The Story of Harvey the Rabbit at Municipal Stadium

1960s: Legendary groundskeeper George Toma and Harvey the Rabbit.

In the 1960s, fans at Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium were treated to a unique and whimsical sight: a mechanical rabbit named Harvey, who popped out from behind home plate to deliver baseballs to the umpire. Harvey, named after the imaginary rabbit from the popular Jimmy Stewart movie Harvey, was the brainchild of A’s owner Charles O. Finley—a showman known for turning baseball into spectacle. Installed in 1961, Harvey emerged from a hidden compartment in the ground with a basket of baseballs and flashing eyes, often accompanied by the organist playing “Here Comes Peter Cottontail.” While fans were delighted, the players were sometimes startled.

Harvey was part of Finley’s larger effort to liven up the ballpark experience during the Kansas City Athletics’ years at Municipal Stadium (1955–1967). Finley, who had previously replaced the team’s elephant mascot with a Missouri mule named Charlie O, was known for outlandish promotions—everything from green-and-gold uniforms to a petting zoo in left field. But Harvey stood out as both functional and fun. Although he was not fully automated—someone had to load his basket with balls—Harvey became a beloved oddity and symbol of Kansas City’s lighthearted baseball spirit.

The rabbit was engineered by a local elevator company. He shared the field with other forward-thinking features like air jets installed around home plate to clear dust without an umpire’s broom. Though the Athletics relocated to Oakland after the 1967 season, Harvey made the trip too. Unfortunately, his run came to an end in 1971 when he was decommissioned due to electrical issues and reportedly buried beneath the Oakland Coliseum.

Despite his short career, Harvey left a lasting mark on Kansas City baseball culture. His mechanical antics are remembered with fondness by fans who saw him in action and by generations who’ve heard stories of the rabbit who delivered baseballs and delighted a stadium. In 2018, the Oakland A’s briefly revived the idea with a modernized “Harvey Jr.,” proving that the legend of Kansas City’s most famous bunny still lives on.