Gritty has taken the mascot world by storm. In what people originally thought was some sick joke, it quickly became clear that Gritty was no joke. He is the real deal, and he’s here to stay.

One question still remains, lingering above our heads. Who spawned the idea for Gritty, and how exactly did he come to be?

One fan has a theory. Reddit user u/hallowedbastion crafted an imaginative beginnings for everyone’s new favourite cheerleader:

 

By now, we’re all aware of and in love with the Flyer’s new mascot simply known as Gritty. Many people have speculated on who-- or what Gritty truly is. Today, I am here to relay to all of you my findings on just what this mascot is made of.

The first theory I have heard floating around is that Jake Voracek is Gritty’s father. While the resemblance is uncanny, it’s simply not possible for Jake to have created Gritty. According to the NHL website Gritty’s father was a “Bully”. This is a very clear reference to the Broad Street Bullies of 1972-1979. So not only does this information rule out a possible theory, it also gives us a starting point.

To start, I looked at every roster of the Flyers from 1972-1979 for a basic resemblance. The things I was looking for in particular were: hairiness, intense gaze, and inability to skate. While these things are not necessarily genetic, they are characteristics of Gritty. Listed below are lists of who I believe had the most resemblance to Gritty from each year’s roster.

1972-1973 Possibilities: Bill Barber, Michel Belhumeur, Tom Bladon, BOBBY CLARKE, BILL FLETT, Don Saleski, Dave Schultz,

73-74 Possibilities: None

74-75 Possibilities: None

75-76 Possibilities: Mel Bridgman, JEROME MRAZEK,

76-77 Possibilities: Norm Barnes, Bob Dailey,

77-78 Possibilities: Blake Dunlop,

78-79 Possibilities: None

Now you will notice 3 names bolded. These men, I feel, had the most resemblance to Gritty himself and were considered finalists in our search for the father.

TOP 3 MOST LIKELY: Bobby Clarke, Bill Flett, Jerome Mrazek,

Now before I looked into depth about these three matches I tried to pin Gritty’s age using how-old.net and let me tell you, when they say technology is advanced, they’re lying. I could not get an age for Gritty with any picture I used. This sets us back a bit but from here and we’re unable to determine the age of Gritty and therefore his conception which muddies our timeline. From here I decided to research our most likely potential fathers on a more personal level.

I immediately ruled out Jerome Mrazek as his Wikipedia page was 3 sentences long and the NHL website had 2 paragraphs about Gritty. The inconsistencies between them were too great.

The next person I looked out was Bill Flett. He seemed like a good match. The beard was full and the personality was just as mischievous. Flett was known as “Cowboy” for owning a cattle ranch and performing in rodeo competitions. He was also one of the last players to refuse a helmet in the NHL, a clear chaotic act of rebellion parallel to Gritty’s behavior. His numbers also fluctuated leading us to believe he was an average player at best, therefore Gritty’s poor skills on ice can be contributed to his father being a hot-and-cold player. Gritty just happened to get the cold part of his game.

All of these reasonings seem to point to Bill Flett as Gritty’s father. However, there is one glaring flaw with this paternity test. Gritty is said to be “the ultimate Flyers fan who loves the orange and black”. However, Flett played for NUMEROUS teams during his time in the NHL. Now while it’s possible that Flett raised Gritty to only be a fan of the Stanley Cup team, it’s unlikely that Gritty would be “unwelcoming to anyone who opposes his team” if his father was someone who played for multiple teams.

So that leaves us with one option: The Man himself, Bobby Clarke.

Bobby Clarke is hailed as one of the best players and captains of all time for various reasons. His “hard-nosed” play (similar attitude of our furry friend), his ability to captivate crowds as a captain (similar to how Gritty captivates viewers), and his durability (which translates to Gritty being fine after a nasty fall on the ice).But I feel like the most proof of fathering Gritty is in Clarke’s time off the ice. Not only was he a lifelong Flyer (able to instill that passion into his potential son), he was also tough in his role as General Manager…. He was….. gritty if you will. A perfect example of this is his negotiations with Eric Lindros where he infamously said “If you want to be the highest-paid player in the game or close to it, you've got to play that way.” That response in and of itself is the true character of Grit.

If the idea of Bobby Clarke fathering Gritty is not sold on you there’s one final, indisputable piece of evidence that links the two. Everyone knows “the best smile in hockey”. It’s a picture of Captain Bobby Clarke with several teeth missing. And if we look at any photo of Gritty what do we see? NO. TEETH. Clarke passed his lack of teeth down to his son, Gritty. It’s absolute proof of Clarke’s paternal bond to Gritty.

But then what happened? Why is it rumored that Gritty has lived in Wells Fargo Center for “longer than we knew”? This part, in contrast to my prior factual, and indisputable evidence is speculation so please take it with a grain of salt. My theory is that Gritty is not the child of Sandy Clarke. One drunken night after winning the Cup, I believe Bobby Clarke and the team took a trip to New York City to celebrate (approx. 2 hour drive- very doable especially if you take a party bus). While stumbling drunkenly through Manhattan the team came upon the famous and well beloved Sesame Street. Here, Clarke met a beautiful, older, seductress best known as Herry Monster’s Mother. After a passionate night, Clarke left and 9 months later, was left with a ginger, half-human half-monster baby on his doorstep. The resemblance between Herry Monster and Gritty is almost uncanny. It was here that Gritty was raised behind closed doors in South Jersey where the Clarke family lives. Clarke didn’t want to ruin his reputation by making Gritty known to the public.

Feeling neglected and like an outcast among the Clarke family, Gritty took a piece of paper with the flyers logo on it and ran away. The paper led him to Wells Fargo Center, where he dwelled, finding nourishment in “snow straight from the Zamboni machine” and all you can eat hot dogs. From there, you all know the rest. Construction caused Gritty to reveal himself to the public as the Flyers Mascot. The last line of Gritty’s NHL page is especially telling: “there's no denying that he's one of our own”. The team claiming a fan as their own? Or a Father claiming his illegitimate son as his own? You tell me.

 

Seriously, props for the imaginative story. Who would have thought Gritty dated back to the Broad Street Bullies days?

Nice to have some clarity on the issue!

(H/T Reddit u/hallowedbastion)