Clara, the Heart of the Commonwealth, makes her debut as the latest WooSox mascot
WORCESTER — Move over Smiley Ball, Woofster the WonderDog and Roberto the Rocket, there’s a new mascot in town.
And her name is Clara.
On Saturday, the Worcester Red Sox introduced their latest mascot — Clara, the Heart of the Commonwealth — to the crowd at Polar Park ahead of the WooSox’ 9-5 loss to Norfolk Tides.
The heart-shaped mascot was named after Clara Barton. A native of Oxford, Barton was a teacher, nurse, army medic and the founder of the American Red Cross in 1881.
“Having the heart of the commonwealth fits in the theme of a ballpark that looks and feels and smells and tastes like Worcester,” WooSox president Dr. Charles Steinberg said recently.
In September, WooSox director of productions John Canavan came up with the idea to create a female mascot based off Barton. After Canavan received positive feedback on his proposal, he worked with WooSox director of graphic design services Courtney Cowsill to create Clara.
From there, a star (or heart) was born.
“Me and Courtney joke that this is our child, and we’re so proud of her,” Canavan said.
Now introducing…our newest mascot…Clara, the Heart of the Commonwealth❤️ Clara will make her official Polar Park debut on Oxford Day this Saturday pic.twitter.com/K2VSZY5Bft
— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) May 21, 2024
On Tuesday, Clara made her Canal District debut by visiting the Gates Lane School, Froelich School of Nursing at Assumption University, Veterans Inc. and the American Red Cross on the UMass Memorial Health campus on the 143rd anniversary of the inception of the American Red Cross.
Four days later, the heart-shaped mascot with a white skirt, shoes, gloves and hat, made her debut at Polar Park.
Along with a local teacher, nurse and former United States Army staff sergeant, and representatives of the Central-Western Mass Chapter American Red Cross and the Barton Center for Diabetes Education, Clara ran out onto the field to her official song “Legends of Our Land (The Heart of the Commonwealth)” sung by Bronson Arroyo.
Following a progression of high fives, Clara lined up with her fellow mascots.
Meet the newest WooSox mascot: Clara, the Heart of the Commonwealth.
Clara is a heart-shaped mascot named after Clara Barton, an Oxford native who founded the American Red Cross in 1881. Barton was a nurse & a teacher who worked as a medic on the frontlines during the Civil War. pic.twitter.com/HhcTNB5AqW— Tommy Cassell (@tommycassell44) May 25, 2024
“I felt like a little kid, I was really excited,” Steinberg said. “I thought that the reaction of so many people was so warm because they understand the historical significance of Clara Barton on ‘Oxford Day’ and understand the extraordinary role that our frontline heroes play in Worcester.”
From the top of the second inning through the end of the fourth, fans met Clara in front of the Worcester Wall beyond the left field fence before all four mascots enjoyed a sunset catch on the field postgame.
Clara received a warm welcome to Worcester this week.
“To see this idea actually become a thing is really cool,” Canavan said. “It’s cool to see it into real life.”
—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: WooSox unveil newest mascot Clara the Heart of the Commonwealth
