Carlton the Bear
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carlton the Bear is a 6'4" anthropomorphic polar bear, and the official mascot of the Toronto Maple Leafs NHL team.
He gets his name from Carlton Street where Maple Leaf Gardens, the original arena of the Leafs was located. They have since moved to the Air Canada Centre. His first public appearance was on October 10, 1995 at the Leafs home-opener in Toronto against the New York Islanders (which they won 7-3). Since his debut in 1995 Carlton has gained fame through appearances at Leafs home games. He has also been known to occasionally travel with the team having made appearances at 20 different arenas (in 17 different cities) over his 10 year career. These cities include places like Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Boston, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Anaheim, San Jose, Washington, Los Angeles, Tampa Bay, New Jersey and New York.
Over the course of his career Carlton has tossed more then 8,000 shirts into the audience, led them in various cheers and spread Maple Leaf spirit to thousands of fans. Carlton also is credited with chairing the first annual Mascot Summit which took place at the NHL's 50th All-Star Game in Toronto (during the 1999-2000 season). The Summit gathered all the NHL mascots and management to discuss topics such as community appearances and providing entertainment during games. The Spartacat (mascot for the Ottawa Senators) is considered to be his biggest rival.
