86-547: The Steeplechase Face was the mascot of the historic Steeplechase Park , the first of three amusement parks in Coney Island , Brooklyn , New York. It remains a nostalgic symbol of Coney Island and of amusement areas influenced by it. It features a man with a wide, exaggerated smile which sometimes bears as many as 44 visible teeth. The image conveys simple fun , but was also observed by cultural critics to have an undercurrent of Victorian-era repressed sexuality . It
172-798: A costumed character , and often appear at team matches and other related events. Since the mid-20th century, costumed characters have provided teams with an opportunity to choose a fantasy creature as their mascot, as is the case with the Philadelphia Phillies ' mascot: Phillie Phanatic , the Philadelphia Flyers ' mascot: Gritty , the Seattle Kraken mascot: Buoy , and the Washington Commanders ' mascot: Major Tuddy . Costumed mascots are commonplace, and are regularly used as goodwill ambassadors in
258-554: A band mascot is Eddie of the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden . Eddie is a zombie -like creature which is personified in different forms on all of the band's albums, most of its singles and some of its promotional merchandise. Eddie is also known to make live appearances, especially during the song "Iron Maiden". Another notable example of a mascot in music is Skeleton Sam of The Grateful Dead . South Korean hip hop band B.A.P uses rabbits named Matoki as their mascot, each bunny
344-422: A different color representing each member. Although rabbits have an innocent image, BAP gives off a tough image. Hip hop artist Kanye West used to use a teddy bear named Dropout Bear as his mascot; Dropout Bear has appeared on the cover of West's first three studio albums, and served as the main character of West's music video, " Good Morning ". The question of whether a "hype-man" can legitimately be considered
430-475: A group that was headed by longtime Phillies executive William Yale Giles . The Phillies returned to the playoffs in 1981, which were split in half due to a players' strike. In five games, they were defeated in the first-ever National League Division Series by the Montreal Expos . Mike Schmidt won his second consecutive NL Most Valuable Player award that year. In 1982, the team finished three games behind
516-399: A group with a common public identity, such as a school , sports team , society , military unit , or brand name . Mascots are also used as fictional, representative spokespeople for consumer products. In sports, mascots are also used for merchandising. Team mascots are often related to their respective team nicknames . This is especially true when the team's nickname is something that is
602-530: A hip-hop organization's mascot is currently an active subject of debate within academic Hip-Hop circles. However, local polling in relevant regions suggests acceptance of the "hype-man" as a legitimate organizational mascot. Some television series have mascots, like the Cleatus the Robot animated cartoon figure on the U.S. sports television show Fox NFL Sunday . Another example of a cartoon mascot on television
688-522: A living animal and/or can be made to have humanlike characteristics . For more abstract nicknames, the team may opt to have an unrelated character serve as the mascot. For example, the athletic teams of the University of Alabama are nicknamed the Crimson Tide , while their mascot is an elephant named Big Al . Team mascots may take the form of a logo , person, live animal, inanimate object, or
774-419: A lock of hair or a figurehead on a sailing ship. From then to the twentieth century, the term has been used in reference to any good luck animals, objects etc., and more recently including human caricatures and fictional creatures created as logos for sports teams . Often, the choice of the mascot reflects the desired quality; a typical example of this is the "fighting spirit," in which a competitive nature
860-520: A necessity amongst not only the sporting industry but for other organisations. The word 'mascot' originates from the French term 'mascotte' which means lucky charm . This was used to describe anything that brought luck to a household. The word was first recorded in 1867 and popularised by a French composer Edmond Audran who wrote the opera La mascotte , performed in December 1880. The word entered
946-457: A pair of ferrets . The Norwegian Royal Guard adopted a king penguin named Nils Olav as its mascot on the occasion of a visit to Edinburgh by its regimental band. The (very large) penguin remains resident at Edinburgh Zoo and has been formally promoted by one rank on the occasion of each subsequent visit to Britain by the band or other detachments of the Guard. Regimental Sergeant Major Olav
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#17327901148771032-485: A permanent basis as tenants of the A's. However, Baker Bowl's owner, Charles W. Murphy, at first refused to let the Phillies out of their lease. He finally relented in 1938, and only then because the city threatened to condemn the dilapidated park. Despite the move, attendance rarely topped 3,000 a game. The lowest point came in 1941, when the Phillies finished with a 43–111 record, setting a franchise record for losses in
1118-490: A record of 52–100, making them the first team in franchise history to have lost 100 games. The Phillies won their first pennant in 1915 thanks to the pitching of Grover Cleveland Alexander and the batting prowess of Gavvy Cravath , who set the 20th century single-season record for home runs with 24. They finished the season with a record of 90–62, seven games ahead of the Boston Braves . The Phillies went up against
1204-484: A record of 91–62. Alexander won his second consecutive triple crown and posted 16 shutouts, tying the single-season major league record. In 1917 , Alexander had been traded to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Mike Prendegrast and catcher Pickles Dillhoefer , when owner William Baker refused to increase his salary. Baker was known for running the Phillies very cheaply; for instance, during much of his tenure, there
1290-556: A result, the fan base and attendance at home games increased. Eventually, Cox revealed that he had been betting on the Phillies, and he was banned from baseball by baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis on November 23, 1943. The new owner, Bob Carpenter Sr. , scion of the Delaware-based duPont family , bought the team with his son for an estimated $ 400,000 that same day – November 23, 1943. The Carpenters tried to polish
1376-401: A season. A year later , they needed an advance from the league just to go to spring training. Nugent realized he did not have enough money to operate the team in 1943, and put it up for sale. After lumber baron William D. Cox purchased the team with a group of investors for $ 190,000 and a $ 50,000 note on March 15, 1943, the Phillies rose out of last place for the first time in five years. As
1462-492: A television audience of 54.9 million viewers. Thus, the Phillies became the last of the 16 teams that made up the Major Leagues from 1903 to 1960 to win a World Series. Carlton captured his third NL Cy Young Award with a record of 24–9. After their series win, Ruly Carpenter, who had been given control of the team in 1972 when his father stepped down as team president, sold the team for $ 32.5 million in 1981 to
1548-487: A version that was a person wearing a costume. In the United Kingdom , some teams have young fans become "mascots". These representatives sometimes have medical issues, and the appearance is a wish grant, the winner of a contest, or under other circumstances. Mascots also include older people such as Mr England , who are invited by national sports associations to be mascots for the representative teams. One of
1634-432: A winning team, however, he did not have the financial means to do so. He was forced to trade what little talent the team had to make ends meet, and often had to use some creative financial methods to field a team at all. Philadelphia's Baker Bowl proved to be a fertile hitting ground for Phillies opponents as well, and in 1930, the team surrendered 1199 runs, a major-league record still standing today. Once considered one of
1720-546: Is personified by warriors or predatory animals. Mascots may also symbolize a local or regional trait, such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers ' mascot, Herbie Husker : a stylized version of a farmer, owing to the agricultural traditions of the area in which the university is located. Similarly, Pittsburg State University uses Gus the Gorilla as its mascot, "gorilla" being an old colloquial term for coal miners in
1806-525: Is Tommy Trojan who rides on his horse (and the official mascot of the school) Traveler. Many sports teams in the United States have official mascots, sometimes enacted by costumed humans or even live animals. One of the earliest was a taxidermy mount for the Chicago Cubs , in 1908, and later a live animal used in 1916 by the same team. They abandoned the concept shortly thereafter and remained without an official "cub" until 2014, when they introduced
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#17327901148771892-625: Is also used to refer to mascots created by businesses to promote their products. Camilla Corona SDO is the mission mascot for NASA 's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and assists the mission with Education and Public Outreach (EPO). Mascots are also popular in military units. For example, the United States Marine Corps uses the English Bulldog as its mascot, while the United States Army uses
1978-636: Is and was Blue Jays . Wilson Shaffer, the school's athletic director, criticized the Philadelphia team for adopting his university's moniker, and said that Philadelphia should use the blue jay's scientific name instead and be known as the Philadelphia Cyanocitta Cristata . Similarly, the university's student council, citing the Philadelphia team's long track record of failure, passed a resolution demanding "suitable satisfaction" for what they perceived as theft and sullying of
2064-786: Is not allowed. For example, many corporate mascots can attend non-profit events, or sports and promote their brand while entertaining the crowd. Some mascots are simply cartoons or virtual mascots, others are characters in commercials, and others are actually created as costumes and will appear in person in front of the public at tradeshows or events. American high schools, colleges, and even middle and elementary schools typically have mascots. Many college and university mascots started out as live animals, such as bulldogs and bears that attended sporting events. Today, mascots are usually represented by animated characters, campus sculptures, and costumed students who attend sporting events, alumni gatherings, and other campus events. The mascots that are used for
2150-551: Is now known as the "Classic Eight" of the National League. They were awarded a spot in the league to replace the Worcester baseball team , a franchise that had folded in 1882. The new team was nicknamed the "Phillies" from the start, and immediately compiled a .173 winning percentage , which stands as the worst in franchise history. Although many sources (including the Phillies themselves) claim that Reach and Rogers bought
2236-793: Is the Sir Seven knight character on Wisconsin's WSAW-TV . Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia . The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division . Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citizens Bank Park , located in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex . Founded in 1883,
2322-730: Is widely considered the franchise's greatest player of all time. Over the team's history since 1883, 33 Phillies players have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame . The Philadelphia Phillies' Triple-A affiliate is the Lehigh Valley IronPigs , who play at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown . The Double-A affiliate is the Reading Fightin Phils , who play in Reading . The Class-A affiliates are
2408-868: The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders have a Shetland pony as their mascot, a ram for The Mercian Regiment; an Irish Wolfhound for the Irish Guards and the Royal Irish Regiment ; a drum horse for the Queen's Royal Hussars and the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards; an antelope for the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers ; and a goat for the Royal Welsh . Other British military mascots include a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and
2494-532: The Boston Red Sox in the World Series , opening the series at home with a victory. The Phillies struggled against a strong Red Sox pitching lineup and surrendered the next four games, losing the series four games to one. The team continued to dominate the National League in 1916 but fell short of capturing a second consecutive pennant. The team finished two and a half games out of first place with
2580-678: The Jersey Shore BlueClaws , who play in Lakewood Township, New Jersey , and the Clearwater Threshers , who play at BayCare Ballpark . The team's spring training facilities are in Clearwater, Florida . In 1883 , sporting goods manufacturer Al Reach , a pioneering professional baseball player, and attorney John Rogers won an expansion National League franchise for Philadelphia, one of what
2666-713: The NLCS , against the Reds in 1976 and the Dodgers in 1977 and 1978 . In 1979, the Phillies acquired Pete Rose , the spark that would put them over the top. The Phillies won the National League East in 1980, but to win the league championship, they had to defeat the Houston Astros . In a memorable NLCS , with four of the five games needing extra innings, they fell behind 2–1 but battled back to squeeze past
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2752-525: The Spectrum , established the South Philadelphia Sports Complex . Pitcher Rick Wise hurled a no-hitter and in the same game hit two home runs against the Cincinnati Reds in 1971. That same season, Harry Kalas joined the Phillies broadcasting team. In 1972 , the Phillies were the worst team in baseball, but newly acquired Steve Carlton won nearly half their games (27 of 59 team wins) and
2838-651: The community for their team, company , or organization . It was sports organizations that initially first thought of using animals as a form of mascot to bring entertainment and excitement for their spectators. Before mascots were fictional icons or people in suits, animals were mostly used in order to bring a somewhat different feel to the game and to strike fear upon the rivalry teams. As time went on, mascots evolved from predatory animals, to two-dimensional fantasy mascots, to finally what we know today, three-dimensional mascots. Stylistic changes in American puppetry in
2924-749: The first modern World Series and 142 seasons since its 1883 establishment. As of the end of the 2024 season, the Phillies have played 21,648 games, with a regular season record of 10,207–11,326–115 (.474). With their first championship in 1980, the Phillies were the last of the 16 pre-expansion teams to win a World Series. Since the start of the Divisional Era in 1969 , however, the Phillies have emerged as one of MLB's most successful teams, winning 12 division titles, including five consecutive divisional titles between 2007 and 2011, six National League pennants , and two World Series championships . The franchise's founding in Philadelphia in 1883 replaced
3010-734: The mule , the United States Navy uses the goat , and the United States Air Force uses the Gyrfalcon . The goat in the Royal Welsh is officially not a mascot but a ranking soldier. Lance Corporal William Windsor retired on 20 May 2009, and his replacement "William Windsor II" was captured and formally recruited on June 15 that same year. Several regiments of the British Army have a live animal mascot which appear on parades . The Parachute Regiment and
3096-483: The team from Worcester, Massachusetts , in the National League. The team has played at several stadiums in the city, including Recreation Park (1883–1886), the Baker Bowl (1887–1938), Shibe Park (later renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1953 in honor of longtime Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack ) (1938–1970), Veterans Stadium (1971–2003), and now at Citizens Bank Park (2004–present). Partly because of
3182-561: The 1920s and 1930s were outfielders Cy Williams , Lefty O'Doul , and Chuck Klein , who won the Triple Crown in 1933 . Baker died in 1930. He left half his estate to his wife and the other half to longtime team secretary Mae Mallen. Five years earlier, Mallen had married a leather goods and shoe dealer, Gerald Nugent . With the support of Baker's widow, Nugent became team president. Baker's widow died in 1932, leaving Nugent in complete control. Unlike Baker, Nugent badly wanted to build
3268-494: The 1993 World Series with the defending world champion Blue Jays winning in six games. (The Blue Jays moniker would be used by Toronto 's MLB club when it started play in 1977. Coincidentally, the Blue Jays would defeat the Phillies in the 1993 World Series .) Like Cox, Bob Carpenter Jr. was not afraid to spend the money it took to build a contender. He immediately started signing young players and invested even more money in
3354-501: The 2000s that the Blue Jays moniker was never official, however news reports in 1944 note that Phillies management said that the Blue Jays name was as an official "additional nickname", meaning that the team had two official nicknames simultaneously, the Phillies and the Blue Jays. The Phillies' official adoption of Blue Jays as a second official nickname led to a dispute with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore , whose nickname
3440-623: The Astros on a 10th-inning game-winning hit by center fielder Garry Maddox , and the city celebrated its first NL pennant in 30 years. The entire series saw only one home run hit, a game-winning two-run home run by Phillies slugger Greg Luzinski in the Phillies' opening 3–1 win in Game 1 at Philadelphia. Facing the Kansas City Royals in the 1980 World Series, the Phillies won their first World Series championship ever in six games thanks to
3526-500: The Blue Jays name. Carpenter, Jr., responded by criticizing Johns Hopkins' baseball record and promised to make the students proud of the Blue Jays name by having his Philadelphia baseball team win many games. The Philadelphia team added three minor league clubs before the start of the 1946 season and named them all Blue Jays: the Class C Salina Blue Jays , Class C Schenectady Blue Jays and Class D Green Bay Blue Jays . However,
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3612-558: The Brown Stockings and moved them to Philadelphia, all available evidence suggests this is not the case. Significantly, no players from Worcester ended up with the 1883 Quakers. In 1884 , Harry Wright , the former manager of baseball's first openly professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings , was recruited as a manager in hopes of reversing the team's fortunes. In 1887 , the team began to play at
3698-485: The English language in 1881 with the meaning of a specific living entity associated with a human organization as a symbol or live logo. However, before this, the terms were familiar to the people of France as a slang word used by gamblers. The term is a derivative of the word 'masco' meaning sorceress or witch. Before the 19th century, the word 'mascot' was associated with inanimate objects that would be commonly seen such as
3784-677: The Expos 2–1. When the game was finished several fans in attendance began to remove items from the ballpark, such as chairs, outfield panels and baseball equipment from the dugouts. The Phillies opened the new Veterans Stadium in 1971 . The team wore new maroon uniforms to accentuate the change. The stadium was built in South Philadelphia , making it the first time the team was not located in North Philadelphia . The new stadium, along with nearby John F. Kennedy Stadium and
3870-541: The Olympic and Paralympic games to each have their own mascots, which are presented together. For example, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo is represented by Miraitowa , while the 2020 Summer Paralympics are represented by Someity , and the two often appear together in promotional materials. In Japan , many municipalities have mascots, which are known as Yuru-chara ( Japanese : ゆるキャラ Hepburn : yuru kyara). Yuru-chara
3956-618: The Phillies are the oldest, continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional sports and one of the most storied teams in Major League Baseball. Since their founding, the Phillies have won two World Series championships (against the Kansas City Royals in 1980 and the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008 ), eight National League pennants (the first of which came in 1915 ), and made playoff appearances in 15 seasons. The team has played 122 consecutive seasons since
4042-403: The Phillies at the gate. However, a series of poor baseball and business decisions on the A's part allowed the Phillies to win the hearts of Philadelphia's long-suffering fans. Things started coming together for the Phillies in 1949 , when they rocketed up the standings to third place with an 81–73 record. Although the season had essentially been a two-team race between Brooklyn and St. Louis, it
4128-504: The Phillies bought Shibe Park, where both teams had played since 1938. Many thought that the "Whiz Kids", with a young core of talented players, would be a force in the league for years to come. However, the team finished with a 73–81 record in 1951 and finished nine and a half games out of first place in 1952 , with an 87–67 record. The Phillies managed to end up in third place in 1953 with an 83–71 record, however, they would fail to break .500 from 1954 to 1957. It became apparent that
4214-429: The Phillies had only one winning record, which came in 1932 . The team finished higher than sixth only twice, and were never a serious factor past June. During this stretch, they finished eighth (last place) a total of 17 times and seventh seven times, with 12 seasons in which they lost at least 100 games. This saddled the franchise with a reputation for failure that dogged it for many years. The team's primary stars during
4300-511: The Phillies lost 10 games in a row and finished one game out of first, losing the pennant to the St. Louis Cardinals . The "Phold of '64" is frequently mentioned as the worst collapse in sports history. One highlight of the 1964 season occurred on Father's Day , when Jim Bunning pitched a perfect game against the New York Mets , the first in Phillies' history. For the rest of the decade,
4386-604: The Phillies' status as the city's favorite team. In contrast, the Philadelphia Athletics finished last in 1950, and longtime manager Connie Mack retired. The team struggled for four more years with only one winning season before abandoning Philadelphia under the Johnson brothers, who bought out Mack. They began to play in Kansas City in 1955. As part of the deal selling that team to the Johnson brothers,
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#17327901148774472-471: The Southeast Kansas area in which the university was established. In the United States, controversy surrounds some mascot choices, especially those using human likenesses. Mascots based on Native American tribes are particularly contentious , as many argue that they constitute offensive exploitations of an oppressed culture. However, several Indian tribes have come out in support of keeping
4558-724: The St. Louis Cardinals in the East Division, narrowly missing the playoffs. Carlton captured his fourth career NL Cy Young Award that year with 23 wins. For the 1983 season, the Phillies returned to the playoffs and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers . They won this series in four games to capture their fourth NL pennant; however, they lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series in five games. John Denny
4644-688: The Steeplechase Face continues to appear as sticker art in Coney Island. An exhibit on the history of the face was shown by the Coney Island History Project in 2014. An exhibit on Coney Island's history, which included artifacts of the face, was displayed at the Brooklyn Museum in 2015. Mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck , or anything used to represent
4730-482: The Summer and Winter Olympic games are fictional characters, typically a human figure or an animal native to the country to which is holding that year's Olympic Games. The mascots are used to entice an audience and bring joy and excitement to the Olympics festivities. Likewise, many World expositions since 1984 have had mascots representing their host city in some way, starting with the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition 's mascot Seymore D. Fair . Since 1968, nearly all of
4816-434: The World Series. Though Ashburn and Roberts were gone, the 1964 Phillies still had younger pitchers Art Mahaffey , Chris Short , and rookie Ray Culp ; veterans Jim Bunning and screwballer Jack Baldschun ; and fan favorites Cookie Rojas , Johnny Callison , and NL Rookie of the Year Dick Allen . The team was 90–60 on September 20, good enough for a lead of 6.5 games in the pennant race with 12 games to play. However,
4902-525: The cities that have hosted the Summer or Winter Olympic Games have designed and promoted a mascot that relates to the culture of the host country the overall "brand" of that year's Games. Recent Winter/Summer Olympic games mascots include Miga, Quatchi, Mukmuk ( Vancouver, 2010 ), Wenlock and Mandeville ( London, 2012 ), Bely Mishka, Snow Leopard, Zaika ( Sochi, 2014 ) and Vinicius and Tom ( Rio, 2016 ) have all gone on to become iconic symbols in their respective countries. Since 2010, it has been common for
4988-442: The corporate world. Recognizable mascots include Chester Cheetah , Keebler Elf, the Fruit of the Loom Guys, Mickey Mouse, Pizza Pizza Guy for Little Caesars, Rocky the Elf, Pepsiman and the NBC Peacock . These characters are typically known without even having to refer to the company or brand. This is an example of corporate branding , and soft selling a company. Mascots are able to act as brand ambassadors where advertising
5074-403: The dance halls, beaches, and boardwalk." The "Funny Face" logo has become an iconic symbol of Coney Island. Introduced in 1897 with the park's opening, it existed in a variety of forms for most of its history, and was only standardized as a design in the late 1940s. The face's most prominent appearance in Coney Island was in glass on the exterior of Steeplechase's Pavilion of Fun, created when
5160-472: The direction of the team, Reach sold his interest to Rogers in 1899 . With the birth of the more lucrative American League (AL) in 1901 , the Phillies saw many of their better players defect to the upstart, including a number of players who ended up playing for their crosstown rivals, the Athletics , owned by former Phillies minority owner Benjamin Shibe . While their former teammates would thrive (the AL's first five batting champions were former Phillies),
5246-419: The earliest was Ken Baily , whose John Bull -inspired appearance was a regular at England matches from 1963 to 1990. On October 28, 1989, University of Miami mascot Sebastian the Ibis was tackled by a group of police officers for attempting to put out Chief Osceola's flaming spear prior to Miami 's game against long-standing rival Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee . Sebastian
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#17327901148775332-423: The farm system, and the Phillies quickly developed a solid core of young players that included future Hall of Famers Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts . This coincided with the final collapse of the A's. Philadelphia had been an "A's town" for most of the first half of the 20th century. Even though the A's had fielded teams as bad or worse than the Phillies for most years since the 1930s, the A's continued to trounce
5418-454: The finest parks in baseball, it was not well maintained from the 1910s onward. For instance, until 1925, the Phillies used a flock of sheep to trim the grass. Fans were often showered with rust whenever one of Klein's home runs hit girders. The entire right field grandstand collapsed in 1926, forcing the Phillies to move to the A's Shibe Park (five blocks west on Lehigh Avenue from Baker Bowl) for 1927. The Phillies tried to move to Shibe Park on
5504-408: The flash and determination of the Whiz Kids would not return when the team finished last place in the National League from 1958 to 1961. Manager Eddie Sawyer abruptly quit the team after the season opener in 1960 , and was replaced by Gene Mauch . The team's competitive futility was highlighted by a record that still stands: in 1961 , the Phillies lost 23 games in a row, the worst losing streak in
5590-404: The majors since 1900. Things started to turn around for the team in 1962 , when the team finished above .500 for the first time in five years. Gene Mauch was named National League Manager of the Year that season and won it again in 1964. The team improved in 1963 , when the team finished the season with an 87–75 record. There was confidence that the team would soon become contenders for a return to
5676-445: The mid-20th century, including the work of Jim Henson and Sid and Marty Krofft , soon were adapted to sports mascots. It allowed people to not only have visual enjoyment but also interact physically with the mascots. Marketers quickly realized the great potential in three-dimensional mascots and took on board the costumed puppet idea. This change encouraged other companies to start creating their own mascots, resulting in mascots being
5762-504: The names. For example, the Utah Utes and the Central Michigan Chippewas are sanctioned by local tribes, and the Florida State Seminoles are supported by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in their use of Osceola and Renegade as symbols. FSU chooses not to refer to them as mascots because of the offensive connotation. This has not, however, prevented fans from engaging in " Redface "—dressing up in stereotypical, Plains Indian outfits during games, or creating offensive banners saying "Scalp 'em" as
5848-400: The new Blue Jays moniker was ultimately unpopular, and although the team in the 2000s claimed that it was quietly dropped by 1949, news reports at the time indicate that the nickname, which "never caught on anyway", was not officially dropped by the team until January 1950. Coincidentally, the Phillies would play a team called the Blue Jays (who wasn't based in Philadelphia but in Toronto) in
5934-429: The newly constructed Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds, later renamed National League Park. The stadium would become known as the Baker Bowl in 1923. Despite a general improvement from their dismal beginnings, they never seriously contended for the title. The nickname "Phillies" first appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer on April 3, 1883, in the paper's coverage of an exhibition game by the new National League club and
6020-415: The park to Philadelphia Eagles ' owner Jerry Wolman in 1964, taking a $ 1 million loss on his purchase of just 10 years earlier. The stadium was deteriorating and there was inadequate parking. Attendance began to drop by 1967 and the team started to plan for a new stadium. The Phillies remained at Connie Mack Stadium until 1970. In the last game played there, the Phillies avoided last place by beating
6106-440: The park was rebuilt in 1909. The pavilion was destroyed by Fred Trump in 1966 in an unsuccessful attempt to create condos on the site. The smile of the Joker , a Batman villain, may have been partially inspired by the face. The face is sometimes seen as an evil clown today, but this was not the original understanding. The face also appeared at other Tilyou amusement properties, such as Steeplechase Pier in Atlantic City, and
6192-462: The remaining squad fared dismally, finishing 46 games out of first place in 1902 —the first of three straight years finishing either seventh or eighth. To add tragedy to folly, a balcony collapsed during a game at the Baker Bowl in 1903 , killing 12 and injuring hundreds. Rogers was forced to sell the Phillies to avoid being ruined by an avalanche of lawsuits. In 1904 , the team finished with
6278-481: The team finished no higher than fourth place in the NL standings which came during the 1966 season . In the 1969 season , the Phillies finished fifth in the newly created NL East Division , with a record of 63–99. By the late 1950s, Carpenter decided the Phillies needed a new home. He never wanted to buy Connie Mack Stadium in the first place, and was now convinced there was no way he could make money playing there. He sold
6364-582: The team to lose the next eight of ten games. On the last day of the season, the Phillies hung on to a one-game lead when Dick Sisler ’s dramatic tenth inning home run against the Brooklyn Dodgers clinched the Phillies' first pennant in 35 years. In the World Series , exhausted from their late-season plunge and victims of poor luck, the Phillies were swept by the New York Yankees in four straight games. Nonetheless, this appearance cemented
6450-421: The team's image and way of doing business. Carpenter Sr. named his son, Bob Carpenter, Jr. , team president. They wanted to shed the image of failure by changing the team's nickname. Before the 1944 season, the team held a fan contest soliciting a new team nickname. Management chose "Blue Jays", the fan submission of Elizabeth Crooks, who received a $ 100 war bond as compensation. The Phillies would later claim in
6536-401: The team's longevity, the Phillies were the first American sports franchise to amass over 10,000 losses. A plurality of those losses came in a 31-year period from 1918 to 1948 in which they managed only one winning season. Yet, also due in part to their longevity, the Phillies are one of only nine teams to also have won over 10,000 games in their history. Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt
6622-594: The timely hitting of Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose. Schmidt, who won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1980, also won the World Series Most Valuable Player award on the strength of his 8-for-21 hitting (.381 average), including game-winning hits in Game 2 and the clinching Game 6. This final game was also significant because it remains "the most-watched game in World Series history" with
6708-465: Was also copied regionally, as with the Tillie of Asbury Park . The face remains a popular symbol of Coney Island, embraced by many neighborhood institutions and businesses. A version is used in the logo of Coney Island USA , and for a time another, more clown-like, version was used by Coney Island Brewing Co. It is used in parts of the modern Luna Park , particularly in its "Scream Zone". As of 2019,
6794-478: Was also known as the Funny Face after the park's slogan "Steeplechase – Funny Place" or as Tillie , after the park's founder George C. Tilyou . It has also sometimes been named Steeplechase Jack . The mascot represented the area's wholesomeness and neoclassical architecture combined with its veneer of hidden sexuality. Though the park was a "family-friendly" area, it was nearby the "freer sexual expression of
6880-428: Was awarded his first NL Cy Young Award and won it again in 1977. Bob Carpenter Jr. retired in 1972 and passed the team ownership to his son Ruly . The Phillies achieved some success in the mid-1970s. With players such as Carlton, third baseman Mike Schmidt , shortstop Larry Bowa , catcher Bob Boone, and outfielder Greg Luzinski , the Phillies won three straight division titles (1976–78). However, they fell short in
6966-564: Was awarded the Norwegian Army's Long Service and Good Conduct medal at a ceremony in 2005. The U.S. Forest Service uses mascot Smokey Bear to raise awareness and educate the public about the dangers of unplanned human-caused wildfires . Some bands, particularly in the heavy metal genre, use band mascots to promote their music. The mascots are usually found on album covers or merchandise such as band T-shirts, but can also make appearances in live shows or music videos. One example of
7052-540: Was only one scout in the entire organization. The Phillies finished the 1917 season in second place with a record of 87–65, ten games behind the New York Giants . The effect of the Alexander trade was immediate. In 1918 , only three years after winning the pennant, the Phillies finished sixth, 13 games under .500. It was the start of one of the longest streaks of futility in baseball history. From 1918 to 1948,
7138-400: Was seen at the 2014 Rose Bowl. Some sports teams have "unofficial" mascots: individual supporters or fans that have become identified with the team. The New York Yankees have such an individual in fan Freddy Sez . Former Toronto Blue Jays mascot BJ Birdie was a costumed character created by a Blue Jays fan, ultimately hired by the team to perform at their home games. USC Trojans mascot
7224-499: Was still the Phillies' first appearance in the first division in 31 years. It was also a fitting tribute to Bob Carpenter Sr., who had died in June and left Bob Jr. in full control of the team. The 1950 Phillies led the National League standings for most of the season and were dubbed the " Whiz Kids ". In the final months of the season, a tailspin (triggered by the loss of starting pitcher Curt Simmons to National Guard service) caused
7310-414: Was the team's accepted nickname from the start. This name is one of the longest continually used nicknames in professional sports by a team in the same city. The franchise's standout players in the era were Billy Hamilton , Sam Thompson , and Ed Delahanty , who in 1896 set the major-league record (since tied by several others ) with four home runs in a single game. Due to growing disagreements about
7396-484: Was wearing a fireman’s helmet and yellow raincoat and holding a fire extinguisher. When a police officer attempted to grab the fire extinguisher, the officer was sprayed in the chest. Sebastian was handcuffed by four officers but ultimately released. University of Miami quarterback Gino Torretta told ESPN , "Even if we weren't bad boys, it added to the mystique that, 'Man, look, even their mascot's getting arrested.'" Mascots or advertising characters are very common in
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