On This Day – 3rd May
H’Angus the Monkey, Hartlepool United’s beloved mascot, was elected mayor of Hartlepool on this day back in 2002.
Yes, you read it right, the mayor of Hartlepool! Stuart Drummond, the man who wore the outfit to entertain the crowds at Hartlepool United matches, ran in the local election and amazingly got voted in!
The character came from Hartlepool folkore where it is alleged that during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800’s, the people of Hartlepool tried and executed a monkey that had been aboard a French shipwreck. The townspeople believed that the monkey was a French spy and sentenced the creature to death by hanging!
Because of this story, Hartlepool United are jokingly nicknamed by other fans as ‘The Monkey Hangers’. This was where the inspiration for H’Angus the Monkey came from.
Stuart Drummond ran as an independent candidate in the 2002 mayoral elections dressed in his Monkey outfit. He promised free bananas to the local schoolchildren and amazingly got voted in. Incredibly, he was re-elected again in 2005 and 2009!
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