Mascot Hall of Fame

Mascot Hall of Fame
Established	2005
Location	Whiting, Indiana
Founder	David Raymond
Inductees	18 (8 college; 10 professional)
Websites	funfurallinwhiting.org mascothalloffame.com

The Mascot Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for United States sports mascots. It was founded by David Raymond, who was the original Phillie Phanatic from 1978 to 1993. 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]}

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.

The mission of the Mascot Hall of Fame is to honor mascot performers, performances, and programs that have positively affected their communities. The Mascot Hall of Fame has also partnered with the Boys and Girls Clubs and holds an online auction contributing to that cause. The main bulk of the items up for auction are pieces of signed sports memorabilia donated by professional sports teams around the nation.

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.

Inductees

• 
  The Phillie Phanatic with the Montreal Expos' Andrés Galarraga in 1987
• 
  Aubie, Auburn University's mascot
• 
  Clutch the Bear, the mascot of the Houston Rockets, on Halloween 2005
• 
  Bucky Badger, University of Wisconsin-Madison's mascot
• 
  Sparty, Michigan State University's mascot
• 
  Clutch in 2013
• 
  K.C. Wolf, the mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs
• 
  YoUDee, University of Delaware's mascot
• 
  Brutus Buckeye, Ohio State University's mascot
• 
  Lil' Red, University of Nebraska's mascot
• 
  Benny the Bull, the mascot of the Chicago Bulls
• 
  Mr. Met, the mascot of the New York Mets, at Fenway Park
• 
  Smokey IX, former mascot of the University of Tennessee

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mascot Hall of Fame.

• Mascot Hall of Fame
• Fun Fur All in Whiting

Coordinates: 39°41′09″N 75°44′45″W / 39.685969°N 75.745939°W / 39.685969; -75.745939