How the Mascot Hall of Fame Came to Furry Fruition

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2021

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mascots come in all shapes and sizes. From animals like the Oriole Bird or Roary the Lion to creatures like Gritty, mascots are a zany yet indelible part of sports. And while we honor the best players, teams, and coaches at various hall of fame institutions, there hasn’t been a place to honor mascots … until now. The three-story, 18 million-dollar Mascot Hall of Fame is open in Whiting, Indiana. Jake Malooley takes us behind the scenes to its hallowed, fur-lined halls. And he shares the story of the man who made it all happen: Dave Raymond, who worked as the original Phillie Phanatic. Then, Pablo shares his thoughts on LeBron James and the Lakers’ recent struggles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	One day I got a call from someone who was connected to the mayor's office in Whiting, Indiana.
0:11.7	I didn't even know where Whitey, Indiana was, and he said, hey, the mayor would really like to build the Mascot Hall of Fame here because we like to describe Whiting as the little silly, wacky city that could.
0:23.6	And right here, people, at the Mascot Hall of Fame is the only place you can celebrate and learn about them.
0:32.6	A Hall of Fame is a site of almost religious pilgrimage with fans traveling long distances
0:41.3	to commune with the spirits in Cooperstown or Canton or now Whiting, Indiana.
0:49.3	Today, the story of the mascot Hall of fame and the man in the fuzzy green suit who made it happen.
1:00.5	I'm Pablo Torre. It's Thursday, June 3rd. This is ESPN Daily.
1:08.3	Presented by UKG. Our purpose is people.
1:17.2	Jake, thank you for joining me.
1:19.1	Yeah, thanks.
1:19.7	Thanks for having me.
1:20.7	Jake Malouli is a freelance writer who chronicled the founding of the
1:24.3	Mascot Hall of Fame for ESPN.
1:27.3	So Jake, to start this exploration of the world of the Mascot Hall of Fame for ESPN.
1:31.9	So Jake, to start this exploration of the world of mascots with you,
1:36.8	we go first to Whiting, Indiana, and the Mascot Hall of Fame there.
1:40.9	Can you just read to me from your piece about arriving in that city?
1:46.8	Basically, it's a sort of industrial blue-collar working-class town.
1:49.8	I wrote about it in my piece this way.
1:58.2	A woebegone landscape of liquor stores, discount tobacco shacks, and forsaking gravel lots.
2:07.6	Whiting, Indiana, a tiny village population 4,997, along the shore of Lake Michigan.
2:14.5	On the horizon looms the BP oil refinery, the largest operation of its kind in the world.
	...

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