Keeping the Phaith

By Melissa Yerkov
Times Sports Editor

Philadelphia.
It’s a place where cheesesteaks are unsurpassed, Rocky Balboa is king and diehard sport fans always believe.
A place where — regardless how many sports championships elude our grasp — we continuously have faith in next year, and even the year after that.
And through all the ups and downs, triumphs and heartbreaks, one Philadelphia institution has been there.
He was there to cheer on Philly baseball greats like Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Lenny Dykstra, Darren Daulton and John Kruk.
He was there in 1980 when the Phillies won their first World Series championship. He was there in ’83, when the team lost the World Series to the Orioles, and again during that magical season of 1993, when that Mitch Williams pitch to the Blue Jays’ Joe Carter in game six ended the World Series and broke our hearts.
So it was only fitting that he was at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, when the Phils won the NL East and a playoff spot for the first time since that big season 14 years ago.
The Phillie Phanatic.
A piece of Philadelphia history as loved as the players, and just as important to the team.
The Phanatic made his first appearance on April 25, 1978, during a game between the Phillies and the Chicago Cubs at Veterans Stadium. Nearly 30 years later, though he hasn’t aged a day, he has evolved into perhaps the best-known sports mascot in the country.
His now-famous furry green costume was created by Wayde Harrison and Bonnie Erickson, a husband-and-wife team who had done work for Sesame Street and the Muppets. Erickson had designed Miss Piggy three years before creating the Phillie Phanatic.
The Phanatic costume weights 35 pounds, and he’s about 6-and-a-half-feet tall.
There’s also one person who gives the Phanatic his heart. And bounce.
Meet Tom Burgoyne.
For 19 years the Lansdale resident has been the man behind the Phanatics’ jolly green belly. He officially filled the mascot’s massive shoes — sneakers, actually — when Dave Raymond, the first human to bring the Phanatic to life, called it a career after the 1993 season.
"I’ve always been a fan of the Phanatic," said Burgoyne. "It’s a great feeling to be the guy who gets to perform on the field. It’s pretty cool."
Actually, Burgoyne had the good fortune of being Raymond’s understudy for a few years. That opportunity came when he read about an open audition in the Inquirer.
"It said ‘Mascots Wanted,’" recalled Burgoyne, who had graduated from Drexel University in 1988 with a marketing degree. "I was selling computer supplies at the time and was starting to look for other opportunities. I answered the ad mostly out of curiosity, and sure enough, two weeks later I got a call from the Phillies."
Burgoyne, who went to high school at St. Joseph’s Prep, offered some experience in the mascot field thanks to his glory days as the school’s Hawk.
But this was slightly different.
"There was a panel of people who interviewed me and then had me dance without the costume on," said Burgoyne. "That was weird — dancing in front of strangers. Then they asked me questions like, ‘What’s your favorite cartoon?’"
Burgoyne must have had the right moves. Two weeks later he was hired.
For the first five years, Burgoyne was a Phanatic pinch-hitter, attending a growing list of community events if Raymond was unavailable. During that time, the Phanatic was scheduled for appearances at about 225 events a year, including visits to schools, nursing homes, malls and church events.
In 1994, when Dave Raymond stepped out of the Phanatic’s enormous, plush shoes, Tom Burgoyne jumped in. And the Phillie Phanatic never missed a step.
"I think I had a pretty good feel for the character itself even before I started working here," Burgoyne said. "Then I was working with Dave really closely for five years, up in the scoreboard room, and I’d help him with the music and routines. It gave me a good sense of what I needed to do.
"The Phanatic is a character that is very spontaneous and goofs around with whatever he has in front of him," he explained. "You have to convey all your feelings through body language."
The Phanatic has created some trademark moves over the years — his most famous probably is the 7th-inning dance atop the Phillies dugout.
"The Phanatic is a dancer, but I’m not," Burgoyne said with a laugh. "Somehow the Phanatic hides a lot of flaws, I think, when it comes to the dancing ability. But the Phanatic definitely has some rhythm."
As most Phils fans know, the Phanatic also can be somewhat of a troublemaker, with a special fondness for mischievous antics and hilarious pranks, especially when it comes to umpires and players on the other team.
"The Phanatic likes to get into it with the other players," said Burgoyne. "It’s all in good fun, though. It’s meant to be fun and make people laugh."
These shenanigans can make the Phanatic a marked mascot. Players on opposing teams seem to enjoy getting their revenge.
"I think they look forward to coming here and goofing around with the Phanatic," said Burgoyne. "They throw baseballs sometimes or sneak up behind me and get on all fours, then another player will push me over."
The Phanatic’s offbeat performances are showcased during the pre-game festivities, as well as during the fifth and seventh innings.
"It’s mostly spontaneous . . . freewheeling with the coaches and players and maybe the national anthem singers," said Burgoyne. "Then, at other points in the game, the Phanatic will run through the crowd and visit the fans."
The Phillies organization gives Burgoyne full creative freedom in his routine selections. They ask only that he use common sense and not delay the game.
"I have to use good judgment," he said. "There are certain things you can and can’t do. And I think it’s important that the organization has that kind of trust. It really does allow me to be more creative."
It’s reasonable to think that a 35-pound costume can hamper creativity, especially during a humid afternoon game, but Burgoyne will tell you that the possibilities are endless.
"It’s built in a way where you can move around," he said of the costume. "You can also give it a little more life than other costumes. It looks big and bulky but it’s built in such a way where you can easily give it life.
"The heat is rough in there," he conceded. "The first time I wore it, after only a few minutes I was gasping for air. But while we try to have the illusion that the Phanatic is out and about in a lot of different places during the game, I’m usually retreating back to my room and taking a lot of breaks and drinking water."
His own dressing room is one of the upgrades the Phanatic received when the Phillies moved from Veterans Stadium to Citizens Bank Park in 2004.
"Before, I had this tiny little room to get dressed in," recalled Burgoyne. "And now I even have my own bathroom. The seats here can be a little more challenging for the Phanatic to get around. But then again, if the Phanatic goes in the outfield here, he can be more visible."
Burgoyne, now 41, has amassed plenty of experience in that green costume. This year he logged appearances at more than 500 events throughout the world, including Japan, Australia, Amsterdam, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
"The Phanatic gets to travel around the country to minor-league ballparks and travel to different countries around the world," said Burgoyne. "Most of those have been with MLB International. They have different tournaments and events where they like to bring the Phanatic along."
Major League Baseball International was founded in 1989 to enhance the worldwide growth of the sport through sponsorship, special events and broadcasting. In addition to their overseas efforts to help the community, the Phillies are very active locally by hosting silent auctions, fund-raisers, educational programs and countless other community events throughout the area.
"That can be the most rewarding part of the job," said Burgoyne. "You go to schools and the kids are just so excited. You go to senior centers or nursing homes, where we have some of our greatest fans. Some of those fans have been watching the Phillies for seventy or eighty years. And they just get so thrilled by a visit from the Phanatic. That’s an incredible feeling."
The kid-loving, family-friendly Phanatic took his excitement for the Phils to the bookshelves in 2003 when he wrote his first of five children’s books, The Phillie Phanatic’s Happiest Memories. Burgoyne teamed with Father Judge alumnus Robert Gordon in 2004 to write Moving On Up, which discussed the move from Veterans Stadium to Citizens Bank Park. Two years later the duo released another book, More Than Beards, Bellies and Biceps: The Story of the 1993 Phillies.
The Phanatic’s writing adventures evolved into a children’s reading program appropriately titled Be a Phanatic About Reading. The literacy program has reached more than 200,000 kids since its inception in 2004.
His fame even reached the big screen in 2006 with the release of The Phillie Phanatic Goes Hollywood, a direct-to-DVD flick starring yours truly.
Yes, there is no doubt that the Phanatic has reached heights other mascots can only dream about. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to the baseball diamond.
"It doesn’t get much better than the Phillies’ home opener," Burgoyne said of each new season. "I’ve been a fan of the Phillies and the Phanatic since I was a kid. And to be there — with the smiles and laughs and high-fives — that’s definitely the best part of the job." ••
Sports editor Melissa Yerkov can be reached at 215-354-3035 or myerkov@phillynews.com