This Day in History — Brooklyn Dodgers Hire Emmett Kelly as
Mascot On this day in 1957, the Brooklyn Dodgers announced that
they had hired the infamous circus clown Emmett Kelly to
entertain their fans at games. (Read: On this day in history, a
lot of people developed a debilitating phobia at a friendly
afternoon baseball game in Brooklyn.) Emmett Leo Kelly
(1898-1979) is most famous for creating the circus clown persona
of “Wearie Wille,” who was modeled after the hobos of the
Depression era. Before his one year gig with the Dodgers, Kelly
worked from 1942-1956 as a clown in the Ringling Brothers and
Barnum and Bailey Circus, where he was one of their biggest
attractions. Kelly also appeared in several Broadway shows and
films, most notably Cecil B. Demile’s 1952 ‘The Greatest how on
Earth.’ The idea of a sad clown mascot makes us feel a little
nervous in our bellies, but we’ll admit it: Emmett was pretty
awesome. RIP, nightmare clown.