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Phillie Phanatic Is Back! Team Mascot Settles Legal Dispute

“We welcome the original Phillie Phanatic back with open arms,” Phillies executive vice president David Buck said Tuesday.
AP

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Fire up the hot dog cannon — the Phillie Phanatic is back in Philadelphia.

Not that the mascot largely ― large as in that green, furry, bulbous belly — ever really went anywhere. But a legal dispute between the Philadelphia Phillies and the mascot’s creator forced the team to give baseball’s most beloved native of the Galapagos Islands an extreme makeover.

But the Phillies and Harrison/Erickson, the New York company that created the Phanatic, reached a settlement his week that allowed the more familiar version to return in 2022 to Citizens Bank Park.

“We welcome the original Phillie Phanatic back with open arms,” Phillies executive vice president David Buck said Tuesday. “We are so proud of the 44-year history of the Phanatic and what the character means to the organization, to the City of Philadelphia and to Phillies fans everywhere. Our goal throughout this process was to come to an amicable solution that guaranteed the Phanatic could continue to entertain future generations of fans.”

The Phillies unveiled the redesign of the green mascot in February 2020, a new look featuring flightless feathers rather than fur-colored arms, stars outlining the eyes, a larger posterior and a powder blue tail, blue socks with red shoes, plus a set of scales under the arms.

The Phillies sued Harrison/Erickson, the New York company that created the Phanatic, in August 2019 in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The team alleged Harrison/Erickson threatened to terminate the Phillies’ rights to the Phanatic and “make the Phanatic a free agent” unless the team renegotiated its 1984 agreement to acquire the mascot’s rights.

Terms of the settlement were not released.

The Phanatic, who has yet to comment since his 1978 debut, did release a statement Tuesday that echoed Michael Jordan’s 1990s comeback to the Chicago Bulls.

“ I’m back,” it said.

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Before You Go

Strangest College Mascots
10. The Anchorman - Rhode Island College(01 of10)
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Much to my disappointment, the mascot of Rhode Island College doesn't sport a red suit and mustache and definitely isn't Ron Burgundy. RIC's Anchormen (and Anchorwomen) are actually sailors, which is a way to honor Rhode Island College's scenic location in Providence.
9. The Cobbers - Concordia College(02 of10)
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Concordia College gives several different explanations for a cobber; in Yiddish, a cobber is a friend. In Australian slang, it's a buddy. In Britain, it's someone you take a liking to. But at Concordia, it's none other than their official mascot. The word had its own meaning in Moorhead, Minnesota, where the school is located. A rival school began using the term to mock the "country boys" from Concordia. Rather than backing away from it, Concordia embraced it and stylized their mascot as a personified corncob.
8. The Trolls - Trinity College(03 of10)
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There are many stories behind how the Trinity College sports teams got to be the Trolls. One theory is that in 1959, they took a few letters from TRinity COLLege Students to come with a way to honor the students. Another is that the then-president searched the dictionary in 1966 to find a noun beginning with "tr" to sound perfectly alliterate with Trinity. Others include stories of Troll sightings beneath a local bridge. No matter how they name originated, the students are proud to cheer on the Trolls!
7. Eutectic - St. Louis College of Pharmacy(04 of10)
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Eutectic, for those of us who aren't in pharmaceutical school, is the scientific process of combining two solids to form a liquid--a fairly common term in pharmacology. How all the minds of this college came together to represent this process with a furry character, we're still unsure. The Eutectic has been the official mascot of St. Louis College of Pharmacy since 1993, since it serves as a fitting metaphor for the combination of "athletics and a demanding academic program." Prior to adapting the Eutectic, St. Louis College of Pharmacy was represented by a dinosaur named Rex (Rx, get it?).
6. Little Giants - Wabash College (05 of10)
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Wabash College, a liberal arts college for men in Indiana, really knows how to scare its opponents. The athletes on the college's 11 sports teams are known as the Little Giants, although I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the classic movie about peewee football. Additionally, there are 23 intramural sports; Wabash boasts more than three quarters of students involved in intramural sports and 40 percent of students are varsity athletes. I'm not exactly sure what constitutes a "Little Giant," but I know if I were facing them off in basketball I'd be scared!
5. Big Red the Hilltopper - Western Kentucky University(06 of10)
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While Big Red may evoke memories of spicy cinnamon gum or Cornell University's Big Red Bear, for students at Western Kentucky University, Big Red is the lovable Hilltopper mascot. Big Red isn't any animal specifically, just a big, red blob that carries the Hilltoppers' well-known red towel used at basketball games. Big Red doesn't just support his winning teams, but he's also a member of some as well! He's been a member of Capital One's All-America Mascot Team and featured in NCAA's Mascot Mania Exhibit.
4. Rainbow Warriors and Wahine -- University of Hawaii Manoa(07 of10)
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When you think "rainbow," the next word to come to mind may not be "warriors," unless, of course, you're a student at University of Hawai'I Manoa, where they root for the Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine (which is a Hawaiian word for woman). Since 2000, different sports teams have each had their own take on their name, whether choosing to be the Rainbow Warriors, just the Warriors or even just the Rainbows!
3. The Poets -- Whittier College(08 of10)
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Nothing is more intimidating to your opponents than rhyming verses and beautiful prose, right? This must've been what Whittier College was thinking when it chose the Poet as its official mascot to represent its 21 sports teams. With graduates who have moved on to careers as either coaches or athletes in the NFL, MLB and MLL, the Poets prove that you really can be brainy and brawny!
2. Olé the Gaucho - UC Santa Barbara(09 of10)
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When UCSB fans rooted for the Gauchos during the last March Madness tournament, I don't think I was the only one surprised that they weren't rooting for wide-legged, cotton dance pants. Gauchos actually refer to people from specific South American regions. Before 2009, the Gaucho was represented by only grimacing masked eyes and a hat, but with recent rebranding efforts, UCSB fans now have Olé, their mascot and proud Gaucho, to follow.
Want to know the number one weirdest mascot?(10 of10)
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Click over to Her Campus and check it out!
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