Who is Charlotte’s oldest mascot in professional sports?
Charlotte has some interesting variety when it comes to mascots.
Sifting through the mainstream, professional sports, we see Hugo of the Charlotte Hornets, Homer the Dragon of the Charlotte Knights, Lug Nut of Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sir Purr of the Carolina Panthers, and Chubby of the Charlotte Checkers.
But which one has been continuously around the longest?
It could have been Hugo the Hornet, who emerged on the scene with the Charlotte Hornets basketball team in 1988 (and was apparently known for somersaults). But he was temporarily ousted by Rufus the Bobcat when the Charlotte Bobcats became a thing in 2004. (Hugo is back now, with a meaner look.)
The longest-standing mascot could not be Sir Purr, since the Panthers didn’t even start to play until 1995.
Nor could it be Lug Nut — he was “born” in 1994. Fun fact: He will be having a birthday party during the Bojangles’ Summer Shootout in June with Charlotte Motor Speedway.
And while he’s not technically the oldest Charlotte mascot, he’s cute, so we’ll let his erroneous claim as the oldest slide.
The oldest mascot is actually newer to Charlotte proper: Homer the Dragon. The Charlotte Knights’ website lists his official birthday as April 15, 1989, and his official birthplace as the original Knights Stadium in Fort Mill, SC. But he’s been known as a Charlotte mascot all along.
Other names that were tossed around included Dusty, Dudley, Dewey and Dinger, as well as Sparky, Hot Head and Burn-ie.
Today, Homer dwells at his team’s BB&T Ballpark Uptown, and his roles range from Crowd Orchestrator to Fireworks Director. He is 6’2″ and, according to the Knights website, his “weight varies depending on the amount of cake or kids he gobbles up.”
On the friendlier side, his resume includes setting a 2011 world record for most hugs in a 24-hour period by a mascot.
Don’t forget to keep up with him on Twitter.
Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
I see @CLTKnightsHomer in Ballantyne.
Can you see him too? pic.twitter.com/wp4UeG4R1L— Matthew Chantry (@mattchantry) February 14, 2018
Photos: Charlotte Checkers, Abbi O’Leary, John D. Simmons, David T Foster III, Jeff Siner, Charlotte Observer Files
This story was originally published February 14, 2018 at 10:00 PM with the headline "Who is Charlotte’s oldest mascot in professional sports?."