City of Whiting Announces Addition of National Mascot Hall of Fame Whiting, Ind. – Oct. 10, 2014 – The City of Whiting will be adding a new attraction to bring sports fans from across the globe to Northwest Indiana. The National Mascot Hall of Fame will now call Whiting home, bringing with it a way to honor mascots for the role they play in professional and collegiate athletics. Mayor Joe Stahura officially announced the signing of a Ceremonial Memorandum of Understanding between the city and Raymond Entertainment Group at a press conference that took place at Oil City Stadium on Wednesday. The National Mascot Hall of Fame will serve as a world-class entertainment venue in the City of Whiting. The museum will join Northwest Indiana Oilmen games as great baseball-related attractions in Whiting. Oilman Stan welcomed his furry friends to the city on Wednesday, interacting with the likes of Clark the Cub, Southpaw, Benny the Bull and the Phillie Phanatic. Inductees to the Hall of Fame include Clutch the Bear (Houston Rockets), KC Wolf (Kansas City Chiefs), Mr. Met (New York Mets), Slider (Cleveland Indians), Super Mascot Rocky (Denver Nuggets), the Coyote (San Antonio Spurs), the Famous Chicken, the Jazz Bear (Utah Jazz), the Phillie Phanatic (Philadelphia Phillies), and the Suns Gorilla (Phoenix Suns). The Hall of Fame is also open to collegiate mascots, with inductees to include Aubie of Auburn, Big Red of Western Kentucky, Brutus Buckeye of Ohio State, Bucky the Badger of Wisconsin, Lil Red of Nebraska, Smokey of Tennessee and YoUDee the Fightin Blue Hen of Delaware. The museum itself, which is expected to open in 2017, will celebrate the history of mascots and their involvement in competitive athletics. |