Travs unveil new mascots

The Arkansas Travelers introduced two new mascots Tuesday, the latest move in a re-branding effort that began in October with new logos and included the unveiling of new uniforms in January.

“Ace” the horse and “Otey” the swamp possum will replace “Shelly,” which was retired last season. According to a team release, Ace is a 7-foot-2 horse dressed in the team’s new red and-black color scheme.

Travs General Manager Paul Allen said Otey is a nod to the possums that used to roam underneath the bleachers at Ray Winder Field, the Travs’ previous home in Little Rock. Allen said he could recall pulling dead possums from underneath the bleachers at Ray Winder Field when he was a stadium operations intern, and he said the staff still has to chase the critters out of Dickey-Stephens at times.

The mascot is named after R.C. Otey, a North Little Rock native who played 10 seasons for the Travelers and later spent three decades as park superintendent and head groundskeeper. Otey died in 2011, and Allen said the club received permission from the Otey family to use the name for the new mascot.

“Everyone has heard of Ray Winder and [former General Manager] Carl Sawatski,” Allen said. “I don’t think Otey gets enough attention. People don’t know of him as well as they do some of the others.”