Mascots, Both Real And Animated, Have Been Around Since The 17th Century. Who’s Your Favorite?

National Mascot Day is celebrated on June 17 to appreciate the spirit of fun mascots bring to every event. On any game day, mascots engender enthusiasm and energy. People of all ages, children and adults alike, enjoy them, and they help build memories of their favorite team.

California is known to be the home of several of the quirkiest and most whimsical mascots in the world of sports. The word mascot originates from the French word ‘mascotte,’ used to describe things that bring good luck.

• 18th Century – The term mascot becomes popular after Edmond Audran writes the opera, “La Mascotte.”
• 1880 – Mascots have been around for over 130 years. We derive the term mascot from the French word La Mascotte. A mascotte is considered a woman or girl with mystic powers and the ability to bring good luck. In the French opera of the same name, the character is a farm girl. The opera opened in Paris in 1880, followed by additional productions across Europe.
• 1882 – In a football match between Middlesbrough Association and La Mascotte, a player dresses up in a costume.
• 1883 – In the United States, the first mention of a sports mascot is associated with baseball
• mid-20th Century – Costumed mascots start appearing in the mid-20th century, which allows teams to choose any character or object to become their ambassador
• 1916 – Mr. Peanut first represented Planters nuts in 1916, when a Virginian schoolboy named Antonio Gentile won a design contest with his anthropomorphic peanut drawings.
• 1920s – the mascot for the Georgetown Hoyas sports teams was Sergeant Stubby, the most decorated war dog in WWI.
• 1927 – the University of Michigan had two live wolverines as their mascots. They even had names for them: Biff and Bennie. These bad boys would be used to boost player morale during tournaments. However, because of how terrifying they were, the university had no option but to send them back to the Detroit Zoo.
• 1937 – Mr. Peanut’s first Times Square billboard appeared in 1937, and 60 years later, in 1997, he made another New York City splash with his first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
• 1958 – If you visit Procter & Gamble’s Mr. Clean website, you’ll find an origin story involving a mysterious bald baby industriously cleaning a farmer’s front porch.
  • Created by an ad agency in 1957, the muscular, tan, famously bald, genie-esque character in a tight white tee was reportedly modeled after a retired Navy sailor from Florida. The first animated commercial debuted in 1958, and within six months, Mr. Clean was the best-selling cleaning product in America.
• 1965 – The Pillsbury Doughboy is one of the most enduring brand mascots of all time. Created by a Chicago ad copywriter in 1965 and rendered via stop-motion claymation (which required a stunning 24 shots per second of video), the mascot emerged from a roll of dough to declare: “I’m Poppin’ Fresh, the Pillsbury Doughboy!” Within three years, the character had an 87% recognition factor among shoppers.
• 1968 – NASA uses the “Peanuts” comic character Snoopy as its safety mascot.
• 1999 – The Geico Gecko was born of a Screen Actors Guild strike that prevented the hiring of live actors. After an initial appearance in 1998, the mascot officially debuted during the beginning of the 1999 television season.
• Colorado Rockies – Triceratops became the team mascot as a dinosaur rib was found during the construction of the stadium.
• MGM has used eight lions as mascots.
• NBA Mascots Make Up to $625,000 a Year
• In Asia, where Anime is popular, Microsoft uses Anime mascots to promote various operating systems. For instance, the Windows 10 mascot is called Tōko, and she is a gaming enthusiast.
• A lot of interesting things happened during World War 2. For instance, did you know that cats were used as mascots as the war was ongoing? Soldiers would carry them on navy ships for moral support and good luck. They also came in handy when dealing with rodents.
• Before every homecoming, the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow High School would run with the football team; this act alone would attract hundreds of people.
• Contrary to what most people believe, mascots undergo professional training. Many states have mascot summer camps where enthusiasts can be trained in various skills. These mascot camps usually last for a week or two. Formal mascot schools are also available.
• in San Antonio, there is a professional Mascot School where you can learn everything about this art.
• According to Business Insider, Burger King paid $1 million to have its mascot as part of Floyd’s entourage during his hyped fight against Manny Pacquaio.
• The lion that roars at the beginning of MGM films is real, and there have been seven of them so far.
• Smokey Bear was born from an effort to curb forest fires in the 1940s, when many firefighters were off fighting World War II. An initial campaign distributed fire prevention posters, including a series featuring characters from the hit Disney film Bambi. In 1944, an official mascot was created: a bear in blue jeans and a campaign hat named after New York Fire Department hero “Smokey” Joe Martin.

Sources:

National Today

National Day Calendar

Kickass Facts

Interesting Facts