Meet Baltimore's Mr. Oriole: the MLB's first costumed mascot

The Oriole Bird has become a revered figure, being inducted into the mascot hall of fame in 2019. 

However, who we see today wasn't always the franchise's mascot.  

The Oriole's mascot history

The oriole has always been the mascot of Baltimore baseball, though its look has evolved throughout the years. 

When the O's franchise first transferred from St. Louis in 1954, it was the bird — Mr. Oriole — who debuted as the team's first live mascot. 

He lasted one season. 

"Because he was, quite frankly, a scary-looking creature. A little more like Carmen Miranda than the oriole bird," Bill Stetka, the Orioles team historian, told WJZ. 

And though Mr. Oriole didn't last long, he did earn the team the distinction of having the oldest and first costumed mascot in Major League Baseball. 

"Having the first and knowing we were the first, after the Mets for so long claimed that they were the first, it gives us a good feeling. Doesn't make up for the World Series loss in '69, but we get 'em for that," said Stetka. 

He added that the next iteration of the mascot wouldn't hatch until 1979. 

This design, that's closer to the oriole bird we know today, has stuck, with slight alterations over the decades. 

However, with or without a mascot, the oriole's name has always been an MLB staple. 

"When the team was transferred from St. Louis in '54, there really was no question what we were gonna be called. The new owners of the American League franchise bought the naming rights from the minor league owner," Stetka explained. "There's been an Orioles team in Baltimore every year since 1882, except for 1900 when we did not have a team." 

The Maryland State bird

"If we're gonna have the team in Baltimore, what else would you call it besides a Baltimore oriole?" said Dennis Kirkwood. 

The actual Baltimore oriole got its name from the first Lord Baltimore, George Calvert, specifically, from the colors of Calvert's banner. 

"It really doesn't quite match the orange of the Baltimore oriole, but it was close enough that the early colonists just called them Baltimore birds because they associated it with the Calvert banner," said Kirkwood, a longtime member of the Maryland Ornithological Society. 

He says the bird can be rather elusive. 

"It tends to stay in the treetops, and there are many people who live in Maryland that have told me, 'I've never seen a Baltimore oriole.' They're really not that uncommon, it's just...you've got to be able to pick 'em out of the leaves in the trees at great height," he explained. 

While the Baltimore oriole had some special protections as early as the 1880's, it became the state bird in 1947. 

Kirkwood says it's a "natural mascot" for baseball — especially with its migratory pattern returning to Baltimore at the start of baseball season. 

"It's been different franchises, different owners, different leagues, but there's always been a Baltimore oriole," Stetka remarked.