If Greg Winter was a few inches shorter than 6-foot-3, he would be a legend.
In the spring of 1978, the Phillies were looking for someone to serve as their new mascot. Winter, who was a member of the Phillies grounds crew at Veterans Stadium at the time, was summoned to the front office.
“They knew I had a goofy sense of humor,” the Lower Township resident said. “They said, ‘You’d be perfect. You’re the (Phillie) Phanatic. But I couldn’t fit in the suit. The suit’s made for someone like 5-6. Where the neck is is where you see out and I would have been up past his eyeballs.
“My best friend, ‘Froggy’ didn’t want to do it, so they wound up choosing Dave Raymond, who was counting paperclips in the front office as a summer job. They said, ‘You’re the right size,’ and picked him.”
Winter, who served on the grounds crew for 15 years (1971-86) still became somewhat famous, however.
During that season, the Phillie Phanatic invited the crew to dance with him on the field. Winter was the only one who accepted the offer.
“I danced at home plate with him and did it again the next night and then I stopped,” he said. “The phone in our tunnel rings and it’s (Phillies executive) Bill Giles. He asked me why I didn’t dance and I said I thought people were tired of it. He said, ‘You’re great! Don’t stop.’ So I went back out there.
“We always danced to the same song, the one that Gene Gene the Dancing Machine used on the Gong Show. The season-ticket holders behind home plate used to love it.”
Winter, who now works at the bag drop at Cape May National Golf Club, enjoyed a fun-filled run with the Phillies, one that included watching them win two World Series (1980 and 1983).
It began almost by accident.
Winter was a 14-year-old eighth-grader looking for a summer job in 1971. His father, Gus, was working at the stadium as a member of the Philadelphia Police Department at the time and learned the Phillies were looking for some extra help.
“They wanted someone who was 16, but I was big for my age,” Winter said with a smile. “I made $7 a game that first year. We would wipe off the picnic tables in left and right field during batting practice and then sweep the bases in the fifth inning. Basically, we were just an extra set of hands to do whatever they needed us to do.”
He eventually moved up the ranks and ultimately became known as the “Mound Man.”
Phillies left-hander Steve Carlton would not let anyone other than Winter take care of the pitcher’s mound when he was pitching.
After the 1968 season, in which Cardinals hurler Bob Gibson and others enjoyed outstanding seasons, Major League Baseball required mounds to be lowered from 15 inches to 10 inches.
Groundskeepers generally stuck to the guidelines, but tinkered with it depending on who was pitching that day.
“Guys who were control pitchers like (Phillies reliever Gene Garber) liked the mound to be low,” Winter said with a laugh. “But Steve was a power pitcher and he wanted it as high as possible, so I would make it around 13 inches when he was pitching.”
Those seasons were part of one of the most exciting eras in Phillies’ history.
The early ’70s were part of a tough time for the ballclub. They endured seven straight losing seasons from 1968-74. The low point came in 1972. Carlton was the Cy Young Award winner with 27 wins, but the team as a whole only managed 59 victories.
“I remember umpire John McSherry coming off the field one year in June,” Winter said. “He said, ‘You guys can make your fishing plans early this year.’
“But it was still a fun job. There was never a day when I dreaded going to work. And then they started to put things together around ’77, ’78. And then we acquired Pete Rose in ’79 and wound up winning in 1980 and 1983. I still have the World Series rings.”
After the 1986 season, Winter was looking for a change of scenery in more ways than one.
He moved to Los Angeles in hopes of parlaying his sense of humor into a career as a standup comedian.
“I honestly didn’t put the time into it that I needed to in order to be successful,” he said. “But I did have a good time. There was one time when I got to perform in Las Vegas at the old Mint Casino, the one with the big cowboy in the front.
“(Former Phillies outfielder) Von Hayes was good friends with (late comedian) Buddy Hackett’s kid. He had a lounge at the casino that his father had won in a poker game and I got to perform in the lounge as part of a variety show for like four days.
“After it was over, I was in the parking lot and ran into (comedian) Bill Mahr. He came up to me and said, ‘You’re funny guy. Stick with it.’ But you have to make a living and when odd jobs came up, I had to take them.”
One such job was in New York City, where he worked Rusty Staub’s restaurant. A few years later, he returned to baseball as an operations manager for Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh from 1994-94 before forming his own company called “Diamonds in the Rough” where he built and maintained baseball fields in Philadelphia, South Jersey and Delaware.
He moved to Lower Township 10 years ago and drove a school bus for six years before deciding to try his hand in the golf business.
He works a few days at week at Cape May National at the drop bag area, loading clubs onto carts while sometimes sharing a joke or two.
“I’ve told (Cape May National superintendent) Lindsey (Baker) that if he gets in a bind, I’ll cut grass,” he said with a laugh. “But that’s it. Those guys start at like 3 a.m. and that’s too early for me.”
He also tries to get to a couple Phillies games a year.
But he always resists the urge to dance with the Phanatic.
David is a nationally recognized sports columnist who has covered Philadelphia and local sports for over 40 years. After 35 years with The Press, he has served as a columnist for 973ESPN.com and created his own Facebook page, Dave Weinberg Extra Points. Send comments to weinbergd419@comcast.net.
