How the Yankees’ first and only mascot became a total embarrassment

On July 22, 1979, a furry pinstriped fellow with a big belly, spinning baseball hat and giant ginger mustache strode out into Yankee Stadium. Dandy, the Yankees’ first and only mascot, had made his world debut. Inside the costume was Rick Ford, a 22-year-old Ithaca College grad from Greenwich, Connecticut, who had been practicing for…