Top 10 Weirdest Mascots You’ve Never Heard Of!

Mascots have been around for ages. One of the first was a taxidermied animal for the Chicago Cubs in 1908. But it wasn’t until 1964 that we started seeing people in costumes. Soon, mascots became a normal part of sports teams, universities, companies, and schools.

Most mascots make sense and match the team or organization they represent. But some are just plain weird. Some are so strange that you can’t help but love them. Others make you wonder what the heck the designers were thinking. Here are ten weird mascots you probably haven’t heard about before.

10 Stanford Tree

The Stanford Tree is actually the mascot for the band. It represents the city of Palo Alto, which has a Redwood tree as its logo. Stanford University also has a tree on its official seal, showing how connected the university and Palo Alto are.

The school never had an official mascot because no one could agree on one. Around 1975, the band started doing halftime shows where they jokingly introduced mascots they thought would work. The Stanford Tree was so popular that the band decided to keep it around.

The Stanford Tree is now part of many university traditions, like Full Moon on the Quad. This tradition started in the 19th century when senior men would kiss freshman women and sometimes give them roses. Now, it’s about kissing as many people as possible. The Stanford Tree might get over 1,000 kisses in one night!

9 Blue Blob

In 1985, Xavier University already had a mascot, D’Artagnan, the musketeer. But Sally Watson, the spirit squad coordinator, was worried that the sword-carrying character was scaring kids. So, she designed a softer, more lovable mascot.

Since then, the Blue Blob has been at sporting events and even in two SportsCenter commercials. But the Blue Blob doesn’t have much of a backstory, so students made up their own versions.

What is the Blue Blob? He’s just a blob. He’s blue, furry, and full of energy. Even adults love him. The mascot has a two-foot-long tongue that he uses to lick fans. The Blue Blob even has his own merchandise.

Anyone can wear the Blue Blob costume, but they can’t be taller than D’Artagnan. Other than that, anything is allowed.

8 WuShock

In 1904, football manager R.J. Kirk needed a name for the Wichita State University team (formerly Fairmount College). He decided on the Wheatshockers because many football players earned money harvesting wheat.

Later, the name was shortened to Shockers. Until 1948, the university used a simple shock of wheat as its symbol. In 1948, junior Wilbur Elsea won a competition to design a mascot representing the school’s spirit.

In October 1948, the school newspaper asked students to submit names for the new mascot. Freshman Jack Kersting suggested the name WuShock.

But it wasn’t until 1954 that WuShock became a 3-D mascot, with a costume created by a cheerleader and art department members.

7 Mysterious Fish

In Japan, one of the weirdest mascots is the Mysterious Fish. The Chiba Lotte Marines baseball team introduced the mascot in May 2017. The mascot starts as an angler fish with legs but reveals new forms throughout the game, including a skeleton fish.

Mysterious Fish worked with Hawaiian Airlines since 2018. But in 2021, the person playing the character retired. This meant the Fish retired too, instead of having someone new take over.

6 Fighting Okra

Delta State University has always had two mascots. The official mascot has been the Statesman, due to State Rep. Walter Sillers, Jr.’s role in the school’s location. But in the 1980s, students unofficially adopted a new mascot.

The students never thought the Statesman was very intimidating. One day, some basketball and baseball players were talking in the “Court of Governors” dormitory. Basketball player Houston Williamson said the Fighting Statesmen weren’t scary to opponents. The mascot was also temporarily banned from athletic activities due to a fight with another mascot.

Everyone agreed with Williamson and said a mascot needed to be mean and green. They talked about it and made suggestions. Baseball pitcher Bob Black suggested okra because it’s green, fuzzy, and tough. In the mid-1990s, the Fighting Okra became the unofficial mascot.

5 Y’all Star the Water Tower

Y’all Star the Water Tower, the mascot of the Florence Y’alls, hosted his first game on May 13, 2016. The mascot was inspired by the famous water tower in Florence, Kentucky.

The water tower was first built in 1974 and said Florence Mall. But because of the location of the actual Florence Mall and legal problems, the city changed the M on the water tower to a Y, making it say Florence Y’all. The water tower quickly became a famous landmark.

The baseball team was first called the Florence Freedom. In 2020, they changed their name to Florence Y’Alls to honor the water tower.

4 Crusty the Pie

In 2019, Wigan Athletic, a soccer club, had a competition for local primary schools to design a mascot. The team didn’t have a mascot and thought it was time to get one.

Wigan Athletic ran the competition to get a mascot and boost the creativity of local children. It also taught the children to take initiative. Most of the entries were some kind of pie because everyone in Wigan loves pies.

The winners were local children Cayden and Neve, who presented Crusty the Pie. They got to introduce the mascot with former England international Peter Reid.

3 Kingsley

Kingsley, the monobrowed mascot, was designed by David Shrigley for the Scottish football team Patrick Thistle. But no one seems to like the character or know what he’s supposed to be. The mascot has even been called the mascot nobody loves.

The character looks like a sun with one eyebrow and buck teeth. Despite looking strange, Kingsley has become part of the team. Fans want a piece of him. Jay McGhee, the person in the costume, finds the head useful for storing his water bottle, phone, and keys.

2 Youppi

Youppi means “Yippee” in French. Youppi represents the Montreal Canadiens (formerly known as the Montreal Expos). The mascot is a furry, orange character with an exclamation mark as his jersey number. Youppi joined the sports world in 1979 and stayed with the team until 2004.

Youppi was also the first mascot to be thrown out of a Major League Baseball game. On August 23, 1989, the mascot jumped and landed on the visitor’s dugout in the 11th inning. Youppi then snuck into a front-row seat. Later, he was allowed back into the game but had to stay on the team’s dugout roof.

In 2005, Youppi switched from baseball to hockey. By December 2019, the orange character was voted into the Mascot Hall of Fame. Youppi is the first Canadian mascot to receive this honor.

1 Phillie Phanatic

Phillie Phanatic didn’t have a normal introduction. Instead of a big announcement, the creature from the Galapagos Islands just walked onto the field. The spectators saw the giant, green, furry creature and laughed at his antics.

Even though the Phanatic’s debut wasn’t a big deal, it was still a success. The Phanatic’s idea came from former Phillies owner Bill Giles, who wanted a mascot like the San Diego Chicken to attract more families to the games.

Bill Giles first asked Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, to design the new mascot. But Henson declined and passed the job to Bonnie Erickson, who created Miss Piggy, Waldorf, and Statler.

David Raymond was the first person in the costume. But his first night as the Phanatic didn’t go as planned. Raymond fell over a railing accidentally, and the fans laughed. Raymond quickly added falling and slapstick humor to his act.

In 1994, Tom Burgoyne took over the Phanatic duties. Burgoyne easily took on the Phanatic’s personality and built on it. He started riding around on an ATV, making fun of the opposition, and shooting hot dogs from a hot dog cannon.

From fuzzy fruits to sun-like figures with one eyebrow, these mascots bring a unique and often hilarious flavor to their teams. They remind us that sometimes, the weirder, the better, as long as they bring joy and a sense of community.

Which weird mascot is your favorite? Leave your comment below!