CLEVELAND, OH. (THECOUNT) — Beloved Cleveland Browns mascot, “Swagger,” a bullmastiff who clocked in a hefty 145 pounds, passed away on Friday. He was only 6 years old.
Swagger joined the Browns as the team’s first live mascot.
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Swagger, who joined the Browns as a puppy at the start of the 2014 season, battled cancer throughout the past year.
On top of regular appearances on Dawg Pound Drive and events throughout the community, Swagger ran through the tunnel at every Browns game at FirstEnergy Stadium from 2014 to the midpoint of the 2019 season. The lone “home” game he missed was in 2017, when Cleveland faced the Minnesota Vikings in London.
Swagger’s son, SJ, took over for him in Week 10 of the 2019 season and will carry on the role into 2020 and beyond. Swagger served as the Dawg Pound Captain in his final game with the Browns, reports the Cleveland Browns.
Swagger, who was born July 20, 2013, hailed from FD Farms, a certified member of the American Kennel Club, in Rootstown, Ohio. Fred and Debby McLaughlin are the operators of the farm, and their son, Justin, was Swagger’s handler. Justin ran out of the tunnel alongside Swagger and has continued to do so with SJ.
DEVELOPING::
Geo quick facts: Cleveland is a major city in Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie. Landmarks dating to its days as a turn-of-the-20th-century manufacturing center include the Steamship William G. Mather, now part of the Great Lakes Science Center. It’s also known for the stately Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the I.M. Pei–designed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum wikipedia.