The mascots of the University of Florida are Albert and Alberta, costumed alligators. Albert appeared in 1986; Alberta was added in 1991. The mascots were taken from the nickname, which came about in 1908. In 1907 Austin Miller, a University of Virginia law student, was visited by his father, Phillip, who was the owner of a drugstore in Gainesville. While in Virginia, he decided to purchase pennants with the University of Florida name on them to resell to students. When the manager of the printing shop asked for Florida’s emblem, the elder Miller replied that Florida did not have one. His son suggested that the alligator be used, since no other school had adopted it and it was native to Florida. The pennants were made with the alligator, and the first appearance of the Florida Gator was in Miller’s drugstore in 1908.