That was likely to be during a club rugby day celebration as part of a parade of players before the team's Ranfurly Shield clash with North Harbour.
"We are very lucky in Hawke's Bay to have an iconic mascot who is recognised everywhere - because we have some fantastic years to celebrate," Mr Campbell said.
While other unions had seen mascots come and go, and even changed their playing strip, the Bay had stuck with Hawkeye and the players still wore the black and white hoops.
While the big bird was not the first mascot in the Bay's rugby history the others were all short-lived and had never caught on.
But after Hawkeye was unveiled in the mid'60s that all changed.
Bay rugby finally had claws and with the winning of the Ranfurly Shield at the end of 1966 finally had big wings to take flight.
The big bird grew out of idea by rugby writer for the Daily Telegraph, the late Ken Hawker, who wrote a series of stories calling for a mascot the populace could embrace.
His colleague Jock Stevenson picked up on the idea and more people became involved. Ian Mills drew up the original sketch on the lid of a shoebox.
He said he had been rather flabbergasted when asked by Mr Stevenson to design "a 12ft bird".
The sketch soon became rough plans and a local engineering firm, set up by rugby fans Ernie and Ray Wiig, got to work.
At the same time, local businessmen Bernie Meredith and Rod McBean launched the "I'm a Hawkeye Guy" movement, which was embraced by businesses and individuals across the Bay.
Mr Mills said Hawkeye was put together in a "bit of a hurry" as there was an away game in New Plymouth they wanted to get him to.
"So he's not exactly a graceful beast."
During the Bay's great shield era of the mid to late'60s Hawkeye featured in the pre-match street parades and took his place at the ground.
Sadly, in later years, Hawkeye's feathers began to fade and he was eventually put into storage in a shed at Whakatu.
Until Simon Tremain, who like his late dad Kel played for Hawke's Bay, decided to give him a face and body-lift a few years ago.
"He was in a pretty sad state," Mr Tremain said.
So he enlisted the help of Hastings fibreglass specialist Bruce Small and Hawkeye now shines again and is enjoying another shield era.
"It was good to bring him back to life and its awesome he's turning 50," Mr Tremain said. "We weren't going to let him fade away."
Hawkeye was yesterday enjoying the sun in the courtyard of rugby supporters and staunch sponsors Tumu ITM, where the crew keep him looking smart.
"He's not bad for 50," Mr Campbell said.
So will he double that score and make it to a century?
"Probably, but we may not get a warrant for the trailer by then," Mr Campbell said with a laugh.
In the words from the great Hawkeye song sung by Robert Houston ... "there's something about a magpie that is fine, fine, fine".
