Phillie Phanatic

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The Phillie Phanatic has been the mascot of the Phillies for almost three decades.

The Phillie Phanatic is the official mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team. A furry green creature with a cylindrical beak containing a tongue that sticks out, he was created by Jim Henson (the muppets) and the team's marketing and promotions department during the winter after the 1977 season. He is named for the fanatical fans of the team after an incident during the third game of the 1977 National League Championship Series, in which fans drove Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Burt Hooton into losing his composure. (He was removed from the game, but the Dodgers went on to win.) The Phanatic replaced the Hot Pants Patrol, a large group of young scantily clad "usherettes", as the main promotional item used to draw Phillies fans to Veterans Stadium.

The Phanatic debuted on April 25, 1978 in Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since then, he was given the title "baseball's best mascot" by sports analyst Tim McCarver, who formally introduced the Phanatic on the "Captain Noah and his Magical Ark" children's TV show on WPVI-TV that year as he did promotional work for the team as a side from being the "designated catcher" for Steve Carlton, as well as ESPN's Chris Berman. The Phanatic was originally portrayed by Dave Raymond, whose father is retired college football hall of fame coach Harold "Tubby" Raymond at the University of Delaware, for fifteen years, from 1978 to 1993. The character is currently (as of 2006) played by Tom Burgoyne, a graduate of Saint Joseph's Prep and Drexel University, both fixtures of Philadelphia education. The Phanatic rides around on an ATV, 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 Park. The Phillie Phanatic is one of the most popular and most easily recognized mascots in all of sports. He has a Japanese counterpart from the Hiroshima Carp named Slyly. In 2005, Raymond founded the Mascot Hall of Fame, and the Phanatic was inducted as a charter member of the Class of 2005.

One week before the Phillies had their 2006 home 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 Paints - and was changed from green to red. He returned to his regular color in time for the season opener on April 3.

[edit] Biography (from the Phillies marketing and promotions department)

The Phanatic turned red for the week before the team opened its season in 2006.

Height: 6 feet, 6 inches (1.98 meters). Weight: 300 lb (136 kg), mostly fat.

Birthplace: The Galápagos Islands (In reality, the Acme Mascot Company — formerly known as Harrison-Erickson Designs — of New York City. Currently, Raymond Entertainment Group makes the Phanatic's main costume.)

Eyes: White eyeballs with black pupils, purple eyelashes and blue eyebrows.

Physical defects: Overweight, clumsy feet, gawking neck, slight case of body odor.

Mother: Phoebe.

Best Friend: Ronald Honas.

Rival: Former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda.

Favorite Food: Cheesesteaks, hoagies, soft pretzels, scrapple and Tastykakes.

Favorite Movie: "Rocky".

Favorite Song: "MotownPhilly" by Boyz II Men (and "Take Me Out To The Ball Game", of course.)

Greatest Moment: The parade that followed the Phillies winning the 1980 World Series.

Other Relative(s): Slyly of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (maybe related); Cousin Phred (2000-2003).