Sports Mascots

I want to go to the Mascot Hall of Fame right now!

/ 5 Questions / By

I was today years old when I learned there is a Mascot Hall of Fame. Such a gloriously dumb and fun establishment is calling to me. It opened in 2018, and it was established online in 2005 by a guy named David Raymond, who played none other than the Phillie Phanatic for 15 years. Excellent credentials!

First stop, Cooperstown. Second stop, Mascot Hall of Fame in Whiting, Indiana.

Arizona Coyotes Mascot Howler
I will never delete this photo.

I do love a mascot. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fairly intelligent lady and I know — intellectually — it’s just a dude in a suit. But if you can get over yourself for a minute and just enjoy the T-shirt guns and trampoline basketball tricks and bursting out of paper logos, meeting a mascot is like meeting a celebrity!

Exhibit A: Me and Howler of the Arizona Coyotes in 2012.

So today’s mini quiz is on five iconic mascots. (I could do a whole quiz about Gritty, but apparently the Mascot Hall of Fame says that inductees have to be active for 10 years before eligibility. But that google-eyed orange gift to comedy will go first ballot in 2028, no?)

Questions

  1. One of the longest-tenured mascots in pro sports, what bright red bovine has been hyping basketball crowds in Chicago since 1969?
  2. What orange icon, who once was thrown out of a MLB game, wears an exclamation point as his jersey number and is the only mascot to have switched professional sports leagues, from baseball to hockey, when his original team left town?
  3. Legend has it that the NBA mascot nicknamed Go, whose costume has nothing to do with his team’s name, was born when a messenger in costume delivered a singing telegram during a game and arena security asked him to do his dance on the court.
  4. What National League East character, who was introduced in 1963, does the Mascot Hall of Fame describe as a “spheroid humanoid”?
  5. After the Kansas City Chiefs retired their original mascot — Warpaint, a man riding a horse in full Native American regalia. Yikes. — they landed on what animal character who has made headlines for tackling field-crashing fans?

Answers up after a compilation video of the antics of Gritty, a true chaotic good.

Answers:

  1. Benny the Bull
  2. Youppi!
  3. The Phoenix Suns Gorilla
  4. Mr. Met
  5. KC Wolf

Want more sports trivia? Try this sports nicknames quiz!