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St. Paul Saints

Garrison Keillor Meet Garrison Squeallor, Saints New Four-Legged Mascot

May 9, 2007 - American Association (AA)
St. Paul Saints News Release


ST. PAUL, MN (May 9, 2007) - From a distinguished radio host and writer to the new name for the St. Paul Saints four-legged mascot, Garrison Keillor will forever be immortalized in Saints lore as Garrison Squeallor was introduced as the new Saints mascot at the World's Largest Game of Catch on Wednesday.

The Saints, known for their wacky antics and humorous parodies, looked to a St. Paul icon for an honor that has been given to celebrities such as Kevin Bacon, Sammy Davis Jr. and the Commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig. The search began nearly two months ago when fans sent in their ideas during an online contest, sponsored by The Rake. Over 200 hundred entries were submitted with some of the most creative ideas in the Saints 15 seasons. The list was trimmed down and in the end Garrison Squeallor stood out above all the rest.

"Garrison Keillor is a legend in this area and this is the highest honor the Saints could bestow upon him," said Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Derek Sharrer. "Mr. Keillor was a season ticket holder with the Saints and he understands what we are all about. I am grateful he is willing to play along, we're going to have a lot of fun with this during the season."

Keillor, a St. Paul resident, is best known for his radio program, A Prairie Home Companion, heard locally on Minnesota Public Radio. His show is heard by over 4 million listeners each week on over 580 public radio stations, and is heard abroad on America One and the Armed Forces Network in Europe and the Far East.

Keillor is so familiar and enamored with the Saints pig that he wrote about it in his essay, Sweet Home, Minnesota, which appeared in the March 24, 1997 edition of Time Magazine. "Between innings a man walks up to the home-plate ump, leading a pig with a bag of fresh baseballs on its back. Once, a player from an opposing team was offended by the pig and turned to the umpire and said, 'That is so bush league,' and the ump said, 'This is the bush leagues.'"

"I'm honored to have a pig named for me," said Keillor. "I love the story from a few years back about the opposing batter who came to the plate and saw the pig trotting up with the fresh balls in his pocket and the batter complained to the umpire. "Go, Saints."

The Saints four-legged mascot is an icon at Midway Stadium responsible for delivering baseballs to the umpire all game long. He appears at spotlight games in the Twin Cities Metro Area and is also available for photo opportunities during Saints games.

Jeff Massie of St. Paul and Jackie Christensen of Minneapolis both submitted the name Garrison Squeallor and were honored at the World's Largest Game of Catch and will be once again during a May home game.

Here is a list of former Saints mascot names:

Year Name of the Pig

93 The Saint

94 St. Paula

95 St. Patrick

96 Tobias

97 Hamlet

98 The Great Hambino

99 Hamilton

00 Hammy Davis Jr.

01 Kevin Bacon

02 Wilbur

03 The Notorious P.I.G. -- Piggy Smalls

04 Squeal Diamond

05 Ham Solo

06 Bud Squealig

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