A’s pulling a rabbit out of their past for 50th anniversary

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For the A’s 50th anniversary in Oakland, they’re bringing back all their greats.

Including Harvey the Rabbit.

Those with long memories will remember Harvey as one of owner Charlie Finley’s many colorful marketing ideas. First in Kansas City and then in the early days of the team’s time in Oakland, the mechanical animal popped up from the ground behind home plate and delivered balls at the press of a pedal, accompanied by “Here Comes Peter Cottontail.”

Alas, the original Harvey is no more. He broke down often, and after a player took a bat to him one day, Harvey was laid to rest. There were photos in the Sporting News of the robot rabbit in a casket, and according to Coliseum myth, he was buried under the ice plant that once covered the area beyond the outfield wall.

“He’s actually under us right here,” A’s President Dave Kaval said while sitting in the new party-deck Treehouse in the Coliseum’s left-field area. “The old Harvey the Rabbit was put to rest here, and then they built Mount Davis on top of it.”

So the A’s had to resurrect Harvey from scratch. Director of stadium operations David Rinetti formed a committee a year ago to scan old photos and contemporary descriptions and come up with a replacement. Nancy Finley, Charlie Finley’s niece, consulted on the project.

“We not only had to figure out from photos how it looked, we had to determine how it operated,” Kaval said. “The hardest thing was: We had to get approval from the league to even use it. That was a very big challenge. Anything on the field is subject to the CBA, which is very restrictive.

“What we decided to do was instead of having it pop out of the ground, which would violate all sorts of collective bargaining stuff, we said, ‘Let’s make it mobile, like a remote-controlled car that can go anywhere and do anything we want it to do — mid-inning, before games, on the road.”

The A’s consulted with several different local companies before Stan Burns of Broadcast Audio built Harvey 2.0’s robotics. Todd Betts of Mantel Angelos designed, carved and painted the body. Harvey even got some extra hops.

“He can get up there in speed, no joke,” Kaval said. “This thing has some power to it. As long as it doesn’t run out of batteries.”

Operated by Rinetti or trained members of his staff, Harvey Jr. will deliver balls at the start of the game only. That won’t be his lone appearance, though. The A’s will look for spots to highlight their battery-operated bunny. They have a Harvey the Rabbit backpack giveaway scheduled for May 26 and he’s likely to appear during on-field promotions, and maybe even during between-innings races — Harvey against humans? Harvey against the racing Hall of Famers?

Harvey the Rabbit, brought back for the A's 50th anniversary in Oakland, will debut Friday night at the Coliseum. Harvey the Rabbit, brought back for the A's 50th anniversary in Oakland, will debut Friday night at the Coliseum. Photo: Courtesy Oakland Athletics Photo: Courtesy Oakland Athletics Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close A’s pulling a rabbit out of their past for 50th anniversary 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

“The sky’s the limit,” Kaval said.

Harvey Jr. will debut Friday night at the Coliseum before the A’s game against the Angels.

“It’s just a cool thing and will be with us many years to come,” Kaval said. “It almost becomes like a second mascot. I think it’s going to be an incredible ambassador of the A’s brand. Kids are going to smile and laugh.”