The Rally Squirrel hasn't retired, he's just caught up in litigation. When a squirrel bounded through the batter's box during the St. Louis Cardinals' 2011 postseason, an array of Rally Squirrel merchandise quickly sprang up.
The rodent and all that he wrought is barely a memory now, but the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a trademark dispute lingers at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The Cardinals are contesting an application for a federal trademark on the Rally Squirrel for shirts and other memorabilia by suburban St. Louis businessman Phil Rideout, an application filed in October 2011 as the Cardinals were en route to a World Series win.
The Cardinals say in their opposition filing that the Rally Squirrel had become an ``integral part'' of the team's identity.
