Timber Jim was the mascot

Mascot

The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...

 for the United Soccer Leagues

United Soccer Leagues

The United Soccer Leagues is the organizer of several soccer leagues with teams in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It includes men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Leagues currently organized are the USL Pro, the USL Premier Development League, the W-League, and...

 Portland Timbers soccer team. A fan favorite from the earlier North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

 Portland Timbers, he came back in 2001 to join the new Portland Timbers.

On January 24, 2008, Jim announced his retirement.

History

In 1978 Jim was coming regularly to Timbers games with his family. Soon he asked the management of the Timbers (who were then owned by the timber

Timber

Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...

 company Louisiana-Pacific

Louisiana-Pacific

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation , commonly known as "LP", is a United States building materials manufacturer. It was founded in 1973 and is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. LP pioneered the U.S. production of oriented strand board panels. Today, LP is the world’s largest producer of OSB, and...

) if he could bring a chain saw to a game. They reluctantly allowed this and not too long after Timber Jim was created.

He later added to the chain saw raised high above his head by bringing a drum and other acts to the game. Soon he was scaling high above the large crowds at Civic Stadium on a tall pole or "snag".

After the original Timbers team folded, Jim went back to work in the timber industry and later Portland General Electric

Portland General Electric

Portland General Electric is an electrical utility based in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It distributes electricity to customers in parts of Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion, Yamhill, Washington, and Polk counties - half of the inhabitants of Oregon...

. When the Timbers were reformed in 2001 he returned with the team.

Timber Jim's daughter, Hannah, was killed in an automobile accident in 2004, and in her memory, the Timbers Army

Timbers Army

The Timbers Army is an independent supporters group of Portland Timbers, a football club in Major League Soccer—the top tier of the United States soccer pyramid. Its members are known for their loud, enthusiastic support and the raucous atmosphere they create at Timbers games...

 made a tradition of singing "You Are My Sunshine

You Are My Sunshine

"You Are My Sunshine" is a popular song first recorded in 1939. It has been declared one of the state songs of Louisiana as a result of its association with former state governor and country music singer Jimmie Davis. The song is copyright 1940 Peer International Corporation, words and music by...

," often led by a tearful Timber Jim.

Jim's act

Timber Jim is known as one of the best performers for any team. That is because of his unique talents as an actual lumberjack

Lumberjack

A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...

. These include

• Scaling a tall "snag
  Snag
  In forest ecology, a snag refers to a standing, partly or completely dead tree, often missing a top or most of the smaller branches. In freshwater ecology it refers to trees, branches, and other pieces of naturally occurring wood found sunken in rivers and streams; it is also known as coarse woody...
  
  " off the pitch and standing on top high above the crowd (as of 2007 discontinued due to safety concerns).
• Cutting a round from a log with one of his chain saws every time the Timbers score
• Hanging above the crowd on a zip-line
  Zip-line
  A zip-line consists of a pulley suspended on a cable mounted on an incline...
  
   with his drum
• Singing "We are the Timbers..." to section 107 (Timbers Army
  Timbers Army
  The Timbers Army is an independent supporters group of Portland Timbers, a football club in Major League Soccer—the top tier of the United States soccer pyramid. Its members are known for their loud, enthusiastic support and the raucous atmosphere they create at Timbers games...
  
  ), eventually spelling out T-I-M-B-E-R-S (the R extended, imitating the roaring of a chainsaw)
• Pounding on a large drum, yelling out "Port-land (beat, beat) Tim-bers"
• Doing forward handsprings
  Handspring (gymnastics)
  A handspring is an acrobatic move in which a person executes a complete revolution of the body by lunging headfirst from an upright position into a handstand and then pushing off from the floor with the hands so as to leap back to an upright position. Handsprings are performed in various physical...
  
   (quite a feat, as he is in his 50's)

Retirement

On January 24, 2008, Jim announced his retirement. Over the years Jim has brought a few under his wing to pass on the role, with little success. His final farewell was a game played against the Puerto Rico Islanders

Puerto Rico Islanders

Puerto Rico Islanders is a Puerto Rican professional football team based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Founded in 2003, the team plays in the North American Soccer League , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....

on April 17, 2008, the Timbers home opener, which was won 1-0.