Louis Van Zelst

Who was Louis Van Zelst?

Louis Van Zelst was a batboy, mascot, and good luck charm for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1910 to 1914. Due to an illness sustained at the age of eight, Van Zelst was a humpback, and was not in the least self-conscious about it, urging Athletics players to rub his hump for good luck.

Van Zelst had originally been a mascot for teams at the University of Pennsylvania, but Athletics players lived in the West Philadelphia neighborhood, and he got to know them. Connie Mack hired him as batboy beginning in 1910, and he attended all home games in that capacity. He made some road trips with the team, and invariably was brought to each World Series game, during a period of success for the Athletics during which they won four pennants and three World Series in five years.

Van Zelst had never enjoyed robust health, and he fell ill of Bright's Disease in the winter of 1915. He died in March at the age of 20.