116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Cedar Rapids Kernels plan record-breaking birthday party for Mr. Shucks with Z102.9 radio hosts
Morning Scramble hosts hope to break record for conical party hats
Jul. 4, 2025 10:32 am, Updated: Jul. 9, 2025 9:51 am
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
CEDAR RAPIDS — A big birthday bash being planned for one of Eastern Iowa’s most beloved mascots will be both corny and conical.
A Cedar Rapids Kernels game right after Independence Day hopes to double as a record-breaking event — but not an athletic one.
With 2,500 paper hats at the ready, attendees will celebrate Mr. Shucks’ birthday while attempting to claim a record for the largest gathering of people wearing conical party hats. If successful, the group will more than double the official Guinness World Record held by the Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls in Sutton Coldfield, United Kingdom — 1,161 hats.
With no Guinness World Record officials to mark the occasion, the record in Cedar Rapids will be unofficial.
But it hasn’t stopped Eric Hanson and Clare Duffy, co-hosts of Z102.9’s “The Morning Scramble,” from trying to hit their idea out of the park. They say the event is just another way to bring folks together.
“Our ultimate goal was to bring communities together and have celebratory purpose,” Duffy said. “Even if it’s not an official thing, it’s still in the spirit of what we want.”
Mr. Shucks turns 32
Nobody quite knew when Mr. Shucks’ birthday was, but this year he will be going on the record with an official age and date of birth to add to his baseball card.
On July 5, the mascot’s recorded age will be corrected, from 4 to 32.
“I’ve been here 20 years, and there’s been one other time we celebrated his birthday,” said Scott Wilson, general manager of the Cedar Rapids Kernels.
Though the mascot was born in 1993, Wilson has been telling children for years that Shucks is 4 years old because he only “had three fingers and a thumb.”
It made him more relatable to his younger fans, the manager argued, and a timeless figure like Shucks never ages.
The date, right after Independence Day, should help bolster a typical slump in post-holiday attendance. Assuming all goes well, Wilson said the chosen date will serve as a celebration of Mr. Shucks in future seasons.
A coney, corny party
With 2,500 guests wearing paper hats bearing a portrait of the birthday boy, Mr. Shucks’ party will be filled with his favorite friends.
In addition to human attendees, invitations have been mailed to 40 of his mascot friends. About a dozen have RSVP’d so far, including Center Point-Urbana’s Stormin’ Normin, who was named best high school mascot by Sports Illustrated this year.
A special 360-degree camera will capture the crowd celebrating between the beginning of the game and the third inning. The snapshot will be available for guests to download and save after the game against the Quad Cities River Bandits.
Mr. Shucks will swap out his magnetic hat, which allows him to turn it backward or remove it during the national anthem, for a custom replacement being produced for the occasion.
“That’s a lot of cardboard,” Wilson said. “His will probably not match (attendees’.)”
He hopes the record will put Cedar Rapids in a league of its own. This one will be slightly cleaner than others he has heard of.
“Minor League Baseball has some of the strangest world records in the Guinness books. I’ve had friends in Minor League get one for the most cans of Silly String shot in a stadium,” he said.
If you go:
Celebrate Mr. Shucks’ birthday by helping Z102.9 FM and the Cedar Rapids Kernels break the record for largest gathering of people wearing conical party hats.
When: Saturday, July 5 from 6-7:30 p.m.
Where: Veteran’s Memorial Stadium, 950 Rockford Rd. SW, Cedar Rapids
Tickets: Prices start at $14 and can be purchased at milb.com/cedar-rapids
Details: Up to 2,500 attendees will be offered party hats celebrating Mr. Shucks’ birthday during a home game against the Quad Cities River Bandits. Attendees must have game tickets for admission.
Z102.9’s “The Morning Scramble” with Clare Duffy and Eric Hanson will be in attendance, alongside numerous area mascots, for a pre-show broadcast.
Infusing new enthusiasm
The Millennial icon’s tongue has been hanging out for 32 years — a captivating tenure that has introduced children to the Kernels and Minor League Baseball for generations.
Even though the record will not be official with Guinness, Wilson hopes the infusion of enthusiasm will boost the lovable character’s brand as he rebuilds his community appearances.
Since the advent of the pandemic, the team has been working to build up Mr. Shucks’ schedule at schools, parades and community events. In 2019, he made appearances at more than 65 schools and 150 events.
“Players come and go, but Mr. Shucks will always be here,” Wilson said.
But more than a member of the team, he’s an emblem of America’s favorite pastime — an entertainer for casual and serious sports fans alike.
The Kernels, a High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, have been fortunate to make it to the Midwest League playoffs 11 times in the last 12 years, and they won the championship series in 2023, the first time in nearly three decades. But Mr. Shucks is a constant, no matter the team’s performance.
“We’re in the entertainment business. ... We love focusing on Mr. Shucks whenever we can, because it’s a piece of our life we can control,” Wilson said. “I can say we’ll have an entertaining show every night at the ballpark.”
The pitch that started it
It all started in April at The Morning Scramble on Z102.9 FM, where hosts Eric Hanson and Clare Duffy discussed a story about the Savannah Bananas earning a record for the most people wearing banana hats in St. Louis.
It was a low number — 309 people.
“We’re like oh, that’s totally accomplishable,” Duffy said.
“In an area where you can get Hawkeye fans to wear the same clothes to Kinnick ... we said ‘Why don’t we try to go for more records?’ ” Hanson said.
So they set the goal to find a record to beat this year and researched what might be feasible. They spoke with individuals who held Guinness records in Iowa, like a man from Mitchellville with the world’s fastest motorized wheelbarrow.
As they talked it out on the air, the public grew more and more invested with suggestions. The Cedar Rapids Kernels were the first to raise their hand for a partnership, even before they knew what record they wanted to break.
After landing on conical hats, the idea all came together for Mr. Shucks’ birthday. Hanson said they wanted to build the event with “shock, awe and surprise.”
The cost for Guinness World Records to officiate an event can tally over $10,000 for companies pitching a record-breaking event given consulting fees, licensing fees and travel costs — out of reach for both KZIA and The Kernels. With costs and logistical delays, they decided to move forward by breaking the record without an official seal.
The on-air personalities are no strangers to stunts and setting personal records. At one time, Hanson spent 12 hours in a portable toilet to campaign against distracted driving.
“This (event) is quite in earnest,” Duffy said. “We’re proud of where we’re from, so to have something like this be a moment where we can shine, at least amongst ourselves, is great.”
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
Daily Newsletters