The
Phillie Phanatic is the official mascot of the
Philadelphia PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and are the defending World Series champions. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern...
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
team. A fat furry green creature that somewhat resembles a bird from the rear view with a cylindrical beak containing a tongue that sticks out. He was created by Harrison/Erickson of New York City (now known as Acme Mascots), who have had ties with
Jim HensonJames Maury "Jim" Henson , was one of the most widely known puppeteers in American history. He was the creator of The Muppets...
's Muppets and the team's marketing and promotions department during the winter after the 1977 season by a young executive named Dennis Lehman, who thought that the team needed a mascot similar to
San DiegoSan Diego , named after Saint Didacus , is the second-largest city in California and the ninth largest city in the United States, located along the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of the United States. The US Census Bureau estimates the city's population at 1,279,329 as of 2008...
's Famous Chicken. Instead of a number on the back of his uniform shirt he wears a star.
Profile
The character is named for the fanatical fans of the team after an incident during the third game of the
1977 National League Championship SeriesThe National League Championship Series was a best-of-five matchup between the Western Division champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the Eastern Division champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers beat the Phillies three games to one and went on lose the 1977 World Series to the New York...
played at
Philadelphia'sPhiladelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million, while the metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth-largest...
Veterans StadiumPhiladelphia Veterans Stadium was a professional sports facility located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...
, in which fans drove
Los Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles, California, USA. The team is in the Western Division of the National League. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming the Brooklyn...
pitcher
Burt HootonBurt Carlton Hooton , nicknamed "Happy" , is a coach and former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball...
into losing his composure after he complained to umpire Bob Engel over balls and strikes (he was removed from the game, but the Dodgers went on to win the game, and ultimately, the series). Another reason he was created, according to current owner and former team vice president
Bill GilesWilliam Yale Giles is the chairman and part owner of Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies.-Personal:He is the son of former National League president Warren Giles...
was to bring more families to The Vet, as some of the more inebriated fans were involved in various fights when the team was doing well or poorly.
The Phanatic replaced "Philadelphia Phil" and "Philadelphia Phillis", a pair of siblings dressed in 18th-century garb to invoke the city's revolutionary spirit from 1776. The pair were in the team logo from 1976 through 1978, and were part of the team's "Home Run Spectacular" at The Vet from 1971 through 1979. They reappeared with their replacement — the Phanatic — as the Phillies celebrated their final year at Veterans Stadium in 2003, including opening day and the final game.
In his book
Pouring Six Beers At A Time, Giles wrote of the worst decision of his life when it came to the creation of the Phanatic. The design would cost $5,200 (
USThe United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
) for both the costume and the copyright ownership, or $3,900 just for the costume with Harrison/Erickson retaining the copyright. Giles chose to just buy the costume. Five years later, when Giles and his group of investors bought the team from Ruly Carpenter, the franchise paid $250,000 to Harrison/Erickson for the copyright.
Debut
The Phanatic debuted on April 25, 1978, at The Vet, when the Phils played the
Chicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago , the Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the...
. He was formally introduced to the public on the "
Captain Noah and His Magical ArkCaptain Noah and His Magical Ark was a television program for children and was generally broadcast around the Philadelphia area. It aired from 1967 to 1994. It was on WPVI, channel 6 in the Philadelphia area....
" show, on WPVI-TV, by sports analyst and then-Phillies player
Tim McCarverJames Timothy McCarver is an American former Major League baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
, who was doing promotional work for the team, in addition to being the "designated catcher" for
Steve CarltonSteven Norman Carlton is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, from to . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in . He was affectionately known to Philadelphia fans as "Lefty". He played the greatest number of years for the Philadelphia Phillies, receiving his greatest...
. McCarver gave the Phanatic the title of "baseball's best mascot". The Phanatic was also voted "best mascot ever" by
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and its publication for younger readers,
Sports Illustrated for KidsSports Illustrated Kids is a spin-off of the weekly U.S. sports magazine Sports Illustrated...
.
The Phanatic was originally portrayed by Dave Raymond — who was then working as an intern in the team's front office — for fifteen years, from 1978 to 1993. Raymond's father is retired Delaware Blue Hens
Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame, located in South Bend, Indiana, USA, is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. It is situated in the renovated downtown district, near convention centers and not far from the campus of Notre Dame...
coach Harold "Tubby" Raymond. The elder Raymond was once quoted as saying "I used to be known as the head football coach of the Fighting Blue Hens, but now I will forever be known as the father of a green transvestite!"
Current status
, Tom Burgoyne serves as the Phanatic's "best friend". The Phanatic rides around on an
ATVAn all-terrain vehicle , informally referred to as a quad bike or quad, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...
, being the first professional mascot to do so, on the artificial turf of The Vet, and now, with regular tires, on the grass at
Citizens Bank ParkCitizens Bank Park is a 43,647-seat baseball park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, and home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Citizens Bank Park opened on April 3, 2004 and hosted its first regular season baseball game on April 12 of the same year, with the...
. The Phillie Phanatic is one of the most popular and most easily recognized mascots in all of sports. He has a
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese counterpart from the
Hiroshima Toyo CarpThe are a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder , which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family . Because of that,...
named Slyly. In 2005, Raymond founded the
Mascot Hall of FameThe Mascot Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for sports mascots. It was founded by David Raymond, who was the original Phillie Phanatic from 1978 to 1993. It is an online-only hall, with an induction ceremony taking place each year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
, and the Phanatic was inducted as a charter member of the Class of 2005. Burgoyne has written six children's books featuring the Phanatic that the team has published since 2003.
A recurring character on the animated television show The Simpsons is called the Capital City Goofball and heavily resembles the Phanatic.
One week before the Phillies had their 2006 opener, the Phanatic was "dyed" red as part of the team's week-long promotion to "Paint the Town Red" as he was "dipped into a special paint" made by a team sponsor -
MAB PaintsM.A.B. Paints was a regional manufacturer of architectural, commercial and industrial coatings for the professional and do-it-yourself markets. Founded in 1899 in South Philadelphia by Michael A. Bruder, M.A.B. Paints grew to over 230 stores in 17 states.-History:Since 1967, it has been run by...
(now Sherwin Williams) - and was changed from green to red. He returned to his regular color in time for the season opener on April 3 of that year. This was repeated for the 2007 season, as he became red at a Philadelphia Fire Department station (with help from his backup, Matt Mehler in the green outfit) to help raise funds for smoke alarms in Philadelphia, and over $4,000 was raised. On April 2, he returned to his green hue in time for the opener. This was repeated, starting March 24, 2008 and March 30, 2009, as the theme of "Paint the Town Red Week" those years was volunteerism.
He appeared in the
closing creditsClosing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture or television program to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the background or a...
of the film
Rocky BalboaRocky Balboa is a 2006 film written and directed by Sylvester Stallone who also stars as underdog boxer Rocky Balboa. It is the sixth and final film in the Rocky series, which began with the Oscar-winning Rocky thirty years earlier in 1976...
(2006).
In 2009, an assortment of tall fiberglass statues are being painted by artists and displayed throughout Philadelphia with all monies raised going to Phillies' Charities.
Trademark pranks and activities
- He ritually taunts the visiting team, dancing provocatively in front of their dugout, and smashing or stomping on an object, such as a batting helmet, representing the team.
- Standing on the roof of the Phillies dugout, he leads the crowd in attempts to "hex" the opposing pitcher, which led to the short-lived "Whammy Hand" used in the 2007 National League Division Series
The 2007 National League Division Series , the opening round of the 2007 National League playoffs, began on Wednesday, October 3 and ended on Saturday, October 6, with the champions of the three NL divisions and one wild card team participating in two best-of-five series. They were:* Arizona...
against the Colorado RockiesThe Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993, the Rockies play in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains, which pass through Colorado, just west of Denver...
.
- Occasionally he takes pitching practice in the bullpen. This is announced on the stadium video screen.
- During pre-game practice, he has been known to steal fielders' gloves and throw them to fans.
- The Phanatic had a favorite umpire in the late Eric Gregg
Eric Eugene Gregg was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1975 to 1999...
, and would greet him enthusiastically on the field when Gregg was in charge.
- He sometimes shoots hot dogs into the stands using the Hatfield
- Places :Hatfield is the name of several places around the world. It comes from O.E. Haeth field , meaning field of heather.In Australia*Hatfield, New South Wales, located in the Electoral district of Murray-DarlingIn England:...
Hot Dog Launcher.
Notable events
Los Angeles Dodgers manager
Tommy LasordaThomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball pitcher and manager. marks his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin...
famously assaulted the Phillie Phanatic during a nationally televised game after the Phanatic stomped on a life sized dummy donned with Lasorda's uniform.
The Phanatic also has the dubious distinction of being the most sued mascot in sports. Most notably, the Phillies had to pay a judgment of $2.5 million to a man at a paint store event when the Phanatic jumped the patron with a rough-house bear hug, from which the man sustained serious back injuries.
The Phillie Phanatic's head disappeared from the Wachovia Center during the Phillies' Final Pieces charity sale and auction in 2004. Tom Burgoyne had taken off the costume for a break then found the head missing when he returned. One week later someone anonymously called a disc jockey, saying he found the head and that he would bring it to the radio station. Police arrested Bernard Bechtel, 37, of Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, after he brought the $3,000 head to the station. Bechtel was charged with felony theft.
Relation to other mascots
In 1989, Orlando's NBA expansion team, the Magic, was founded largely through the efforts of former
Philadelphia 76ersThe Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association .-Syracuse Nationals:...
General Manager Pat Williams. Williams not only brought his considerable basketball expertise to bear on the new franchise, he also brought with him a taste of Philadelphia when he pitched the idea of Stuff, a furry green dragon with uncanny similarities to the Phillie Phanatic, to be the team's official mascot. In fact, when Williams staged the "birth" of Stuff at an Orlando event, the man inside the Magic Dragon was none other than Dave Raymond, himself.
Phanatic store at the ballpark
- See: Citizens Bank Park#Other Attractions ("Build-A-Bear Workshop" Make-Your-Own-Phanatic)
Honors and awards
In 2009, the Phanatic was one of several recipients of the Great Friend to Kids (GFTK) Awards, given by the
Please Touch MuseumThe Please Touch Museum is a children's museum located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The museum focuses on teaching children through interactive exhibits and special events, mostly aimed at children seven years old and younger.-History:...
(the Children's Museum of Philadelphia).
See also
- List of Major League Baseball mascots
- Mascot Hall of Fame
The Mascot Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for sports mascots. It was founded by David Raymond, who was the original Phillie Phanatic from 1978 to 1993. It is an online-only hall, with an induction ceremony taking place each year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
- Youppi
Youppi, or Youppi! is the official mascot for the Montreal Canadiens and former longtime mascot of Montreal Expos .-History:...
External links