The beloved flightless bird and Galápagos native was pronounced dead at Citizens Bank Park late Tuesday. He was 46.
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phanatic, the neon-green Galápagos native who brought chaotic joy and relentless pelvic thrusting to generations of baseball fans, died Tuesday after becoming catastrophically entangled in the pneumatic hosing of his own customized T-shirt cannon. He was 46.
Emigrating to South Philadelphia in 1978, he quickly established himself as a dominant force in regional entertainment, surviving three stadium renovations, countless all-terrain vehicle rollovers, and a 1988 lawsuit filed by Tommy Lasorda. Colleagues remembered him as a tireless worker who never missed a shift, even when functionally blinded by a backward baseball cap, and who held the tri-state area record for consecutive innings spent taunting the New York Mets from the roof of the visitors' dugout.
He couldn't speak, but he communicated everything he needed to say by dumping a $14 bucket of popcorn directly onto a child's head.
He is survived by his mother, Phoebe, his closest associate, Gritty, and 40,000 traumatized spectators. A public viewing will be held Thursday at home plate, during which his cylindrical snout will be repeatedly extended and retracted in a final show of respect.