So yesterday apparently was National Mascot Day, so I thought I'd post a few pictures of the mascots that Saginaw has had over the years. I believe there have been seven mascots for Saginaw hockey teams, dating back to 1979. As far as I know, the Saginaw Generals and Saginaw Hawks did not have a mascot during that franchise's four years in Saginaw. The first four pictures (Gear-Rilla to Gear-Rilla) are scans from my programs. The Spirit mascots' pictures are from Google searches.
If anyone knows what happened to the Wheels, Lumber Kings and UHL Gears mascots, let me know. I'm curious what happened to those suits after the team switched names.
The first mascot for a Saginaw hockey team. The original Gear-Rilla appeared in 1979 and was around for the last few seasons of that team's existence. Gear-Rilla was a little before my time (I was born in 1982). I know the other mascots have skated around the ice, not sure if Gear-Rilla did that too or just stuck to the seating area. He did have all sorts of props (a giant banana, sunglasses, a rally towel) to entertain the fans. From what I heard, he was pretty silly and entertaining. The suit is on display at the Castle Museum in downtown Saginaw.
Wheelie came over with the Chatham Wheels when they moved to Saginaw in the summer of 1994. He's pretty much the Roadrunner's doppleganger, other than being black instead of light purple. Personally, he was my favorite of all Saginaw's mascots. He would wander around the seating area, and skate around prior to games. I think it was the same person who played Wheelie in both Chatham and Saginaw during all four years. My brother still has a Saginaw Wheels hat that was signed "To Brandon, Be Cool, Wheelie". Team owner Muhanad Jondy declared, "Wheelie is dead!" when announcing the first name-the-team contest in 1996 (boo!). Whereabouts unknown.
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The first name change brought a brand new mascot. Wheelie was out, and in came Woody B. King. The Lumber Kings mascot looked...let's say "goofy" or "like a big doofus" and leave it at that. Woody came with a giant crown, a cape, a maroon and black flannel shirt and hockey gloves, pants and socks. I think he skated around prior to games. I know he came out of the tunnel for pregame introductions. Look at that face. Woody looks like he took a few pucks to the head or got into a few fights in the lumbering camp. Woody B. King? No, the Lumber Kings finished in last place both seasons. Woody was forced to abdicate when the Lumber Kings switched names to Gears in 1998. Whereabouts unknown.
It was back to the future for the UHL team, going with the old Gears name. Might as well bring back the old Gears mascot, the Gear-Rilla, too. This was a modern version of the original, complete with goofy, missing-tooth smile. I remember reading on a message board, and someone described this version as "horny". This version of Gear-Rilla was crazy as hell, a complete goofball running all over the arena, teasing the fans and taunting the opponents, usually by shaking his butt or his big belly in their general direction. Whoever played this mascot did a fine job. I don't think he skated around prior to games, just walked around on the ice and around the seating area. On opening night, he was brought out in a cage, then sped around in a four-wheeler. I remember one game, he found a bald fan. Gear-Rilla snuck up behind him with a towel and "shined" the guy's head. IMO, this Gear-Rilla was one of the best mascots Saginaw has ever had, even though he was only around for a year and a half. Not sure if the Gear-Rilla went with the team to Ohio in December 1999. Whereabouts unknown
The Saginaw Spirit have had three mascots during their 22 years in town. Sammy is the longest lasting of all of them. He's basically a mascot version of their logo, a bald eagle wearing a Saginaw Spirit jersey. He's okay, nothing too crazy or outrageous. Just another mascot wandering around the seating area, interacting with kids, or skating around the ice prior to games.
The Spirit added a secondary mascot thanks to The Colbert Report, hosted by current Late Show host Stephen Colbert. Steagle debuted around 2006 and stayed with the team until 2015, when The Colbert Report ended. This mascot is currently at the Castle Museum. Another okay mascot, nothing too crazy or outrageous, but he did bring the Spirit a ton of international publicity from The Colbert Report.
Honestly, I don't know when Burt debuted. My guess is he showed up after Steagle was retired. He pretty much looks like a red-white-and-blue Muppet mascot in a Spirit jersey. He's still with the Saginaw Spirit as a secondary mascot. Burt's okay, just another mascot roaming around Wendler Arena interacting with fans and kids.
I'll do mascot history posts for Flint and Port Huron later. The Port Huron post will be a big one, since they've had so many teams in the last 20 years.
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