Why Do Oakland Athletics Have An Elephant As A Mascot?

Lets be honest baseball fans, there are many questionable mascots around the league. From the Philadelphia Phillies‘ Philly Phanatic to the Arizona Diamondbacks‘ Bobcat Baxter, some make sense and others … not so much. However I believe the Oakland Athletics landed a great mascot in Stomper the Elephant.

In 1905, MLB combined the American and National league to play in a “World Series” for the second official event. At this time, the New York Giants were prepared to play the Philadelphia A’s. New York manager John McGraw insulted the A’s, stating that he did not want to play them because they weren’t up to a major league standard, calling them “The White Elephants.”

The Philadelphia A’s lost the series 4-1. Connie Mack, the manager of the A’s, kept the name and used it as the mascot. Since then, the Athletics have carried the irreplaceable name in history. To this day, McGraw holds the second most wins all time by a manger (2,763), only to fall short of Mack’s 3,731.

The A’s have held strong to the Elephant through Philadelphia, Kansas City and now Oakland. If the Athletics relocate and or build a new stadium, would they switch mascots?

One thing is for sure: the Athletics’ mascot rank among the best in MLB, especially in the AL West. The Houston Astros have an alien called Houston, while the Texas Rangers have a horse called Captain — how original. The Seattle Mariners have the second-best mascot in the AL West with the mighty Moose. Lastly, the Los Angeles Angels do not officially have a mascot, yet fans wave at the famous monkey throughout the stadium.

Four teams including the Angels, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees and Los Angles Dodgers do not have an official mascot. Bay Area rival San Francisco Giants hold to a seal named Luigi. Compared to others, the elephant holds a rich and forgotten history that many people to not recognize, although he is not a “White Elephant” anymore.

Brandon Rogers is an Oakland Athletics writer for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @BRogers6 and Google networks.