changed in 2003 when the club found out Jerry had lost his (main job) while coping with the tragic death of his wife. Knowing Quy was in a position to take on more duties, Arsenal’s Iain Cook asked him if he wanted to become a tour guide. Jerry initially declined, citing fears of public speaking, but eventually came around to the idea.

Despite being now heavily involved with tours, Jerry would always put on the big green suit for home matches, plus the occasional away fixture. As part of the role Jerry could attend home and away matches, but for away trips the suit often did not come with him. Now heavily involved in the club, and able to watch so many matches, Jerry was provided with a welcome distraction from what had been a challenging period personally.

Eventually, the Gunnersaurus role became too big and clashed with Jerry’s touring duties so Arsenal made the Gunnersaurus post a full-time position.

The Matchday Experience

Quy would normally step into the Gunnersaurus suit around two hours before kick-off. He would start by fulfilling requests from box holders before greeting the first team whenever the bus arrived. The rules stated that due to the heat of the suit, Quy should take a break every 20 minutes but he just kept it on for the full two hours before the game kicked off.

By his own admission, Quy is usually quite a reserved figure but he said that putting on the suit gave him a different personality. As a green dinosaur, he was more outgoing and confident, to the extent he would interact with almost everyone he walked past. One of these people included Arsene Wenger’s wife who he would warmly greet every time he spotted her in the car park.

The design of the suit meant there was a large degree of tunnel vision when walking around so Quy was accompanied by someone acting as his eyes (and ears). This was particularly useful as sometimes Jerry would need to head to a specific block to fulfil a special request. When it was time for kick-off, the suit would come off but it would Jerry’s role was not over as at full-time he would often wander round the boxes.

Previously, the Gunnersaurus would stay on the pitch if there was a minute’s silence before kick-off. However, a respectful, sombre moment contrasted with a slightly comical-looking outfit (also paying respects) did not go down too well. So, this was eventually chalked off the list of duties of the Arsenal mascot.

Friendships with Players

Over the years, Quy became friends with several Arsenal players. One was the mercurial figure Jens Lehmann after the Gunnersaurus was asked to take some shots against the German during the half-time break. Normally this opportunity would go to the young mascot but the lad selected on that particular game was on crutches. Jerry also befriended players such as Aaron Ramsey and Robin van Persie after appearing at parties for their children. Such parties could be challenging work for Quy as one involved him jumping around on trampolines while in the Gunnersaurus suit!

The Disappointing End


In August 2020, Arsenal announced they were to make 55 staff redundant due to the financial impact of Covid-19. When hearing the news, Jerry thought it would not be him but alas his nis name was one of those on the list. Quy understood why in a period of empty stadiums there was no need for a mascot but he was hurt by how the club handled the situation. He suggested there had been little recognition or appreciation of all the years he had served as the Gunnersaurus, he was simply quietly let go.

The news of the Gunnersaurus sacking did not go down well with fans and former Arsenal players though and the story made its way into the national news cycle. Quy had press showing up at his door although he refused to speak badly about the club he still had such a strong connection to. The story took an unexpected turn when Mesut Ozil declared he would pay for Quy’s salary. Negotiations began with Ozil’s agent but fell through in part due to the German’s own issues with the club.

Despite no longer being an employee, Quy’s love for the role meant he began producing free content during the Covid-19 lockdown as he had the suit and oversized Arsenal shirts at home. The club soon asked for all the outfits back though, sending a massive van that took it all away. Not only had Jerry lost his job and a much-loved collection of Gunnersaurus attire but he also lost his access to match tickets. Thankfully, a sympathetic friend in the box office intervened and found the former Gunnersaurus a season ticket, albeit one that came at full price.

This marks the end of the story for the original Gunnersaurus and the role (across three different suits) is now filled by several people, including an old friend of Jerry’s. Quy maintains he loved spending 26 years as the Gunnersaurus, it is just a shame he was unable to bid farewell to the role on a more positive note.