Li'l Rastus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Li'l Rastus
Detroit tigers mascot rastus.jpg
Li'l Rastus (center) with Heinie Beckendorf (left) and Wild Bill Donovan (right), c. 1909–10
Born
Ulysses Samuel Harrison

(1892-03-16)March 16, 1892
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedSeptember 17, 1944(1944-09-17) (aged 52)
Knoxville, Iowa, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Years active1908–1910
Known forMascot of the Detroit Tigers

Ulysses Samuel Harrison (March 16, 1892 – September 17, 1944), known as Li'l Rastus and Rastus Simon, was an African American teenager who served as a mascot of the Detroit Tigers baseball team from 1908 to 1910.

Biography[]

In the early 1900s, it was not unusual for Major League Baseball teams to casually retain one or more urchins to act as mascots or batboys. Their employment might only last as long as a team's winning streak, and often their only wages were food and shelter.[1] On July 4, 1908, the Detroit Free Press reported that the Tigers had begun traveling with a new mascot, "Rastus," who had been "picked up by [Germany] Schaefer" during the team's recent road trip to Chicago.[2] "He will have a home as long as the present streak lasts," the report added. Rastus served as a good luck charm for the next three months for the pennant-winning Tigers—Ty Cobb in particular, who would rub the youth's head for good luck[3][4]—and traveled with team, even warming up Tigers pitchers from time to time.[5]

Rastus was dismissed as the Tigers' mascot near the end of the 1908 season, shortly before the Detroiters captured the American League pennant. "Rastus, the negro mascot, has been chased again," wrote the Detroit Free Press. "[Manager Hughie] Jennings let him out today and they got a world's series decision. It looks as if Rastus is gone for good."[6] Rastus's services were quickly enlisted by the National League champion Chicago Cubs,[7] the Tigers' World Series opponent, who went on to win the series four game to one.

Despite his firing, the Tigers brought Rastus back for another pennant-winning season in 1909. By the start of the World Series, Rastus numbered among a half dozen Tigers mascots, including two other boys, one white and one black, who acted as chief mascots.[8] At season's end, Rastus returned home to St. Louis.[9] Before the start of the 1910 season, the Detroit Free Press commented on his itinerant life:

[Rastus], who has made so many mysterious jumps with the Tigers, going from town to town without presenting a ticket or paying any cash—drifted in from Indianapolis. He said he was simply wearied of his absence from the town whose team he had helped to win three pennants, and that he had started early in order to be here on time. How Rastus got here he would not divulge.[10]

Rastus was relieved of his duties as mascot for the second and final time in June 1910. After his "unconditional release", he worked briefly for an ash hauling company.[11]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Leerhsen, Charles (2015). Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 189. ISBN 9781451645798.
  2. ^ "Three Pitchers Fail: Elberfeld's Corps of Slabmen Unable to Stop Nationals". The Detroit Free Press. 1908-07-04. p. 8.
  3. ^ Zoss, Joel (2004). Diamonds in the Rough. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 145–46. ISBN 0-8032-9920-6.
  4. ^ Burk, Robert (2001). Never Just a Game. UNC Press. p. 773. ISBN 0-8078-4961-8.
  5. ^ "Told About the Tigers". The Detroit Free Press. 1909-05-12. p. 11.
  6. ^ "Gleaned from the West Side Battlefield". The Detroit Free Press. 1908-10-13. p. 8.
  7. ^ Papalas, Anthony. "Lil' Rastus Cobb's Good Luck Charm". SABR Research Journals Archive. The Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 2021-05-18. Lil Rastus went over to the Chicago Cubs when they arrived for the World Series. They put him on their bench during the games. He promised to put a whammy on his erstwhile friends, and when the Tigers proceeded to drop four out of five they believed he had succeeded.
  8. ^ "Tickets and Hotel Accommodations at Pittsburg Prized". The Detroit Free Press. 1909-10-08. p. 1.
  9. ^ "Told About the Tigers". The Detroit Free Press. 1909-10-17. p. 17.
  10. ^ "Rastus Back on the Job". The Detroit Free Press. 1910-02-06. p. 17.
  11. ^ "Told About the Tigers". The Detroit Free Press. 1910-06-30. p. 9.
Retrieved from ""