Buccaneer (mascot)

The Buccaneer was a secondary mascot used by the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball club during their 1995 season. While the team's primary mascot, the Pirate Parrot, wore an elaborate costume with a prosthetic head and molded frame, the Buccaneer was simply a man in pirate's garb who led the crowd in organized cheers. After an audition involving 30 prospective mascots, 23-year-old Tim Beggy was chosen to portray the Buccaneer.[1]

Beggy was arrested along with a woman in July 1995, while skinny dipping after hours in a closed public swimming pool.[1] Beggy and the woman both reached a plea agreement, under which they each paid a $100 fine and court costs in exchange for more serious charges of "open lewdness" being dropped.[1] Beggy's arrest attracted national attention, including jokes on The Tonight Show,[1] and the Pirates subsequently discontinued the use of the character in the wake of the negative publicity.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Fuoco, Michael A. "Buccaneer swims clear of trouble with the law", The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 24, 1995, p. A16.


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