Tom Burgoyne

THE PHILLIE PHANATIC may soon find himself in court - and not just over a stolen base. The Phanatic has been sued in Philadelphia Civil Court by a 75-year-old woman who claims that he injured her knees when he climbed through the stands at a 2008 Reading Phillies minor league game. Even the woman's attorney, John Speicher, of Wyomissing, said that people around him have said that "this is like suing Santa Claus. " "I'm expecting him to come to a deposition, stick his stomach and his tongue out at me and not say anything," Speicher said.

As record heat steamed Philadelphia yesterday, the Phillies mascot - the one in the heat-trapping, 35-pound suit of green fur and rubber lining - tried to avoid weather predictions and convince himself it wasn't really that hot. "Everyone always tells me it's going to be a hot day," grimaces Tom Burgoyne, the 11-year veteran of the Phillie Phanatic costume, who spends each game jumping, flipping, clapping and shouting to rally fan support behind...

Broad Street Billy, who bleeds red pinstripes like all Fightin's die-hards, felt as if he got smacked in the head by a foul ball when he read that Mr. Met beat out the Phillie Phanatic in a national popularity poll. A company called the Marketing Arm just announced that the 1,000 people polled nationally in its Celebrity Davie Brown Index were more aware of Mr. Met than the Phillie Phanatic, and found Mr. Met more likable. "That's blasphemy!" said Francis Winkey, Aramark merchandise manager at Citizens Bank Park, where the wildly popular Phanatic has two stores of his own stuff — the Phanatic Attic and All Things Phanatic.

After going through high school with the nickname "Chickenhead," Bill Keffer said it figured that he would wind up with a job as pinch-hitter for the Phillie Phanatic. Actually, he is the pinch-hitter for the pinch-hitter for the Phanatic. The 25-year-old Episcopal Academy graduate and Ardmore resident, who claims it pays well to act like an idiot, serves as the No. 3 Phanatic behind Dave Raymond and Tom Burgoyne, the full-time members of the Phillies promotion department. Raymond is the original person behind the hairy green suit of the team's highly popular mascot.

IF YOU'RE LIKE ME, you've watched the Phanatic dancing atop the home dugout thousands of times and wondered, "How does he not get hit in the head with a foul ball?" Wonder no more. Wednesday night, the Phanatic took his act on the road to Allentown, entertaining the IronPigs fans in Coca-Cola Park. In the top of third inning, with one of the Indianapolis Indians at the plate and the Phanatic standing atop the dugout on the first-base side, bop , the Phanatic was struck in the neck by a foul ball.

TOM BURGOYNE, the Phillie Phanatic's best friend, says the Phanatic didn't know his "30 Rock" episode was airing last Thursday until "The Phanatic got a text from Swoop. " The Phanatic and the Eagles' mascot are buds. Burgoyne said he and the Phanatic spent about 5 hours in October shooting the scene in which Alec Baldwin 's character Jack Donaghy gets the Phanatic, TastyKake, soft pretzels and other Philly staples to impress a visiting Kabletown (Comcast) executive.

Great howls of laughter erupted as the Phillie Phanatic whirled into the dining room at the McAuley Convent in Merion while the Sisters of Mercy ate dessert. Stopping at each of the tables to dazzle the delighted audience with a sample of his unique showmanship, this green, utterly incorrigible creature blessed himself with the sign of the cross and . . . Hey! Come back here with that piece of cake! "Look," one of the nuns said excitedly. "He wants something to eat. Oh, goodness.

The challenge came early, in the second inning. A bunch of wise guys in Section 348 began to chant: "We want Dave. We want Dave. " Dave Raymond, the old, original Phillie Phanatic, had retired in November, after 16 seasons. Tom Burgoyne, the new Phanatic, was making his debut. And Burgoyne was ready. He emptied a can of Super String on the head heckler, Robert Mecoli, 36, of South Philadelphia, on Monday afternoon as the entire section erupted in laughter. Mecoli spent the rest of the inning removing green goop from his hair.

Ah, for the good old days when Tommy Lasorda gave him the time of day, children came looking for hugs and sidesplitting laughter rewarded his most juvenile schtick. Always eager to please, he's smashed opponents' batting helmets, picked water fights - and even resorted to catapulting hot dogs to beef up his gauche little repertoire. Now, the Phillie Phanatic is lucky if he can evoke a chuckle as he lumbers around the bases on his aging scooter, irking fans with 20-year-old routines regarded by many as pathetic.

TO OUR MIND, the absolute Greatest Moment in Mascot History, a growing body of knowledge and culture that spans professional and collegiate sports, as well as the corporate world, was right here in Philadelphia in 1993. The Phillies were playing Atlanta for the pennant. Ted Turner, who owns the Braves, was married to Jane Fonda. The corpulent Phillie Phanatic showed up in a purple leotard to do an insanely funny take-off on her workout routine. For that, and thousands of hugs and dances and silly gags since 1978, the Phanatic was inducted yesterday into the Mascot Hall of Fame at a rain-drenched ceremony across from City Hall that drew 40 furry and foam mascots, as well as a few hardy Philadelphians.