T.C. Bear, or simply T.C., is the costumed character

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, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. Taking the form of an

anthropomorphized Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), or simply black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear which is Endemism, endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. It is an omnivore, with ...

, the furry mascot’s initials "T.C." stand for the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

the metropolitan area of

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

and

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

and match the interlocking letters on the team's primary cap insignia. T.C. makes appearances at the team’s home games at

Target Field Target Field is a baseball stadium in the North Loop, Minneapolis, historic warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. Since its opening in 2010, the stadium has been the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins. It is named for Tar ...

and at community events.

History

The Minnesota Twins franchise of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

briefly had a mascot from 1980 to 1981, a

loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British English, British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family (biolog ...

named "Twinkie". T.C. Bear was first introduced to the team's fans on April 3, 2000, at the beginning of the Twin's 2000 season. The mascot character is loosely modeled after the Hamm's Beer Bear, a mascot used in advertisements for Hamm's Brewery, an early sponsor for the Twins. The

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

character was also chosen for its appeal to children. The original person who portrayed T.C. Bear, Greg Wilfahrt, was fired after the 2019 season. For the

2021 Major League Baseball season The 2021 Major League Baseball season began on April 1, while the regular season ended on October 3. The postseason began on October 5. The World Series then began on October 26 and ended on November 2 with the Atlanta Braves defeating the Houst ...

, two new actors (who were said to play T.C. the year before but only made minor appearances due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

not allowing fans inside the stadium) started portraying him full time and his mouth slightly changed and his tongue is less visible. Flickr - Rubenstein - Mascots-Media

Legacy

The team installed a statue in 2014 of T.C. outside of

where the team plays. T.C. was a candidate for inclusion in the

Mascot Hall of Fame The Mascot Hall of Fame was an interactive children's museum for sports mascots between 2018 and 2024. It was founded by David Raymond, who was the original Phillie Phanatic from 1978 to 1993. Each year (beginning in 2005), mascots are elected ...

in 2020, but finished third in voting to the Oriole Bird and Youppi! who were inducted.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Minnesota Twins Mascots introduced in 2000 Bear mascots Anthropomorphic bears Fictional bears Major League Baseball team mascots

History

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links