The Philadelphia Phillies announced Tuesday that the "old" Phillie Phanatic will return in 2022, following a settlement with Bonnie Erickson and Wayde Harrison, the original creators of the world's most famous mascot.
However, a two-year run with an altered Phanatic designed to skirt further legal action is hardly the strangest chapter in the mascot's history.
As noted in a February 2004 Associated Press story, the Phanatic's head was swiped during an auction that was held to find homes for the remaining items from Veterans Stadium before the stadium was imploded:
"Tom Burgoyne had taken off the costume for a break and found the head missing when he returned to his makeshift changing room."
Here's where things get even more comical. As Kathleen Parrish of The Morning Call wrote at the time, the man who stole the head became willing to return it when he heard Howard Stern talking about a $5,000 reward that Gary Barbera (boy, I guess) was offering on WYSP, then 94.1 on the FM dial:
"[Omitted], of Whitehall Township, called radio station WYSP-FM after on-air personality Howard Stern offered cash for the safe return of the Phanatic's green noodle. It had been stolen Feb. 6 from the Wachovia Center during a charity auction of memorabilia from Veterans Stadium.
"[Omitted], 37, first told disc jockey Tommy Conwell over the phone that his son had found the head piece while sledding. But when he arrived at the radio station Tuesday to claim the money, he said he recovered it from two 13-year-olds who were running down a ramp at the Wachovia Center [now the Wells Fargo Center]."
Perhaps the most hilarious part about this entire story is that Conwell started to get a sense that the 37-year-old man from the Lehigh Valley may not be telling the truth when he said he was from Conshohocken, but didn't pronounce the suburb's name correctly.
As noted in a Philly Burb's article, the 37-year-old man was sentenced to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service. The $5,000 reward -- apparently claimed just before the police arrived at the station to arrest him -- was given to charity.
If you're wondering, it was estimated in 2004 that the Phanatic's head was worth $3,000. We're still waiting on word on how much the "new" Phanatic would be worth.
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