(Certain information is from Wikipedia.)
Old Benny/History[]
Benjamin T. "Benny" Bull, has been the mascot of the Chicago Bulls for more than 50 years first at Chicago Stadium (1969–1994), and now at the United Center (1994–present). He has become just as popular as some of the franchise's most notable figures, such as players Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and head coach Phil Jackson. Benny is one of the longest-tenured mascots in the NBA and in all of professional sports. Benny was named after Ben Bentley, the Bull's first Public Relations Manager and Stadium Announcer. Benny was one of the promotional tools general manager Pat Williams employed to boost the Bulls' arena entertainment and attendance.
Appearance[]
Benny the Bull dunking the basketball at a game.
Benny has bright red fur with large eyes, a tan snout, a black bushy unibrow, horns with red tips, orange and pink hair, a long red tail and black gloves with red fur on the back. Benny wears an authentic uniform (road red/black and home whites) and team-appointed athletic shoes. His jersey bears the name "Benny" above the number "1" on the back. From 2004 to modern times, the pupils of his eyes have gotten larger. Benny sports several different costumes based on the theme of the game as well as his overall "mood". His collection consists of a traditional Santa suit, a Latin/salsa suit, a black and a white tuxedo for classy events, a grim reaper hood, multiple plaid jackets, a green version of the regular uniform along with a leprechaun outfit for St. Patrick's day (that also comes with his red fur switched to green, or for a recycling campaign), Elvis Presley garb, and a large amount of other appearances.
Current Benny[]
In 2004, the current version of Benny The Bull was introduced. He has been acclaimed as one of the most popular mascots of all time, including being named the most popular mascot in sports by Forbes in 2013.
The modern version of Benny is famous for his impressive dancing, aerobatic flips and jumps, multiple dunking tricks, giant popcorn spilling, rappelling from the United Center rafters, shooting backwards halfcourt shots, banging on his drum, using multiple cans of silly string, interacting with crowds, instances of taunting opposing players (most notably his act of tearing off the pants of others' pre-game warm up outfits), driving his bike down stairs, throwing cakes, shooting T-shirts out of his "Bullzooka", and more. He usually performs trampoline dunks alongside his team "Benny and the Elevators" His current "family" consists of two inflatable mascots named "Big Ben" and "Benji". (Benji has a similar appearance to "Lil' Benny", who used to appear alongside Benny on the court and in videos. Lil' Benny's overall design was based on the 1990s Benny).
Barry Anderson, after 12 years of taking on the role of Benny, announced that he will be retiring on June 30, 2016, to take on other interests, although Benny won't disappear entirely. The Bulls redesigned the Benny character in 2004 just for him after his impressive talents were awarded twice in the Capital One Mascot Challenge for his previous role, Monte from the University of Montana.
Benny the Bull letting out red smoke.