The Philadelphia Phillies are doing more than just competing for a place in this year’s baseball playoffs. On Friday, the club filed suit in New York federal court over an attempt to grab ...

The strong, conflicting reactions were quite a different response to the one Dave Raymond, the original Phillie Phanatic and creator of Gritty, experienced 40 years ago when the Phillies' mascot ...

76ers mascot Franklin the Dog (left) and the the Phillie Phanatic (center) join Eagles mascot Swoop (right) at the NovaCare Complex last Feb. 5, before the Eagles players arrived in Philadelphia ...

Phanatic into Philadelphia's most popular figure. Raymond delighted crowds with an array of antics, skits and mayhem from 1978-93, often zipping across the Veteran Stadium turf on his ATV.

The man who connects these two things is Dave Raymond. He helped create Gritty and co-founded the museum after a long career as the original Philadelphia Phillies mascot, the Phanatic.

If the Phanatic becomes a free agent, the Phillies could lose a huge part of their team lore, ESPN reported. The mascot, incredibly popular since first portrayed by Raymond in April 1978, may ...