Mascot Hall of Fame | |
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Established | 2005 |
Opened | 2018 |
Location | Whiting, Indiana |
Founder | David Raymond |
Inductees | 33 (11 college; 22 professional) |
Websites | funfurallinwhiting.org mascothalloffame.com |
The Mascot Hall of Fame and Interactive Children's Museum is a hall of fame for North American sports mascots. It was founded by David Raymond, who was the original Phillie Phanatic from 1978 to 1993.
Each year (beginning in 2005), mascots are elected into the Mascot Hall of Fame by the voting membership and an executive committee made up of performers, sports executives, and other individuals intimate with the mascot community. The mascots go through a nomination process that ends with the executive committee selecting six finalist in each category to be placed on the ballot for consideration. There is a public online vote that contributes a percentage of the final tally. In 2006, the Hall added a separate class to honor college mascots.[ citation needed ]
To be eligible for the Mascot Hall of Fame, a mascot must have existed for a minimum of 10 years. They must also impact both their sport and community, inspire their fans, and consistently give memorable and groundbreaking performances.[ citation needed ]
It was founded as an online-only hall, with an induction ceremony taking place each year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. However, in September 2014, Raymond's mascot company signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Whiting, Indiana, to develop a permanent Mascot Hall of Fame on the south shore of Lake Michigan. [1] [2] The educational, STEAM based, fully interactive museum opened December 26, 2018. [3] On July 22, 2024, the hall of fame announced that the Whiting, Indiana museum will close on September 14 of this year. In addition, the organization will continue online and are actively searching for a new location to host the museum. [4]
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-related artifacts and exhibits, honoring those who have excelled in playing, managing, and serving the sport. The Hall's motto is "Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations". Cooperstown is often used as shorthand for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent 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.
Mr. Met is the official mascot for Major League Baseball's New York Mets. Mr. Met first appeared in 1963 as a cartoon drawing in programs. When the team moved to Shea Stadium the following year, he came to life in the form of a costumed mascot—he is believed to be the first Major League Baseball mascot to appear in human form.
The Phillie Phanatic is the official mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team. He is a large, furry, green flightless bird with an extendable tongue. He performs various routines to entertain fans during baseball games at Citizens Bank Park and makes public relation and goodwill appearances for the Phillies. The Phanatic is widely acknowledged as one of the best ballpark mascots, and one of the most recognizable mascots in North American sports.
Youppi! is the official mascot for the Montreal Canadiens, and former longtime mascot of the Montreal Expos. Youppi! wears an "!" instead of a jersey number.
YoUDee is a mascot of the University of Delaware, along with Baby Blue. It is an anthropomorphic "fighting Blue Hen", and its species is the blue hen, as the state bird of Delaware. While YoUDee appears masculine and can have male or female performers, it is "officially androgynous", "neither female or male".
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were voted first team All-American by the media.
Harold R. "Tubby" Raymond was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Delaware from 1966 to 2001, compiling a record of 300–119–3. Raymond was also the head baseball coach at the University of Maine from 1952 to 1953 and at Delaware from 1956 to 1964, tallying a career college baseball mark of 164–72–3. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2003.
The Lancaster Stormers is an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The team has played its home games at Clipper Magazine Stadium in the city's Northwest Corridor since 2005 when the stadium was completed.
The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988.
The St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum is a team hall of fame located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, representing the history, players and personnel of the professional baseball franchise St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is housed within Ballpark Village, a mixed-use development and adjunct of Busch Stadium, the home stadium of the Cardinals. To date, 55 members have been enshrined within the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
Blue is the official mascot of the Indianapolis Colts professional American football team of the National Football League. He is an anthropomorphic blue horse who wears a white Colts jersey with a horseshoe on the front. He was first introduced on September 17, 2006, in the Colts' first home regular season game against the Houston Texans at the RCA Dome, in which they won 43–24. Indianapolis would go on to win Super Bowl XLI at the end of Blue's first season, defeating the Chicago Bears and winning their first Super Bowl since arriving in Indianapolis.
Otto the Orange is the mascot for the Syracuse Orange, the athletic teams of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, USA. Otto is an anthropomorphism of the color orange, wearing a large blue hat and blue pants. Otto can often be seen at Syracuse sporting events in the JMA Wireless Dome and other venues.
Hook 'Em, the official costumed mascot of The University of Texas at Austin's athletic teams, is a prominent figure at various sports events. Hook 'Em is regularly seen on the sidelines of Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium during football games, and at the Moody Center for basketball games, engaging fans and contributing to a lively atmosphere. Beyond these sporting events, Hook 'Em's presence can be requested through the Texas Athletics website, allowing the mascot to engage with the broader university community and its supporters.
Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2010 proceeded according to rules enacted in 2001 and revised in 2007. As always, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voted by mail to select from a ballot of recent players; one player was elected, Andre Dawson.
Bonnie Erickson is an American designer of puppets, costumes, toys, and graphics, best known for her work with Jim Henson and The Muppets, where her most notable creations include Miss Piggy, Statler and Waldorf, and as a partner in Harrison/Erickson, the Major League Baseball mascot the Phillie Phanatic.
Gritty is the official mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is a 7-foot tall (2.1 m) furry orange creature with googly eyes who wears Flyers gear. Gritty has been compared to the Phillie Phanatic, the mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. He was created by Brian Allen of Flyland Designs with help from David Raymond, the first man to portray the Phillie Phanatic.
David Raymond is an American sports personality best known as the original portrayer of the Phillie Phanatic. He is considered to have revolutionized the mascot industry and was the Phanatic from 1978 to 1993. Afterwards, he started a mascot business and founded the Mascot Hall of Fame.
Kevin Tresolini is an American sportswriter. He has worked since 1981 with The News Journal and is one of the most decorated writers in Delaware history, being named the state's Sportswriter of the Year a record 14 times. He was inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in 2024.