Philadelphia is home to one of the league's most long-running and beloved mascots - Benji the Bell Boy. The name is an obvious play on Philadelphia's most famous son, Benjamin Franklin, but the look of Benji has changed a few times since his original inception. Early versions of Benji were nothing more than a man dressed up like Benjamin Franklin carrying around numerous kinds of bells that he would ring whenever the team scored (my personal favorite was the cow bell). After a while, however, fans began to complain that Benji would cause them hearing loss because of his penchant of ringing the bells are hard as he could in someone's face.
In Season 12, Benji the Bell Boy was replaced by a Boston Terrier that the grounds keepers attached jingle bells to. This version of Benji was very short-lived as no one thought to test if the dog actually liked loud noises or crowds, and at his first home debut, Benji ran out onto the field, relieved himself, and then ran out of the stadium. Legends say that if you're walking around The Ben Franklin Parkway at night you can hear the faint jingle of Benji in the distance.
That version of Benji was soon replaced with today's version, which has been the standard since Season 13. Benji is now a man in a giant bell costume (think Grimace from McDonald's without any arms) which has a giant smiley face on the façade of the bell, and a pair of bifocals (to honor Ben Franklin). Benji the Bell Boy can't really do much more than hop around, but he is the perfect embodiment of the Liberty.
In Season 12, Benji the Bell Boy was replaced by a Boston Terrier that the grounds keepers attached jingle bells to. This version of Benji was very short-lived as no one thought to test if the dog actually liked loud noises or crowds, and at his first home debut, Benji ran out onto the field, relieved himself, and then ran out of the stadium. Legends say that if you're walking around The Ben Franklin Parkway at night you can hear the faint jingle of Benji in the distance.
That version of Benji was soon replaced with today's version, which has been the standard since Season 13. Benji is now a man in a giant bell costume (think Grimace from McDonald's without any arms) which has a giant smiley face on the façade of the bell, and a pair of bifocals (to honor Ben Franklin). Benji the Bell Boy can't really do much more than hop around, but he is the perfect embodiment of the Liberty.