MYRTLE BEACH, SC – I’m in Myrtle Beach to attend a ministry training, but while here, I had the opportunity to be reunited with an old friend whom I haven’t seen in over 40 years.

Kevin Koch was the first person to ever perform in the mascot costume for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He beat out almost one hundred people who auditioned to be the original Pirate Parrot in 1979. Koch performed as the Parrot for seven seasons, leaving the team in 1985.

In 1980, I saw the Parrot perform for the first time at a Pirates game and later at a Babe Ruth World Series, in my hometown of Jamestown, New York. While watching him perform, I thought, “I want to do that. I can do that.”

In 1983, with the permission of the Jamestown Expos general manager, I had a costume made and paid for it myself with money I borrowed from my father. That season, I began performing as “Yippee!” the original Jamestown Expos mascot, and I retained ownership of the costume. During my first three seasons, the Parrot came to Jamestown to appear at one of our games each year and I had the opportunity to perform with Koch.

Since Jamestown is only a three-hour drive from Pittsburgh, the Pirates looked at this as a way of attracting more fans from Western New York to their games in Pittsburgh, and it probably paid off. We had a lot of Pittsburgh fans in Jamestown, although the Yankees were the number one team for most baseball fans in that area.

Koch and I hit it off great and would come up with skits and bits to do on the field or on the dugout during the games. We loved what we did, and the fans enjoyed watching us. I was a huge fan of Koch and the Parrot and learned a lot from him about being a mascot and how to entertain the crowd in a large stadium. He also taught me a good way to rehydrate after a hot sweaty night in the costume was to eat a couple bananas and drink a couple bottles of Gatorade. That became my post-game ritual throughout the rest of my mascot career because of Koch.

He left the Pirates, as I mentioned, and I continued to perform as “Yippee!” through the 1988 season and then moved to Tulsa. I lost touch with Koch at that point.

Upon arriving in Tulsa, I was hired to be the mascot for the new Continental Basketball Association team in town, the Tulsa FastBreakers. Since I already owned the costume, I quickly became the front runner for the job and was hired on the spot during my interview.

We renamed the mascot to align with the basketball team’s image and thus “Yippee!” became “Bubby Breaker!”

I performed for the FastBreakers for three seasons and “Bubby Breaker!” became quite popular and the representative for the team in the community. After three seasons, the team was sold and the new ownership changed the name of the team to the Tulsa Zone. I was told by the general manager they didn’t want a mascot and didn’t think they needed one. It is still considered one of the worst marketing decisions in Tulsa sports history. The FastBreakers had won a CBA championship, the cheerleaders (the Heart Breakers) and the mascot had become extremely popular among fans and the community, and The Zone management, thought they knew better.

That team lasted only one season in Tulsa and they were gone.

Fast forward to about 10 years ago. I saw a story on television about Kevin Koch and another guy from Pittsburgh named Dale Shiffman, and their time with the Pirates. So, I searched for contact information for Shiffman, found him, and he was able to help me get in touch with Koch.

Today, after not seeing each other for 41 years, Koch and his wife joined my wife and me for lunch, a visit at our hotel, and a minor league baseball game. We were so excited to see each other again and to spend time together. We spent hours exchanging stories of our time as mascots working with our respective teams and working together.

What a blessing to reconnect after so many years with someone who meant so much to me and inspired me to pursue my dream of being a mascot. To this day, it is one of my favorite and most fun jobs I’ve ever had, and I have great memories of those days that will be with me forever.

TULSA BEACON RADIO

Tune in to “Tulsa Beacon Weekend” radio show every week, featuring interviews with local and national guests, talking about everything from politics to family issues. This week, my guests will be Rebekah Paxton, research director for the Minimum Wage/Employment Policy Institute, and Michael Wallis, the foremost authority on Route 66 – The Mother Road. The show airs on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. CST on 970am KCFO.

[Jeff Brucculeri is a freelance writer and broadcaster. You can contact him at [email protected], or follow him on X @JeffBSports.]