Phillie Phanatic

Phillie Phanatic is the mascot of the baseball team Philadelphia Phillies. There is a large green character with a lot of fur, which runs about since April 25, 1978 during the games on and off the pitch and drives jokes. He is one of the most popular mascots in American professional sports. His fictional history after it is a specimen of a rare species that came from the Galapagos Islands to Philadelphia, lives at Citizens Bank Park and there was the enthusiastic Phillies supporters.

Description

Phillie Phanatic is a green doll that looks vaguely like a bird. Remarkable are its trumpet -like beak and her swollen belly. The doll is just over two feet tall, has a waist circumference of 218 cm and wears size 56

History

History and development

Phillies predecessors were Phil and Phyllis, two figures in outfits from the colonial era. They arrived before the game on the pitch, waving to the fans. More movements were hardly possible because of the heavy and cumbersome to use costumes.

The idea for the mascot came from Danny Lehmann, an employee in the PR team of the Phillies. He had just seen the San Diego Chicken in the stadium. The self only briefly introduced earlier San Diego Chicken was the first baseball mascot was active throughout the whole season, made ​​jokes, played with children, in the intervals played pranks and so designed their own maintenance program. Lehmann suggested that a similar mascot, especially by more families to lure children into the stadium. Since this type mascot was not yet introduced in American professional sports, the first discussions about Phillie designed heated and controversial.

In particular, the then president and later owner of the Phillies Bill Giles spoke out against the mascot. Only after lengthy discussions at the end of the 1977 season Lehmann could enforce his idea. The Phillies were the team Bonnie Erickson / Wayde Harrison, who had made ​​shortly before independently with a workshop for dolls of all kinds. Erickson had previously worked for the Muppet Show and created inter alia Miss Piggy. Thus he had the experience to create great, entertaining puppet with large ranges of motion. The original design cost 3500 U.S. dollars. The Phillies were not in favor, however, the copyright on the figure for 1100 U.S. dollars to buy it. After the Phanatic was successful, they brought this purchase after for $ 200,000.

The role that should play the Phanatic was initially unclear. Giles says in retrospect that he had no idea. Dave Raymond, the first performer remembers that no one could enter at the Phillies report to him what he should do for now in costume. The most accurate statement came from Giles and says that he should interact with the spectators in the stadium.

Dave Raymond Phillie Phanatic as ( 1978-1993 )

Dave Raymond at that time had just finished his studies at the University of Delaware, where he had played in the American football team. In the summer of 1977 he worked as an intern in the office of the Phillies and the key people there remembered the lively sporty young man with the pronounced non-verbal communication. By his own admission Raymond had learned many of his non-verbal communication skills from his mother. This was even deaf, active in the Deaf Scene and teacher of American Sign Language.

Phillie met for the first time on April 25, 1978 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia in a game against the Chicago Cubs. According to statements by former members of the organization, " we still had no idea what he was now to do exactly. " Raymond entered the field after the third inning and tried to draw attention to themselves. Despite fears the fans responded enthusiastically, took the Phillie Phanatic immediately perceive as an additional attraction and celebrated him. The game went 7-0 on the night of the Phillies, what the acceptance of the mascot for the fans also helped. Raymond got from the Philadelphia Phillies largely free hand in his actions so that he could also play pranks and goofing around than any other mascot. The fans loved him for it.

Phillie Phanatic was immediately accepted by fans and was immediately a great success. In the first two years alone, sold the Phillies merchandise for several million dollars. Following the example of Phillie Phanatic mascot further developed in Major League Baseball. One of the most memorable events of his story is the brawl that the Phanatic in 1988 with Tommy Lasorda, the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, delivered himself. The Phanatic was on the sidelines uses a replica of Lasorda as a sandbag, what these so upset that he went off to the Phillie Phanatic real.

Raymond played the Phanatic to 1993. Afterwards, he worked for several years in the creation and maintenance of mascot along with Harrison / Erickson, the creators of the Phanatic, and has now become self-employed in this area. Originally, he earned $ 25 per game until 1993, his salary was increased to $ 100,000 a year.

Tom Burgoyne as a Phillie Phanatic (since 1993)

Since 1993, Tom Burgoyne plays the Phillie Phanatic. Burgoyne grew up at a time, were already in place in the mascot in sports. He was in his childhood and youth frequent visitor to Philadelphia Veterans Stadium and already embodied in his high school 's mascot.

However, in official communications of the team, he is only as " Phillie Phanatics best friend ". Among the activities that have been added in recent years, part of the five-foot- long hot dog cannon made ​​of glass fiber, the Hot Dogs can shoot up to the highest seats. This is attached to the Phillie Phanatic Quad. But this he brings forth only once during a game, in order to preserve the special feature of the action.

Occasionally Phillie Phanatic is sued, mostly because he is said to have been injured by mistake someone at a stormy hug or at another joke. The greatest punishment that had to pay the Phillies so far, were 2.5 million U.S. dollars. Here, the Phillie Phanatic had at the opening of a paint shop a guest to vigorously embraced, the resulting permanently suffered from back pain.

Burgoyne has written several books about the Phillies wrote that appeared under his own name and mention the Phanatic only marginally. In addition, four children's books, in which Phillie Phanatic is a trading figure appeared: The Phillie Phanatic 's Happiest Memories ( 2003 by Tom Burgoyne ), The Phillie Phanatic 's Moving Day ( 2003 by Tom Burgoyne ), Phillie Phanatics Phanastic Journey ( 2005 by Tom Burgoyne ) and Hello Phillie Phanatic ( 2007 by Aimee Aryal ). Together with the Philadelphia Phillies, he launched the Be a Phanatic about Reading, the children should convey pleasure of reading.

Since 2002, the Phillie Phanatic adjacent to the San Diego Chicken and Youppi is one of three mascots that are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was an official ceremony of the museum. Phillie was so successful that now almost all MLB teams have such mascot.