Squirrels are the sometimes adorable creatures that eat from your bird feeders, dig through your garden, and occasionally just can鈥檛 quite figure out how to successfully cross a road.
But the furry rodents were elevated to something approaching 鈥渉ero鈥� status in the 2011 Major League Baseball Playoffs 鈥� and that made it a very good year for a local charity.
The first squirrel showed up at Busch Stadium on Oct. 4, Game 3 between the Phillies and the Cardinals. This particular mammal hung out mostly under the padding on the outfield walls, prompting his . (Of course the squirrel had a 鈥� what self-respecting modern rodent doesn鈥檛?)
But it didn鈥檛 take long for the squirrel (or a furry cousin 鈥� it鈥檚 not clear how many Sciurus carolinensis were involved in the phenomenon) to expand his range. The very next night 鈥� Oct. 5, Game 4 鈥� a furry four-legged fiend made a in the middle of an at-bat by the Cardinals' Skip Schumaker. ().
The Redbirds鈥� second baseman flied out, but the team rallied to a 5-3 victory, forcing a Game 5.
Charlie Manuel, the Phillies manager, to shoot the squirrel if it made another dash. Busch Stadium groundskeepers set traps. And to the best of everyone鈥檚 knowledge, Oct. 5 marked the squirrel鈥檚 last physical appearance at the ballpark.
Off the field, the phenomenon took on a life of its own. Local stores reported selling out of squirrel Halloween costumes. The Cardinals created 40,000 squirrel-themed rally towels for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series between Milwaukee and St. Louis. Major League Baseball into its 2011 postseason advertising campaign. The "rally squirrel" .
One local charity decided to capitalize on St. Louis鈥檚 newest hometown hero. Rose Fogarty, the communications director at the , says executive director Dan Buck ran into her office on Friday, Oct. 7 yelling, 鈥淚 have an idea!鈥� The squirrel, Buck reasoned, had to be charitably-minded. So why not have the Foundation claim Rally as its own?
Behind-the-scenes work on the fundraiser started that very night. By Saturday, the Foundation had distributed a press release stating that Rally had chosen Cardinal Glennon as his (or her) charity of choice. By Monday morning, Oct. 10, 5,000 Rally Squirrel T-shirts were on store shelves.
Fogarty says the fundraiser has brought in $470,000 for the Foundation since its launch. Shirts are still available.
The squirrel鈥檚 Twitter account has been silent since Oct. 30, when he (or she 鈥� the squirrel鈥檚 gender was never determined) by quoting Rogers Hornsby 鈥� "People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do; I stare out the window & wait for spring."
