The mascot chronicles

Equal parts “strong silent type” and “life of the party,” mascots pose a fascinating paradox wrapped in a sports jersey. After all, it takes a unique set of skills to light up a crowd without saying a word. Steeped in tradition, the history of the team mascot is as wild and wacky as the characters themselves.

Following suit, Mount Royal’s trusty Calvin the Cougar has his own intriguing past. From starting his career under a different name to being closely tied to the NHL’s firstever mascot, Calvin — and the Mount Royal alumnus who started it all — has quite the story to tell.

Mascottes, then and now

One of the first uses of the term “mascot” can be traced to a French comic opera in 1880. La Mascotte tells the story of a farm girl who mysteriously brings good fortune to those around her. As productions of the opera popped up around the globe, so too did the notion of a good luck “mascot.”

Rife with ritual and superstition, the sporting world quickly latched onto the idea — often in the form of a live animal or small child. One of the first official football mascots was Yale’s Handsome Dan, a bulldog who earned the affection of the school while attending games with his student-owner. After living a full life, the inaugural Handsome Dan was stuffed (it’s now on display in the sporting area of campus). One hundred and thirty-four years and 18 bulldogs later, Handsome Dan remains Yale’s beloved symbol for good sporting fortune.

Not all early mascot choices were as ethical. The Chicago White Sox relied on a disabled orphan for luck from the late 1880s to the early 1900s, while Cornell University purchased a black bear for $25 so they could bring it with them to football games.

Eventually, practicality and a desire for more humane entertainment led to the rise of costumed audience boosters. The Muppets’ popularity in the late-1960s played a big role in this shift, sparking the transition to characterdriven mascots.

First to embrace this new era was American baseball. New York’s baseball-headed Mr. Met made his debut in 1964, and a decade later the San Diego Chicken became an instant sensation at Padres games. The Phillie Phanatic strutted onto the scene in 1978 and has been strutting ever since. These mascots proved they were more than lucky charms; they were entertainers in their own right.

Contemporary mascots are full-fledged performers, going as far as rappelling from rafters, flipping off trampolines and riding motorcycles in the name of entertainment and team spirit.

Dolphins and monarchs and kittens, oh my!

As costumed mascots began to gain traction, Mount Royal (still a college at the time) was working on its own sporting identity. Prior to a standardized name, a few teams took it upon themselves to test some options. The women’s basketball team chose the Dolphins, while the men’s side went by the Monarchs before changing to the Blues. It was thanks to the 1960 men’s football team that the Cougars name first took shape and unknowingly started a legacy.

Against all odds, the MRC Cougars took home the Alberta championship in their opening season. Not only were they the first Calgary team to win the title in six years, but the championship game attracted a record-breaking 12,000 student supporters — the largest crowd in junior football history. In a nail-biter of a final, the Cougars defeated the Edmonton Huskies 33-32.

As with any good underdog story, the team’s success was heavily celebrated on campus and throughout the community. The 1961 edition of the Varshicom, MRC’s student publication, was dedicated to the Cougars and the school began a yearly tradition, since abandoned, of crowning a “Miss Cougar.”

Over the following years, the womens’ teams opted for slight variations such as the Kats, the Cougarettes and the Kittens. But by 1974, MRC teams across the board were unified under one name.

Mount Royal and the Cougars moniker had become inextricably linked.

The man behind the mascots

The introduction of MRC’s official mascot was thanks to the work of alumnus Grant Kelba.

Kelba attended MRC’s business administration program from 1981 to 1982 on a sports bursary for the wrestling team. While studying, Kelba was also working a side gig with the Calgary Stampeders football team.

“A friend of mine asked if I wanted to perform as the team’s mascot, Ralph the Dog. I said, ‘Sure, that sounds like a lot of fun.’ It paid $7.50 an hour, which was great,” Kelba says.

The entirety of Kelba’s mascot training consisted of how to get dressed. Thankfully, he had a natural knack for performing. “I was very much an introvert, but also very much an athlete. I had the right demeanour for someone inside a costume.”

During one game, Kelba’s antics caught the eye of a movie producer. That landed him a role in Finders Keepers, a film starring Michael O’Keefe, Beverly D’Angelo and a young Jim Carrey.

Kelba’s next big break came when Calgary won the bid for the 1983 Western Canada Summer Games. In an effort to promote the games and the city’s new sporting facilities, a marketing company created the character of Westy Wildcat. Having already made a name for himself in the mascot world, Kelba was approached about the role and signed on for a one-year contract.

“I would be Westy Wildcat in the morning, then Ralph the Dog in the afternoon, and back to Westy in the evening,” Kelba says. Although it was tiring work, often requiring him to perform in the scorching heat in a stifling getup, Kelba was thriving.

When the Summer Games finished and things were being sold and given away, he was left in a tough position. “I was looking across the table at Westy with a tear in my eye, wondering what his next role would be or if he would be put down,” Kelba says. “I just couldn’t let that happen.”

The rise of Calvin

Kelba approached Al Bohonus, the driving force behind Cougars Athletics, with the idea of transforming Westy into a mascot for Mount Royal.

“School spirit was pretty low at the time. There wasn’t a lot of participation from the fan base,” Kelba recalls. “I wanted to change some of that and give it more of an identity, create more of a festival around it.” Bohonus loved the idea and was all in.

“We changed Westy’s outfit to the blue and white of Mount Royal and changed his name to Calvin. The name rolled off the tongue, good ol’ Cal,” Kelba says. And thus, in the fall of 1983, Calvin the Cougar officially landed at MRC, quickly becoming a friendly face around campus.

Although he had since graduated from Mount Royal, Kelba took on the role of Calvin for a semester before training his successor.

“When you have a costume on, you have the ability to be pretty outrageous, but you can’t abuse the privilege,” he says. “Have fun and be entertaining, but always treat it with respect and treat others with respect. You don’t want to embarrass, insult or intimidate anyone.”

A standout memory for Kelba was heading back to his van (which doubled as his changing room) one evening following a basketball game, still wearing the full Calvin get up. The weather was -30 C with howling winds.

“As I walked across the parking lot, the wind cut right through the costume to my sweaty skin.” When he went to lift his arms to grab the door handle, Kelba realized they were frozen in place.

“I could hear the crack as I finally bent my arm. I tried to get out of the costume as quickly as possible, but in doing so I lost my balance and fell against the outside of the van, which I also stuck to like a fly to a paper trap.” Kelba was eventually able to peel himself free and warm up without injury. “The stuff I used to do . . . It was awesome,” he laughs.

Harvey comes to town

With Westy-turned-Calvin happily rooted at Mount Royal, Kelba moved on to his next objective: creating his own character that he would have total influence over.

Word of mouth once again helped Kelba get his foot in the door. An acquaintance let him know that the fledgling Calgary Flames hockey organization was looking for something to increase fan interactions and helped set up a meeting between Kelba and team management.

“They slapped eight inches worth of mascot proposals on the desk and asked, ‘How does yours differ?’ ” At just 23 years old, Kelba made a bold offer: he would build and create a character by himself and assume all the risk. If it didn’t work after a game, or even a period, they could send him packing.

His audaciousness paid off. Kelba quickly got to work creating the National Hockey League’s first mascot, and on Feb. 16, 1984, Harvey the Hound made his debut at the Saddledome during the Flames’ 10-3 thrashing of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kelba admits the naming of his new mascot was a fairly quick process.

“I was walking across the parking lot with two garbage bags over my shoulder and realized he still needed a name.” Kelba took inspiration from two other sports teams, the Calgary Wranglers junior hockey team who had a fan club called the Hockey Hounds and the Notre Dame Hounds, a Saskatchewan school with a storied hockey program. For the next part, he needed a name without any harsh sounding consonants that would flow well. Harvey popped into his mind as he walked into the Saddledome, and the rest is history.

“I work better under pressure,” Kelba laughs.

The initial reaction to Harvey was divisive. “Some people thought it was good, a lot of people thought it was dumb.” Not deterred, Kelba put his heart and soul into performing game after game, accepting bumps, bruises and even a dislocated shoulder in exchange for a laugh. His signature move was walking on top of the glass around the rink. Although he had experience playing a cat, he did not always land on his feet. Other antics included Harvey riding a motorcycle, going downhill skiing and scubadiving in a pool. The last one required adding 90 pounds of weight to the costume before it would actually sink.

Kelba’s commitment to the craft won over a dedicated fanbase which both firmly cemented Harvey in NHL history and turned the gig into a full-time job. At his peak, Harvey was making up to 300 appearances a year, whether that was rallying the home crowd or hanging out at charity events. He even attended seven NHL All-Star Games.

In 1999, after 15 successful years, Kelba knew it was time to retire from performing.

“I got up one morning and shuffled to the bathroom. My body was sore. I was hurting. I looked at myself in the mirror and said, ‘Grant, you’re about to turn 40. You’ve spent your entire adult life as a dog of some sort. It’s time to do something else.’ ”

Harvey’s success in the international sports scene led to other organizations reaching out to Kelba for their own mascots. Never one to pass up a business opportunity, Kelba launched a mascot manufacturing company to create costumes for clients around the globe. Fast forward 37 years, and with a spin-off company keeping the momentum going, this venture has brought millions of dollars into Calgary and provided thousands of hours of work for local artists.

As for Harvey, he remains an integral fixture for the Flames and celebrated his 40th birthday in February. And in case you’re wondering, the infamous incident where Harvey had his tongue ripped out by the Edmonton Oilers’ coach happened in 2003, a few years after Kelba had passed the torch.

The enduring magic of mascots

In a world that often takes itself too seriously, mascots stand as vibrant symbols of joy and community spirit. They work hard to bring a sense of fun to the sidelines, rallying crowds with their infectious energy and enthusiasm. Whether they’re leading cheers, celebrating victories or simply spreading good vibes, mascots remind us to embrace the lighter side of life.

Here’s to Ralph the Dog, Westy Wildcat, Calvin the Cougar, Harvey the Hound and all the mascots out there making the world a little brighter. Long may they entertain.