Chaddy the Owl

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Chaddy the Owl is the official mascot of Oldham Athletic A.F.C.; an English football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. He is particularly notable because he has won the Football league mascots' race twice in recent years, in 2002 and 2003.

On match days, Chaddy the Owl has been known for taking a pre-match penalty with a full pitch length run up. Often he'd miss in his giant comedy boots which proved popular with the crowd.

Chaddy the Owl was chosen as the official mascot of Oldham Athletic to reflect Oldham's historic heraldry and heritage. The owl is a prominent feature on the Oldham Coat of arms. Chaddy was given his name after a vote by fans as a tribute to traditional 'home end' of Boundary Park. The Chadderton Road Stand as it was known was affectionally known to fans as the 'Chaddy End'.

[edit] Mascot Actors

After a few cameo appearances Chaddy became a regular fixture on the sidelines during Oldham Athletic's successful 1990/91 Division Two campaign. At that time and for the next 2 years (the latter being the fledgling season for the Premiership) Chaddy was portrayed by Paul Taft. Paul retired as the original Chaddy in 1993 upon moving to the US. Between 1999 and 2004, Chaddy the Owl was played by Kevin Williams. He has since been played by Wayne Hurst. Chaddy took part in this years Great North run (2006)in Manchester for the first time where he finished in 1 hour and 15 minutes, and in doing so raised a lot of money which he donated to the children's ward at Oldham hospital.

[edit] Mascot Grand National Triva

In 2001 Chaddy the Owl was crowned Mascot Challenge Champion by Channel Four's Footy Shorts program.

In 2002, after finishing 3rd and 2nd in previous years, Chaddy the Owl won the Mascot Grand National at Huntingdon Racecourses; an event held in September each year where 100 mascots race across the last furlong of the racecourse. Bookmakers Ladbrokes were caught out by Chaddy the Owl's win giving him odds of a 40/1 outsider, overlooking him finishing 2nd by less than a second only one year before.

By the time the race Chaddy the Owl started as 7/8 favourite and won in a course record time of 30 seconds, after Kevin reportedly had spent months training using the same programme as Australian Olympic Gold medallist Cathy Freeman.

Chaddy The Owl avoided an on course female streaker to win the Mascot Grand National in 2003, defending his title and even beating Commonwealth Games sprinter Allyn Condon, who ran as Sedgefield Racecourse mascot Sedge The FieldMouse.

In 2004 Chaddy the Owl was narrowly beaten (8/10 sec) after being held up by other mascots cheeky antics at the start, in his attempt to win the back-to-back hat trick of Mascot Grand National.

The role of Chaddy the Owl was taken over by Oldham Athletic fan Wayne Hurst, following the departure of Kevin Williams in 2004.

In 2005 Chaddy the Owl was inside the top 20, as he decided to stop last years winner from retaining his title, but the winner, The Sun's Scoop Six Squirrel, is said to have been discreetly played by prominent mascot racer Kevin Williams to claim his 3rd Mascot win.

[edit] Controversy

At the last game of the season in the 2005-2006 season, which was against Doncaster Rovers, Chaddy was ejected from the ground by Police and stewards after allegedly inciting a riot. He admitted to doing a "moonie" to his own fans, but only as he was asked to, after which he ran to the edge of the pitch and did a forward flip which resulted in him being escorted out of the ground, and being threatened with arrest. A full apology was later received by the club for the whole incident.

Controversy surrounded Chaddy The Owl in December 2003, when he became engaged in a half-time bust-up with Blackpool's mascot, Bloomfield Bear, throwing the bears giant foam boots into the crowd. The perceived fight sparked a six-month investigation by Greater Manchester Police, in Oldham, before it emerged the fight was no more than banter.

Chaddy the Owl hit the back page of The Sun Newspaper with the headline "THIS OWL IS THE 7FT OLDHAM MASCOT, THIS IS THE 5FT 10IN OLDHAM STRIKER, GUESS WHICH ONE THE LINESMAN WAS FLAGGING OFFSIDE?"^{[citation needed]}. Kevin Williams who donned the costume was quoted saying "The linesman flagged initially because he thought I was an Oldham player. Fair enough, I did have a replica shirt on - but I also have a big furry head!"^{[citation needed]}.