Episode 20: Oranges in Syracuse, Sausages in Milwaukee and the Origin Stories of Sports Mascots
You may consider them funny, bizarre or annoying, but there’s no question they are the biggest fans of their home teams. No, we don’t mean little league parents. Today we’re talking sports mascots. First we drop into Milwaukee and get in a lap or two with The Famous Racing Sausages. Then we head to upstate New York to spend time with the Syracuse Orange. Play ball!
E X T R A S :
Photo: David Bernacchi
Illustration: Tom Baylerian
(Top to bottom): The Famous Racing Sausages in costume, each of the Sausages illustrated for products like magnets and window clings
The Famous Racing Sausages
“Confessions of a Racing Sausage” (OnMilwaukee article)
The Famous Racing Sausages (MLB website, Wikipedia article)
The Randall Simon Incident (YouTube video)
Italian Sausage Found! (YouTube video)
(Top to bottom): Current design for Otto the Orange, vintage Otto illustration, The Saltine Warrior
Otto the Orange
Otto the Orange (Wikipedia article)
Syracuse University Traditions
“Inside the Syracuse University Mascot Team” (YouTube video)
“Otto Unpeeled: Revealing the super-secret life of SU’s cuddly orange mascot” (Syracuse New Times article)
The origins of Syracuse Salt (Exploring Upstate article, Onondaga Historical Association article)
Further Reading:
“The Mascot Whisperer” (NY Times article)