![]() In May of that year, the Red Wings had defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup playoffs. On October 4, 1987, the last day of the regular Major League Baseball season, an octopus was thrown on the field in the top of the seventh inning at Tiger Stadium in Detroit as the Tigers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 1–0, clinching the AL East division championship. The practice has become such an accepted part of the team's lore, fans have developed various techniques and "octopus etiquette" for launching the creatures onto the ice. The Red Wings' unofficial mascot is a purple octopus named Al, and during playoff runs, two of these mascots were also hung from the rafters of Joe Louis Arena, symbolizing the 16 wins now needed to take home the Stanley Cup. In one 1995 game, fans threw 36 octopuses, including a specimen weighing 38 pounds (17 kg). Since 1952, the practice has persisted with each passing year. The team swept the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens en route to winning the championship. The practice started on April 15, 1952, when Pete and Jerry Cusimano, brothers and storeowners in Detroit's Eastern Market, hurled an octopus into the rink of Olympia Stadium. Having eight arms, the octopus symbolized the number of playoff wins necessary for the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup. The origins of the activity go back to the 1952 playoffs, when a National Hockey League team played two best-of-seven series to capture the Stanley Cup. The Legend of the Octopus is a sports tradition during Detroit Red Wings home playoff games involving dead octopuses thrown onto the ice rink.
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