{"id":6572,"date":"2016-03-02T00:15:16","date_gmt":"2016-03-02T05:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=6572"},"modified":"2016-03-02T18:02:03","modified_gmt":"2016-03-02T23:02:03","slug":"the-curious-case-the-pens-waddling-and-missing-mascot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/03\/02\/the-curious-case-the-pens-waddling-and-missing-mascot\/","title":{"rendered":"The curious case of the Penguins’ waddling (and missing) mascot"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pete <\/a>
Pete the mascot on the Civic Arena ice. His escort is keeper Pete Shepis. (Photo courtesy Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pete <\/a>
Pete gets a sardine snack from 10-year-old Doug McGregor, son of Jack McGregor, center, one of the Penguins’ founders. At right is Pete’s handler. (Photo courtesy Jack McGregor) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Readers <\/a>
Readers of the Post-Gazette learned of Pete’s death on Nov. 29, 1968 — if they happened to read this small item in the sports section. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Years before that fuzzy beaked, man-sized penguin named Iceburgh showed off his boogie-woogie dance moves on the Consol Arena ice, the Pens\u2019 mascot was a waddling flesh-and-blood penguin named Pete.<\/p>\n

Pete was the brainchild of one of the the Penguins\u2019 founders, Jack McGregor. The summer after the team\u2019s first season, Pete was given to the team by the Pittsburgh AquaZoo. He lived at the zoo but before game time, he would be ushered to the Civic Arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea was to have him escort the team onto the ice before each game,\u201d McGregor said in a recent interview.<\/p>\n

In fact, Mr. McGregor commissioned the Canadian hockey apparel company CCM to outfit Pete with his very own ice skates. And, according to McGregor, penguins have a whole host of deformities from bow legs to crooked feet that made the endeavor quite difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut by golly, it was successful,\u201d he said. Pete\u2019s trainer taught him to ice skate and the penguin took to the ice. And the crowds went wild. Pete was a hit.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Pete\u2019s tenure with the Penguins was short-lived. In the same year he started as the mascot, Pete caught a terrible cold and, after four or five days, died from pneumonia.<\/p>\n

McGregor could hardly believe that an animal made for the cold weather could die of pneumonia.<\/p>\n

\u201cFans loved him so much \u2026 we had him stuffed and put in the trophy case at the Civic Arena,\u201d Mr. McGregor said.<\/p>\n

That position too, didn\u2019t last long. After a short time (McGregor couldn\u2019t remember exactly how many weeks) Pete went missing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was stolen,\u201d Mr. McGregor said, \u201cprobably by a fan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next season marks the Penguins\u2019 50th year and the 49th year since a little penguin charmed Pittsburgh fans in his little ice skates. And maybe you, dear Pittsburgher, remember being at a family barbecue a dozen years ago and maybe you vaguely remember your mother\u2019s uncle Joe bragging about an \u201cold, stuffed penguin\u201d in his basement. Think hard. Do you remember? If you do, this is our pitch: Do the right thing. #BringPeteHome #Homefor50 #ReturnthePenguin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Help return stuffed penguin Pete to his rightful place in a trophy case.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesThe curious case of the Penguins’ waddling (and missing) mascot<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":6574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[944],"tags":[962,1347,1025,1182],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Digs.PenguinPete002.jpg?fit=1300%2C1300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6834,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/06\/08\/how-did-the-penguins-get-their-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":6572,"position":0},"title":"How did the Penguins get their name?","date":"June 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Pittsburgh's NHL team could have been the Aardvarks, or worse.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Web.Digs66_67Hockey009a.jpg?fit=1200%2C784&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":183,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/10\/08\/tom-barrasso-a-legendary-goaltender\/","url_meta":{"origin":6572,"position":1},"title":"Tom Barrasso, a legendary goaltender","date":"October 8, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"In our archive, folders with Barrasso\u2019s images do not bleed black and gold, they are mostly black and white.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/tumblr_nd3jlnQzlR1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=901%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9487,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2019\/06\/10\/the-forgotten-story-of-the-penguins-2009-stanley-cup-clinching-win\/","url_meta":{"origin":6572,"position":2},"title":"The forgotten story of the Penguins’ 2009 Stanley Cup-clinching win","date":"June 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"If you remember one thing about the Penguins\u2019 Game 7 victory over the Detroit Red Wings to claim the Stanley Cup 10 years ago, it\u2019s probably Max Talbot\u2019s clutch performance. 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