Dodgers ‘Rally Bear’ From Game 3 of NLCS Identified, Banned From Dodger Stadium for Six Months

DOdgers bear spotlight The Dodgers’ unofficial dancing bear mascot has officially been unmasked.

The fan in a bear costume and Dodgers jersey who jumped on top of the Cardinals dugout Monday during Game 3 of the NLCS and started dancing has been identified as 50-year-old Mark Monninger, according to the L.A. Times. Monninger, a furniture store owner from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., was banned from Dodger Stadium for six months by the Dodgers after his shimmy-shaking performance.

Monninger told the Times that the point he was trying to drive home by his performance was that the Dodgers need a mascot — the team is one of four in Major League Baseball that don’t have one.

“I’m not trying to promote any organization or cause,” Monninger said. “I just want to show fans, this is what is out there, this is someone that can entertain you.”

Monninger made a pointed decision in choosing to dress up as a bear. He said “bears are cuddly, they look good.”

It seems his movement gained some traction, because as he was escorted from the stadium, Monninger said fans were chanting “Free the bear! Free the bear!”

It turns out, according to Yahoo! Sports!, Monninger has some experience in the mascot department. He was Tuffy the Titan at Cal State Fullerton in the 1980s, and was also a mascot for the Class-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes for five years.