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[ Logo/Mascot Profile ]
FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COMES WEBBLY,WEBBLY, ONE COOL FROG
IN THE WORLD OF MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, there are few team names more inexplicable and quirky than the Everett AquaSox. Albeit Everett’s nationwide popularity is yet to rival clubs such as the Durham Bulls and Toledo Mud Hens, almost any baseball fan that has seen the AquaSox logo, let alone heard the nickname, finds it impossible to forget. So what exactly is the intangible allure the Everett AquaSox possess that continues to make them one of the most popular minor league clubs year in and year out? Certainly the nickname’s peculiarity and uniqueness is one of the major factors to the team’s appeal. There are plenty of other teams that boast zani- er, funnier, or stranger nicknames; yet, the reasoning for most of these names can be easily and readily explained with a quick glance at a dictionary or by having a limited knowledge of the team’s home city. With the AquaSox, this is not the case. From their exhibition season in 1984 until 1995, Everett had always shared a title with their parent team, the San Francisco Giants. The AquaSox materialized after eleven seasons when a shift in affiliation to the Seattle Mariners inspired management to choose a new identity. The unconvention- al means by which the ‘AquaSox’ was created are almost as unique as the nickname itself.
Photographs Courtesy of the Everett AquaSox AT THE YARD | December 2005 11
12 | Dedicated to the Minor Leagues Minor the to Dedicated | YARD THE AT
mary logo, remains identical to the ’95 the to identical remains logo, mary In addition to being the AquaSox the being to addition In
representation, used in today’s pri- today’s in used representation, environment.”
piece of team merchandise, the Frog the merchandise, team of piece homage to the area’s sensitivity to the to sensitivity area’s the to homage
AquaSox identity. Appearing on every on Appearing identity. AquaSox also wanted to do an animal to pay to animal an do to wanted also
remains the centerpiece of the of centerpiece the remains ment of the Pacific Northwest. They Northwest. Pacific the of ment
This Frog that Baxter speaks of speaks Baxter that Frog This pay homage to the wet, rainy environ- rainy wet, the to homage pay
with the Frog.” Frog.” the with the area, but they went with a frog to frog a with went they but area, the
they came up with a name to go along go to name a with up came they Frog. “It’s not really a specific frog to frog specific a really not “It’s Frog.
came up with the Frog first and then and first Frog the with up came eyed tree frog,” says Baxter of the of Baxter says frog,” tree eyed
“It was a two-fold process: they process: two-fold a was “It tree frog and a Central American red- American Central a and frog tree
being the habitat for frogs.” for habitat the being “It is a cross between a Pacific a between cross a is “It
| BP PRACTICE | PRACTICE BP |
and White Sox, and the Aqua part Aqua the and Sox, White and table—a perennial fan favorite. fan perennial table—a
tradition of baseball, like the Red Sox Red the like baseball, of tradition with huge, goony eyes is unforget- is eyes goony huge, with
AquaSox; the Sox part of it being the being it of part Sox the AquaSox; wonder that the silly cartoon frog cartoon silly the that wonder
From that, they went with the with went they that, From with the AquaSox nickname, it is no is it nickname, AquaSox the with
and first came up with the Frogs. the with up came first and logo is classically comical. Coupled comical. classically is logo
ized name. They ran some contests, some ran They name. ized with its out-stretched tongue. The tongue. out-stretched its with
make a change to a more individual- more a to change a make with an ‘E’ and catching a baseball a catching and ‘E’ an with
owners at the time were looking to looking were time the at owners ing water droplet, donning a teal cap teal a donning droplet, water ing
special projects for the team: “Our team: the for projects special cal red legs sprawled out on a splash- a on out sprawled legs red cal
Explains Brad Baxter, director of director Baxter, Brad Explains original: a lime green frog with tropi- with frog green lime a original:
Webbly takes a break from tree-jumping to pose with AquaSox fans. fans. AquaSox with pose to tree-jumping from break a takes Webbly LINEUP: THE | ROAD | ROAD |
| HOME | HOME | “
Director of Special Projects Special of Director
–Brad Baxter, –Brad
area’s sensitivity to the environment. the to sensitivity area’s
wanted to do an animal to pay homage to the to homage pay to animal an do to wanted
ronment of the Pacific Northwest. They also They Northwest. Pacific the of ronment
with a frog to pay homage to the wet, rainy envi- rainy wet, the to homage pay to frog a with
really a specific frog to the area, but they went they but area, the to frog specific a really
Central American red-eyed tree frog. It’s not It’s frog. tree red-eyed American Central HATS OFF HATS
| | |
It is a cross between a Pacific tree frog and a and frog tree Pacific a between cross a is It
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Logo/Mascot
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[ Logo/Mascot Profile ]
GET ME OUT OF HERE: Webbly and mascot friend Frank COMING DOWN THE STRETCH: It’s down to the wire, but Webbly loses another between N. Furter join in on the ballpark races. innings mascot race. Maybe it’s the webfeet that slow Webbly down?
primary logo, the Frog is also the everywhere. Considering he has teeth talking puppet. “Pop” looks as if he team’s mascot. When he “hopped” on and always wears his AquaSox uni- just wandered off Sesame Street: the scene at Everett Memorial form, cap and gigantic sunglasses, he round yellow head, bald on top with Stadium in 1996, Webbly the Frog might not actually be that tasty after brown sideburns, orange oval nose, instantly earned the hearts of all all! While the unusually long frank- pink eyelids and, of course, an AquaSox fans. He comes dressed in furter may not be able to satiate a AquaSox jersey. his favorite team’s uniform—still fan’s appetite, he has been masterful Pop Fly’s aqua puppet house is a wearing the teal ‘E’ hat—to every in rallying the crowd behind his compelling contraption in its own home game, but is yet to earn any favorite team for almost twenty years. right. The aqua puppet house comes playing time. Although Webbly has “[Webbly and Frank] are a two- out of a backpack that the puppeteer perfected the art of snagging pop flies some. There are a lot of promotions, wears. As “Pop” is visible to the with his tongue, he still struggles with like Race the Mascot, in which they crowd, the invisible puppeteer looks catching the ball with his bulky both will be involved. They do a tag- out behind a fine black cloth—the orange-red—and ironically un- team, where Frank will start and run backdrop to the puppet stage. The webbed—fingers. from first base to second base, and theater’s design enables mobility for Webbly is only half of a dynamic then Webbly runs from second to the puppeteer as he performs his act. mascot duo for the AquaSox. His home plate…They both do visits to “He does a T-shirt giveaway every partner, Frank N. Furter, originally local schools for our reading pro- night, and then just kind of cracks served as the Everett Giants mascot grams here in Everett,” says Baxter of jokes,” says Baxter of the AquaSox in 1986, and represents one of the few the mascot twosome. favorite puppet since 1998. links between the two eras of Everett Webbly and Frank may be the Despite improving to eight games baseball—not counting the Everett prominent mascots, but Everett also over .500, the AquaSox took a hop Smokestackers one-season stint in boasts one of the most compelling backward in the standings from sec- 1905. and odd non-human cheerleaders in ond to third this past season. As they Despite being a six-foot tall hot- all of sports. hibernate in the rainy Washington dog smothered in ketchup and mus- Unlike most mascots that are winter, the Frogs remain hopeful they tard, Frank remains inedible—much dressed in costumes and have vowed can leap to the top of the Northwest to the chagrin of hungry baseball fans silence, Pop Fly is literally a walking, League in 2006. [] Eric Karlan
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