Mascots!

[Leon]

I always enjoy team mascots!

[Balticfox]

Any more modern cards featuring team mascots?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

Any more modern cards featuring team mascots?

This one

[Gary Dunaier]

From the 1905 New York Giants World Series program.



It's the only page to show player photos, and there are only three; the fourth is the mascot.

None of the other individual photos included in the program show players. You've got Giants president John T. Brush...



...Giants manager John McGraw...



...Athletics manager Connie Mack...



...and Fred Knowles, the Giants' secretary.



Of course, there's the team photo on the cover, but that's a group shot.

Wonder why the mascot rated so highly as to get his photo in the program instead of another player.

For that matter, what purposes did mascots serve back in those days? Because obviously, when you think of mascots you think of guys like Mr. Met...



...not kids in baseball jerseys.

[Rhotchkiss]

I have no mascot items, but I always thought they were very interesting - why did a team need a young boy to hang with them? Were mascots the predecessor to bat boys?

[Smanzari]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

I have no mascot items, but I always thought they were very interesting - why did a team need a young boy to hang with them? Were mascots the predecessor to bat boys?

I was under the impression they were kind of a mixture of Bat Boy and Clubhouse Manager; but could be very wrong in my assumption

[doug.goodman]

Here are the 11 m113 & m114 posters with mascots, most listed by name.
There are another 24 m114 posters that have batboys.

m113
Red Sox 1912 : McCarthy (mascot)
Red Sox 1915 : William Glennon, mascot

m114
Cardinals 1930 : The Mascot
Giants 1921 : Two mascots
Giants 1933 : Joe Troy, mascot
Pirates 1925 : Mascot (in lap of Ens)
Senators 1925 : Mascot Robinson
Senators 1933 : Mahoney, mascot (sitting)
Yankees 1921 : Eddie Bennet, mascot
Yankees 1926 : Bennett
Yankees 1927 : Mascot Eddie Bennett

[Ludington1]

Originally Posted by Leon

I always enjoy team mascots!

That’s a beauty, let me know if it becomes available one day!

[CW]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

I have no mascot items, but I always thought they were very interesting - why did a team need a young boy to hang with them? Were mascots the predecessor to bat boys?

Never really thought about the origins of it all, but your question got me curious, Ryan.

With a little research it looks like the main reason initially for team mascots was good luck, as the name mascot comes from the French word mascotte which meant "lucky charm". The ties between baseball and superstitions appear to go back all the way to its roots.

All from here:
https://www.theculturecrush.com/feature/mascots

But it actually all started out in the 1800’s when a little boy named Chic, who carried bats and ran errands for baseball players, became known as the teams good luck charm. According to an 1883 issue of The Sporting Life Magazine, “the players pinned their faith to Chic's luck-bringing qualities” and it was exactly those so-called good luck charm qualities and maybe a little superstition that laid the foundation for what have become the goofy, beloved, and mostly infamous mascots of both pro and amateur sports teams all over modern day America.

In America, the word evolved into its present day spelling, helped in part by the Sporting Life and The New York Times. In 1886, an issue of Sporting Life referred to a mascot connected to the Boston Browns baseball team, “Little Nick is the luckiest man in the country, and is certainly the Browns' mascott”—the “e” being dropped for the first time. The New York Times followed suit later that year when they lost the extra "t" when referencing a boy named Charlie Gallagher who was "said to have been born with teeth and is guaranteed to possess all the magic charms of a genuine mascot."

As we can see, most of the earliest mascots were either children or animals, and both were associated with good luck. It's not entirely clear who or what was the first human, but Chic is widely considered the most probable, especially considering his link with the first use of the word itself. And as far as the first animal, an 1884 edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer said this in regards to a goat wandering around their baseball team: “The goat was probably looking for some show-bills, oyster-cans, or some other usually palatable dish for his stomach, but the audience could not see it in that light and thought he was an even better mascotte than the old-time favorite." It's entirely possible, however, that the first official animal mascot may have been Handsome Dan, a bulldog that belonged to a member of the Yale class of 1892. Handsome Dan remains Yale's mascot today, 18 versions later.

[ValKehl]

I find it interesting that Baseball Magazine goofed when it labeled its poster of the 1924 WS Champion Washington Senators as being the World's Champions for 1925. The Senators won the AL Pennant in 1925, but lost the WS to the Pirates.

[raulus]

Probably the most annoying mascot of all time, although Dinger might rate a close second.

[RUKen]

Originally Posted by ValKehl

I find it interesting that Baseball Magazine goofed when it labeled its poster of the 1924 WS Champion Washington Senators as being the World's Champions for 1925. The Senators won the AL Pennant in 1925, but lost the WS to the Pirates.

Baseball Magazine had not goofed. In the early 1900's, it was common to state that the winners of the World Series in one year were the World's Champions for the next year. They retained that title until a different team won the World Series. I've attached a couple of examples below from Sporting Life (neither of which I own).

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by CW

Never really thought about the origins of it all, but your question got me curious, Ryan.

With a little research it looks like the main reason initially for team mascots was good luck, as the name mascot comes from the French word mascotte which meant "lucky charm". The ties between baseball and superstitions appear to go back all the way to its roots.

All from here:
https://www.theculturecrush.com/feature/mascots

But it actually all started out in the 1800’s when a little boy named Chic, who carried bats and ran errands for baseball players, became known as the teams good luck charm. According to an 1883 issue of The Sporting Life Magazine, “the players pinned their faith to Chic's luck-bringing qualities” and it was exactly those so-called good luck charm qualities and maybe a little superstition that laid the foundation for what have become the goofy, beloved, and mostly infamous mascots of both pro and amateur sports teams all over modern day America.

In America, the word evolved into its present day spelling, helped in part by the Sporting Life and The New York Times. In 1886, an issue of Sporting Life referred to a mascot connected to the Boston Browns baseball team, “Little Nick is the luckiest man in the country, and is certainly the Browns' mascott”—the “e” being dropped for the first time. The New York Times followed suit later that year when they lost the extra "t" when referencing a boy named Charlie Gallagher who was "said to have been born with teeth and is guaranteed to possess all the magic charms of a genuine mascot."

As we can see, most of the earliest mascots were either children or animals, and both were associated with good luck. It's not entirely clear who or what was the first human, but Chic is widely considered the most probable, especially considering his link with the first use of the word itself. And as far as the first animal, an 1884 edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer said this in regards to a goat wandering around their baseball team: “The goat was probably looking for some show-bills, oyster-cans, or some other usually palatable dish for his stomach, but the audience could not see it in that light and thought he was an even better mascotte than the old-time favorite." It's entirely possible, however, that the first official animal mascot may have been Handsome Dan, a bulldog that belonged to a member of the Yale class of 1892. Handsome Dan remains Yale's mascot today, 18 versions later.

This is awesome!! Thanks for researching and posting. Very interesting.

[Jay Wolt]

The San Diego Chicken has around a dozen different cards

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by RUKen

Baseball Magazine had not goofed. In the early 1900's, it was common to state that the winners of the World Series in one year were the World's Champions for the next year. They retained that title until a different team won the World Series. I've attached a couple of examples below from Sporting Life (neither of which I own).

Thanks for enlightening me.

[Smanzari]

Originally Posted by Jay Wolt

The San Diego Chicken has around a dozen different cards

Crazy to me that they are using his full name (on the slab, at least); I guess its because he retired -- I was a Bat Boy who worked with him a few times and made the mistake of calling him "Ted" while he was dressed like the Chicken; got scolded by every one from doing so - from him to the manager to the announcer to my boss! haha

[CW]

Bowling Green has a new unofficial mascot (and team support cat) that is gaining popularity as the season rolls on, Pudge the cat. This is not baseball or prewar, but how can you resist this face?

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by ValKehl

I find it interesting that Baseball Magazine goofed when it labeled its poster of the 1924 WS Champion Washington Senators as being the World's Champions for 1925. The Senators won the AL Pennant in 1925, but lost the WS to the Pirates.

As others have noted, the 1925 Champions's poster is actually of the 1924 team, who were the reigning champs during the 1925 season..

To confuse things a bit more, at least for collectors of m114 posters, the Senators also had a poster of the 1925 team.

[REG1976]

.

[JollyElm]

Wrote away for this one back in 1982...

thechickenautograph.jpg

[gst6]

My contribution:

[Cubanball]

Here are two cards of team mascots from Cuban baseball issues. The first is from the 1923-24 Nacionales set and the second is from the 1943 La Cabaña premium.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Cubanball

Here are two cards of team mascots from Cuban baseball issues. The first is from the 1923-24 Nacionales set and the second is from the 1943 La Cabaña premium.

Until now I didn't realize he was a mascot. Thanks for all of the info!

[kkkkandp]

A couple of OJs...

[Cubanball]

Here is a modern art card picturing Ewing with the Mascot.

[Cubanball]

Here is a rare 1950 Almendares Team photo premium picturing the team's young mascot. The mascot happens to be Aurelio Monteagudo, who pitched professionally for over 20 years, including seven seasons in the Majors. His father Rene Monteagudo, who also appeared in the Majors, was also on the team.

[Sterling Sports Auctions]

I had mine framed with museum grade glass. Wish I could get the third one but from my understanding the there are only two known. Sorry for the large picture

[doug.goodman]

The previous Alemdares premium, same kid?

[Cubanball]

Doug, great premium. Not the same kid. The kid in your premium is listed as the son of (Michael) Sandlock who was a catcher on the 1948-49 Almendares squad. This is one of my favorites teams with Monte Irvin and Kevin (Chuck) Connors along with the great Cuban players. Below is another premium using the same photo.