People who have been fans of the Seattle Super Sonics for a long time may remember when fans were exhorted to greater heights of demonstrative appreciation by a loveable, furry mascot known as Wheedle. In 1984 though, Wheedle was replaced as the Super Sonics mascot in favor of Squatch, who of course is a bit of a take on Cascade mountain legend sasquatch.

While Wheedle may have been replaced on the hard court, he certainly does continue to have a presence on the Seattle scene in general. In fact, Wheedle has much more of a claim on the hearts of true Seattle lovers than even Squatch. Wheedle was based on the creation of one of Seattle’s own authors, and as such can be claimed as a truly unique Seattle symbol (unlike Squatch, which shares various claims to fame all over North America and indeed under other names everywhere in the world!).

The name Wheedle comes from the character in the book The Wheedle on the Needle written by Stephen Cosgrove. In this children’s book (which includes illustrations) the Wheedle is a round and furry creature who is annoyed by the sounds of human civilization. At the end of the tale, after some on-their-toes compromises, the humans of Seattle and the Wheedle make amends and the beast takes up residence on the top of the Space Needle itself.

The Super Sonics are not the only organization to have adopted the Wheedle at some point, and in many cases the fame of Wheedle lives on in more committed organizations. For example, you may find Wheedle memorabilia in many Seattle yard sales and collector’s shows; he was a part of the city’s restaurant scene and even the music scene at various times. And of course the Wheedle lives on in literature, not only in the original children’s book but also in a cookbook for kids.

One last note on Wheedle himself; the Super Sonics have not won a championship in the National Basketball Association since leaving the poor Seattle creature behind back in 1984. Twenty-three years later, it might be time to think about re-instating this once popular mascot (although even the book no longer names him as a Seattle native!).