Club Meeting - Grant Kelba - Life of a Mascot
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11 Feb. 2025 |
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 Cochrane
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Meet Harvey the Hound...
Grant Kelba was just 23 years old when he crafted a lovable, life-sized dog costume that ultimately would become the Calgary Flames mascot for the next 39 years—and counting.
Harvey the Hound was the NHL’s first team mascot, pitched by Kelba 40 years ago. Kelba made his official debut as the lovable mascot on Feb. 16, 1984, but it wasn’t always an easy ride.
“It’s from very humble beginnings,” Kelba tells Calgary Citizen.
Kelba was just “a kid” performing as Calgary Stampede mascot Ralph the Dog for four years when he saw the Flames were moving into the Saddledome—a new, state-of-the-art building at the time.
In 1996, the Flames wanted to buy not just the costume from him but the trademark, too.
He ended up staying on for a few more years as a contract employee after selling it to them but after 15 years of moonlighting as Harvey, Kelba was ready to retire.
“I woke up one morning after a particularly tough series of games and I stumbled into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. My eyes were crusty and my skin was sore,” Kelba says.
“You’re about to turn 40 and you’ve spent your entire adult life as a dog, it’s time to do something else. So I packed it in at the end of the ‘99 season.”