Mr. Red is the first mascot of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

baseball team. He is a

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20t ...

figure dressed in a Reds uniform, with an oversized baseball for a head. Sometimes, Mr. Red is referred to by the team as "The Running Man" for the way he has posed on the logo c.

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

. Mr. Red was created by Henry "Hank" Zureick, the Reds Publicity Director. The character first appeared on the cover of the 1953 Cincinnati Red Stockings yearbook, which was also produced by Mr. Zureick, along with many yearbooks and programs during his career. Mr. Red made his first appearance on a Reds uniform as a sleeve patch in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

. The patch featured Mr. Red's head, clad in an old-fashioned white pillbox baseball cap with red stripes. The following season,

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

, saw the Reds adopt sleeveless jerseys, and Mr. Red was eliminated from the home uniform. He was moved to the left breast of the road uniform, and remained there for one season before being eliminated entirely. In

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, the Reds re-designed their uniform and "Mr. Red" was reintroduced as a sleeve patch on the undershirt. A human version of the mascot had appeared in 1972 and went full time in 1973 season. By the end of 1973 Tom Kindig replaced his older brother Chuck as the day to day Mr. Red mascot for remainder of the 1970s. Many viewed Mr. Red nationally in Game 5 of 1975 World Series, when he appeared on screen during the NBC broadcast (see the DVD version available on A&E Video). The mascot disappeared in the late 1980s for unknown reasons. The costumed mascot was reintroduced in 1997. Mr. Red was joined by '' Gapper'', a new furry mascot created by David Raymond (the original

Phillie Phanatic The Phillie Phanatic is the official mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team. He is a large, furry, green flightless bird with an extendable tongue. He performs various routines to entertain fans during baseball games at C ...

), as the franchise moved to Great American Ballpark in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

. In 2007, the current Mr. Red has been supplemented by a retro 1950s version known as "Mr. Redlegs", complete with handlebar mustache and old fashioned baseball uniform. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Mr. Red wore uniform number 27. The humanoid Mr. Red retired in 2007 leaving "Gapper" and a mascoted "Mr. Redlegs" to take his place. In August 2008, a female companion named "Rosie Red" named in honor of the group that supports the team, the Rosie Reds, was introduced. A new Mr. Red Mascot was unveiled at Redsfest for the 2012 season, the mascot is now on the field with "Gapper" and "Rosie Red" and "Mr. Redlegs."

References

External links

{{Cincinnati Reds Major League Baseball team mascots Cincinnati Reds