Billy (mascot)
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Billy the Marlin is the official mascot of the Florida Marlins baseball organization. Resembling a marlin with limbs, he can be seen at every Marlins home game. He competes in a waterboat race, which is a computer-animated video shown on the screen, during each game. The name, picked by original team owner Wayne Huizenga, is derived from the fact that a marlin is a BILLfish and from former Yankee Billy Martin. Also, Mr. Huizenga wanted a name that was different from the baseball type names of other mascots (like Slider and Slugerrr) and one that children could remember more easily. On Mothers and Father's day Billy is joined by his parents, Bill Sr. and Betty the Marlin.
On Opening Day of 1997, the year the Marlins won their first World Series Championship, a Navy Seal who was parachuting into Dolphins Stadium (then known as Pro Player Stadium) as Billy, lost the head in mid-air. While the crowd was unaware of the problem, media outlets had been alerted to Billy's parachute entrance. When he didn't arrive, the media ran with the story, getting national attention and leading to ESPN's Dan Patrick's nightly quote, "Bring me the head of Billy the Marlin!"
The original Billy the Marlin was John Routh, who spent 10 years (1993-2002) entertaining Marlins fans. Routh had portrayed the University of Miami mascots, Sebastian the Ibis and The Miami Maniac from 1983-1993, and prior to that, Cocky for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks.
[edit] External Links
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/columnists/20030328gene6.asp A lighthearted retrospective article on Billy written after the departure of John Routh.
- Florida Trades Billy the Marlin To Cubs A tongue-in-cheek view of the Marlins' efforts to trade veterans.
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