Ralph The Dog
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Ralph the Dog is the
mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
of the Calgary Stampeders, a
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
team. Introduced in 1975, Ralph the Dog was the first mascot introduced by a CFL team. According to the team's official site, Ralph was "born" on
Labour Day Labour Day ('' Labor Day'' in the United States) is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for ...
in 1974, and later "acquired" by the team in 1975. Ralph cheers the Stampeders during their games, and has entertained crowds during events such as the Alberta Children’s Hospital mini-Calgary Stampede parade. In 2006, the Stampeders banned the Saskatchewan Roughriders mascot,
Gainer the Gopher Gainer the Gopher is the mascot of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. The Gainer costume is modelled after the Richardson's ground squirrel, commonly referred to as a "gopher" in many parts of North America. He is from ...
from a game. The Stampeders organization justified the ban by saying Gainer's presence would take away from Ralph's. Stampeders president, Ted Hellard stated, ""Our fans have earned the right for us to be led on the field by our own mascot without competition from Gainer." Regarding the issue,
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
politician,
Glenn Hagel Glenn Joseph Hagel (born August 17, 1949) is a Canadian provincial and municipal politician. He was a Saskatchewan New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 1986 to 2007, representing the constituencies of Moose ...
, stated, ""It is a sad day in Saskatchewan," and adding, ""Imagine our shock and dismay at our opponent's display of bad blood and poor sportsmanship."


References

{{Calgary Stampeders Canadian Football League mascots Mascots introduced in 1975 Dog mascots Calgary Stampeders Fictional characters from Alberta