In pictures: Scottish football mascots

SCOTTISH football mascots may not enjoy the same exposure as their English league counterparts, but the likes of Sammy the Tammy and Hoopy the Huddle Hound have been around for quite some time.

Sammy the Tammy tries out Dunfermline's new artificial surface before a match against Hibernian. Picture: Neil Hanna

Here’s a look at some of Scottish football’s mascots:

Hoopy the Huddle Hound - Celtic

CELTIC mascot Hoopy actually ousted the former Parkhead mascot Vince the Parrot who, and we’re assured this isn’t a joke, was selected after a fan wearing a parrot costume won a Celtic fancy dress contest at a home game.

Hoopy the Huddle Hound celebrates a Celtic win over Rangers at Parkhead. Picture: TSPL

Anyway, after barely a year, Vince the Parrot ceased to be, and Hoopy was brought in some years later.

Hoopy has won plaudits for his interaction with young Hoops fans, especially Oscar Knox.

Broxi Bear - Rangers

BROXI Bear is the official Rangers mascot, with his name being an anagram of Ibrox stadium.

Occasionally featuring in some club merchandise with wife Roxi and son Boris, Broxi won the Disney Channel’s Mascot Cup in 2002, seeing off a challenge from Manchester United’s mascot Fred the Red.

Nutz the Squirrel - Kilmarnock

THERE are two squirrels on Kilmarnock’s badge, so the Rugby Park mascot was a no-brainer.

Large and ungainly, Nutz is the archetypal football mascot.

Sunshine the Leith Lynx - Hibs

GEDDIT? Sunshine on Leith, Leith Links, Leith Lynx...?

Hibernian’s big cat mascot (complete with sunglasses for all that Leith sun) can often be seen ruining children’s dreams during the half-time challenge by saving their powderpuff shots from three yards.

Once memorably won a mascot race at Meadowbank ahead of the Edinburgh Rugby and Edinburgh Leisure mascots.

Tynie Tiger - Hearts

TYNIE Tiger - the latest in a long line of Hearts mascots after Hearty Harry and the rather unsettling Josh Jambo and Jemma Jambo - is a maroon tiger, sometimes accompanied by Teenie Tiger.

Not a patch on Hearty Harry.

Sammy the Tammy - Dunfermline

PERHAPS the most famous Scottish football mascot, Sammy is well-known for his stunts, including driving a cardboard tank on the East End Park pitch and firing at Raith fans, and sledging down a flight of stairs in the Norrie McCathie stand. Both incidents made the newspapers.

He also paid tribute to Evel Knievel by driving a tricycle over a small stunt following the stuntman’s death in 2007.

To this day, no-one is 100 per cent sure what animal Sammy is meant to be.

SuperSaint - St Johnstone

A GENIUS idea for a mascot, SuperSaint is actually directly based on the cartoon of the same name that used to appear in the back pages of the McDiarmid Park club’s programme.

SuperSaint leapt from the pages of the programme to the stands in Perth, returning in 2011 after a short break where he can still be seen parading around on match days.

Kingsley - Partick Thistle

Part-Lisa Simpson and part-sun, Kingsley was designed by Partick fan and Glasgow School of Art graduate David Shrigley, and ties in with the club’s bumper new sponsorship deal with California-based investment firm Kingsford Capital.

Unceremoniously ousted Jaggy MacBee from his role as Jags mascot and has anyone heard from PT the Toucan recently?

Honourable mentions

Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s elusive mascot InverNessie; Aberdeen’s Angus the Bull; Claret and Amber the Motherwell foxes, St Mirren’s Paisley Panda (once banned for doing unspeakable things with an opposition team shirt before a match); Ross County’s Rossco the Staggie; Terry the Terror at Dundee United, and of course, the late Jaggy MacBee.