A co-worker mentioned Homer the other day (it was in the Mets calendar) and then Mike sent this in to [email protected] so to break up the serious tone of things, let’s enjoy this from Mike.
Homer, the original Mets mascot, at his perch in the Polo Grounds. At that time, Mr. Met only existed as a cartoon drawing in scorecards, programs and yearbooks.
Homer was trained by Rudd Weatherwax, who also trained Lassie. Casey Stengel hated him and refused to let him sit in the dugout.
Homer was supposed to celebrate a Mets home run by running the bases at the Polo Grounds. Homer performed well in rehearsals, but in his first real test he touched first base and second, then took a detour and raced to center field. He had to be wrangled by three fielders, two ushers and the handler.
I think I’m going to see if I can nag Dave into a Mettle the Mule appearance. What the hell Dave, it’s the 50th let’s have some fun. What are they gonna do, make fun of the Mets?
Wow thats a good one. I dont remember Homer at all. I was at the Polo Grounds, but I was only six years old at the time!
That really a great one!
Came from this article of last week: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/sports/baseball/ever-the-optimist-mr-met-keeps-his-head-up.html?pagewanted=all
Note the “New York” script on Homer’s banner matches that of the swoosh-era road jerseys.
I get the historical ties to the Giants font, but that makes so much more sense.
Great great catch!