Fredbird
Fictional character
| Fredbird | |
|---|---|
 Fredbird in 2013 | |
| First appearance | April 6, 1979 |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Northern cardinal |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Mascot |
| Relatives | Louie (brother) |
Fredbird is the official mascot for the St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball team. He is an anthropomorphic cardinal wearing the team's uniform. Fredbird can always be found entertaining young children during baseball games at Busch Stadium. His name is derived from "Redbird", a synonym for the cardinal bird and for the Cardinals themselves. Fredbird was introduced on April 6, 1979, by the Cardinals, then owned by Anheuser-Busch, to entertain younger fans at the games.
He quickly became popular with fans for his dancing, habit of "beaking" the heads of supporters, and for throwing T-shirts into the stands. In later years, he has been joined by "Team Fredbird", a group of young women employed by the club who help him with his T-shirt toss and occasionally in other duties. He can also be seen rallying the crowd regularly during pregame on-field ceremonies, and, occasionally, he finds time to sit behind (or on top of) the dugout to get the crowd going. After every Cardinal home victory, Fredbird takes a flag with the team's logo onto the field and waves it around. He is one of baseball's best-known mascots, and he makes hundreds of appearances year-round in the St. Louis area. Fredbird can also be seen on television once a week on the Cardinals Kids TV show with former Cardinal Brad Thompson.
Fredbird came under slight controversy in 2015 when an image of him holding a sign saying "Police Lives Matter" was released to the public. The team claimed that Fredbird was asked by a fan for a quick photograph and handed him the sign and that the mascot was unaware of what it said. The St. Louis Police Department uploaded the photo to their Facebook page, but removed it at the Cardinals' request.[1]
See also
- Rally Squirrel, who joined Fredbird as a secondary mascot during the 2011 postseason
- List of Major League Baseball mascots
References
- ^ "Cardinals explain after mascot Fredbird is photographed with 'Police lives matter' sign". The Kansas City Star.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fredbird.
- Cardinals official website
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mascots
- Lefty and Righty (Boston Red Sox)
- Gapper (Cincinnati Reds)
- Rosie Red (Cincinnati Reds)
- Barrelman (Milwaukee Brewers)
- Hank (Milwaukee Brewers)
- The Sausages (Milwaukee Brewers)
- Mrs. Met (New York Mets)
- The Pierogies (Pittsburgh Pirates)
- Rally Squirrel (St. Louis Cardinals)
- DJ Kitty (Tampa Bay Rays)
- Ace Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays)
- The Presidents (Washington Nationals)
- Bleacher Creature (Atlanta Braves)
- Chief Noc-A-Homa (Atlanta Braves)
- Homer (Atlanta Braves)
- Rally (Atlanta Braves)
- Ribbie and Roobarb (Chicago White Sox)
- Mr. Red (Cincinnati Reds)
- Astrojack and Astrodillo (Houston Astros)
- Chester Charge (Houston Astros)
- General Admission (Houston Astros)
- Junction Jack (Houston Astros)
- Charlie-O (Kansas City-Oakland Athletics)
- Rally Monkey (Los Angeles Angels)
- Bonnie Brewer (Milwaukee Brewers)
- Twinkie the Loon (Minnesota Twins)
- Souki (Montreal Expos)
- Youppi! (Montreal Expos)
- Mettle the Mule (New York Mets)
- Dandy (New York Yankees)
- Philadelphia Phil and Phillis (Philadelphia Phillies)
- San Diego Chicken (San Diego Padres)
- Crazy Crab (San Francisco Giants)
- Rootin' Tootin' Ranger (Texas Rangers)
- BJ Birdy (Toronto Blue Jays)
- Diamond (Toronto Blue Jays)
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