PITTSBURGH - The Pirates traded popular, wisecracking vendor Tom "T. C." Congdon this afternoon to the Atlanta Braves for ushers, Noah Swayne, 68, and Bradleys Roadhouse, 73, and ex-Braves mascot Chief Noc-A-Homa, the faux American Indian who supposedly lived in a teepee in the bleachers of Fulton County Stadium and who was formally retired in 1985.
"We will miss T.C.'s incredible wit and enthusiasm. He was the Noel Coward of the Pirates organization. But this trade gives the club more depth in the ushering and mascot departments," said General Manager Dave Littlefield.
Littlefield said he "has no idea" what the Pirates will do with a faux American Indian mascot but noted, "I expect to see some good-natured scuffling between the red man [sic] and the [Pirate] parrot between innings for the amusement of the fans." Littlefield hinted that he "wouldn't mind if Chief Noc-A-Homa scalped the parrot." He acknowledged that having a faux American Indian for a mascot was not "politically correct," and noted that the team likely would change his name to Joseph Sartucci to give him an Italian heritage, or Irving Mendelbaum to give him a Jewish heritage. "But the indian keeps the feathers, regardless of what we call him," Littlefield said.
When given the news about the trade, Congdon, pictured above, howled toward the sky like a wolf. In a written statement, ushers Swayne and Roadhouse say they "flatly refuse to move to a rat-infested city like Pittsburgh."
