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MLB: The Defunct Saga - Bibliography Added


SFGiants58

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The updated LA A's with the "LA" monogram is an improvement over your first version, I must say.

 

And wow, thanks for trying out my red suggestion. Looks great! Definitely has a nice SoCal vibe. 

 

Not to sidetrack you from your current plans but I'm curious if you have a Chicago relocation for the A's planned. Apparently Charlie Finley considered moving them there in 1975, which would in turn send the White Sox packing for Seattle...

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14 hours ago, coco1997 said:

The updated LA A's with the "LA" monogram is an improvement over your first version, I must say.

 

And wow, thanks for trying out my red suggestion. Looks great! Definitely has a nice SoCal vibe. 

 

Not to sidetrack you from your current plans but I'm curious if you have a Chicago relocation for the A's planned. Apparently Charlie Finley considered moving them there in 1975, which would in turn send the White Sox packing for Seattle...

 

Thanks! I think I might do a full kelly/yellow/red set at the end of the series, once I figure it out on the alternates. You can bet that the Chicago A's/Seattle White Sox will happen (as will several more A's and White Sox relocation attempts).

 

Anyway, it's time for Dallas!

 

DALLAS ATHLETICS - That's one spiffy-looking elephant, I tell ya hwhat!

 

I had been looking forward to doing this one from the start of the series, if only because of the different ways I could transpose the A's look onto Texas. This one has a bit more than rumor or periodical reports, but rather a rejected relocation vote. Per articles from The Hardball Times and Royals Review, Charlie O. Finley was fed up with Kansas City for a variety of reasons (the AFL Chiefs' preferential treatment, poor attendance, and lease negotiations).1 He wanted to move the team as early as 1962, only two years after purchasing the club from Arnold Johnson's estate. His desired location was the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but the other AL owners denied the move in late 1962. One could sum up Finley's Texas venture with this .gif:

 

giphy.gif

 

However, what if the AL owners saw the potential for growth within the market, and allowed Charlie O. to move there?

 

The club would debut at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas (which totally had a baseball configuration, BTW - no idea about dimensions)2 in 1963, before the construction of Turnpike Stadium in Arlington (which would be less dumpy, given that it wouldn't be built on speculation). Charlie O. would debut his trademark Kelly Green, Tulane Gold, & Wedding Gown White (with white cleats) brand in Dallas, immediately setting the squad apart from their staid AF Kansas City uniforms. The Swingin' A's dynasty would cement the identity in Texas, much like it did in Oakland. While later owners darkened the green (for a more "old west" style), resurrected Connie Mack's white elephant (perfect for post-Southern Strategy Texas) and added a few "western" touches, the team still drew inspiration from Finley's aesthetic.

 

Side note: I did consider going for a royal/red, navy/red, or royal/silver color scheme (for post-Charlie O. baseball), but I decided against it. If the NHL Stars could retain green (despite trying to ditch it - glad they didn't), then so could the A's with presumably even more competitive success.3 

 

The primary logo features the A's 1994-2002 Spring Training logo, albeit without the sun and with the addition of a gold cowboy hat showing the "A's" insignia. I figured it was a way to "Dallas-ify" the logo a bit. It's in a roundel, featuring the Kansas University's classic Tiffany lettering and a yellow-white split. The secondaries include both "A's" and a "DA" mark. I opted to go for a "DA" one, because an Old English D is too Tigers for me. The tertiary is the elephant on its own.

 

H4zUlgD.png

 

The home and road uniforms feature a few different touches from previous A's designs. The scripts use Herchey, with a warp applied and an underline. I figured that it gave the team a more "western" touch, perfect for playing in a retractable-roof version of The Ballpark in Arlington (why didn't they do that in the first place?). Old English front letters still appear. Gold bills appear on both uniforms, as it's such an amazing look for them (and the added yellow & white justify the look on the road). The sleeve and sock stripes use a dual motif, akin to the Cowboys. The number font is the Texas Rangers' modified MLB Block Standard, while the NOB font is the Kansas lettering. White cleats remain, because it's a fab look (and the Cowboys still do it)

 

hk28d82.png

 

The alternates feature the "A's" crest, with the gold jersey exhibiting double striping with collar trim. The green alternate features the "DA" cap and the primary on the sleeve. I also opted for no outlines, as outlines just clutter up  the look.

 

5cv861w.png

 

I opted to include two Kelly Green-era uniforms, styled after the A's 1968-69 vests. The white option uses a "DALLAS" wordmark in the style of the 1968 Oakland uniforms, while the gold set is pretty much the 1964-1969 design. The cap logo uses the 1968-69 insignia. I added a patch that mixes the A's 1968-70 primary, a Texas outline (with a star over Dallas/Arlington), and a yellow base (like the 1971-81 primary design).

 

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The main dugout jacket uses a one-color version of the home script, with the cap logo on the side and the primary on the back. The throwback jacket is an update of this design, with the addition of the sleeve patch.

 

njkAmt4.png NdkOa2x.png

 

All in all, the team's identity translates well to Dallas with the color scheme and marks adapting well to the Texan setting (without going overboard). C+C is appreciated, as always!

 

Up next, the A's relocation quest goes to an unusual place.

 

1Max Rieper, “Losing a Sports Team: The Relocation of the Kansas City Athletics,” Royals Review, January 20, 2016, https://www.royalsreview.com/2016/1/20/10761476/losing-a-sports-team-the-relocation-of-the-kansas-city-athletics; Paul Francis Sullivan, “The Franchise Moves That Almost Happened | The Hardball Times,” The Hardball Times, June 21, 2011, https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/the-franchise-moves-that-almost-happened/.

2“Eagles Baseball Opening Day Ticket, 1950,” accessed August 2, 2018, https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/artifacts/baseball-ticket-spotlight-040315.

3Chris Smith, “Dallas Stars Reveal Road to Rebrand with Loads of Concepts,” icethetics.co, November 30, 2014, https://www.icethetics.co/blog/2014/11/30/dallas-stars-reveal-road-to-rebrand-with-loads-of-concepts.

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The darker green definitely fits a Dallas-based A's team better, and the cowboy hat-wearing elephant is hilarious. I love the small changes with each of these different relocations and the attention to detail, but of course I would expect nothing less from you. 

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My favorite aspect of this iteration is the combining of the A’s classic identity with the Rangers’ western elements. I would maybe somehow try to lean into that more. I’m not sure how I feel about the warped scripts. Other than that, this looks great.

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Dallas is a miss for me.  The cowboy hat reads more as a panama or other flat-brimmed hat, especially with the sunglasses.  The DA mark doesn't fit together well and just looks clunky (more so than the Twins TC, which I know you're not a fan of), and I would pick one of the Western style fonts as opposed to having two slightly different ones.  I do really like the way the scripts look, however. 

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On 8/2/2018 at 7:15 AM, Raptorman415 said:

I love this series.The home and away script for the A’s are a thing of beauty. 

On 8/2/2018 at 7:34 AM, coco1997 said:

The darker green definitely fits a Dallas-based A's team better, and the cowboy hat-wearing elephant is hilarious. I love the small changes with each of these different relocations and the attention to detail, but of course I would expect nothing less from you. 

On 8/2/2018 at 1:25 PM, TheBigBuc said:

Like the series so far

21 hours ago, NicDB said:

That entire Dallas throwback set is perfect.  And the Texas logo is a thing of beauty.

 

Thanks, guys!

 

21 hours ago, MJD7 said:

My favorite aspect of this iteration is the combining of the A’s classic identity with the Rangers’ western elements. I would maybe somehow try to lean into that more. I’m not sure how I feel about the warped scripts. Other than that, this looks great.

 

Thanks! I can see why the scripts might not be all that "western," even though traditional "western" fonts don't really mesh well with Old English (the one constant). I did prepare an "A's" and Old English script version.

 

whICT5C.png

 

16 hours ago, scottyeagle said:

Dallas is a miss for me.  The cowboy hat reads more as a panama or other flat-brimmed hat, especially with the sunglasses.  The DA mark doesn't fit together well and just looks clunky (more so than the Twins TC, which I know you're not a fan of), and I would pick one of the Western style fonts as opposed to having two slightly different ones.  I do really like the way the scripts look, however. 

 

Thanks, I'll incorporate these changes in the update.

 

3 hours ago, coco1997 said:

For the Chicago A's, I wonder if Charlie O. would have dressed them in Kelly green and orange, or even just Kelly green alone, to appeal to the South Side of Chicago's large Irish population. 

 

I'm definitely planning on kelly/white for the team, appropriating a bit of the White Sox's 1990 redesign into them.

 

Anyway, here is the update, with a new elephant logo that has a real cowboy hat (thanks @scottyeagle for the consult), a new "DA," and the Rangers' NOB font on the jerseys (for consistency).

 

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r6a4qcm.png NdkOa2x.png

 

Thanks for the C+C, and the next chapter of the A's relocation roundelay will be up soon!

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44 minutes ago, neo_prankster said:

I wouldn't be surprised if Colonel Sanders or Happy Chandler showed up to a game if the A's had moved to Louisville.

 

As for the other cities, the A's moving to Chicago and the White Sox getting the boot just seems to ridiculously insane, even on paper.

 

It was only considered because Charley O is from NW Indiana (metro Chicago) and he could be trusted not to concede Chicago to the NL.

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Thanks, guys! 

 

On 8/3/2018 at 5:54 PM, neo_prankster said:

I wouldn't be surprised if Colonel Sanders or Happy Chandler showed up to a game if the A's had moved to Louisville.

 

As for the other cities, the A's moving to Chicago and the White Sox getting the boot just seems to ridiculously insane, even on paper.

On 8/3/2018 at 6:40 PM, NicDB said:

 

It was only considered because Charley O is from NW Indiana (metro Chicago) and he could be trusted not to concede Chicago to the NL.

 

It totally sounded crazy to me as well. From my research, it seems that the A's would have rebranded as the White Sox and the original White Sox would have adopted a new identity. Since only one source mentioned it (an SB Nation article that hinted at a Chicago Tribune quote), I decided that the AL would have objected to that idea. Both teams had well-established brands, and a silly branding shake-up wasn't really an MLB policy at the time. So, the Seattle White Sox and Chicago Athletics will emerge!

 

On 8/4/2018 at 3:02 PM, DNAsports said:

If you're looking for eventual ideas:

 

Supposedly in 1975, 5 years after the Seattle Pilots were moved to Milwaukee, it almost caused the White Sox to move to Seattle and the Athletics to move to Chicago.

 

The Twins almost moved to North Carolina in 1997

On 8/5/2018 at 3:15 PM, neo_prankster said:

Was there any record of Lou Perini considering other cities before he decided to move the Braves to Milwaukee?

 

Also, don't forget how the St Louis Browns almost moved to LA in the early 1940's.

 

I've added these moves to the queue. As far as I'm aware, there was no evidence of other cities before Milwaukee (since the Braves had the territory rights to the area). I considered doing something for the Browns, but it was so far-fetched for the time (only one team on the west coast, for a sport played more frequently than football) that I tossed it out. I'd just use my AL Angels concept as a placeholder for the team.

 

Anyway, onward to one of the few cities in this series to not have a major league team!

 

LOUISVILLE ATHLETICS - Bourbon Beauty

 

After getting egg in his face over Dallas, Charlie O. Finley set his eyes on the open territory of Louisville, Kentucky in 1964. He went so far as to negotiate with the city about expanding the rinky-dink Fairgrounds Stadium to over 30,000 seats and plan out profit division for the venue.1 However, the AL once again told Finley that he couldn't move the team and that he had to resume the increasingly toxic lease negotiations with Kansas City. In other words, imagine the A's are Deandra Reynolds and the AL ownership is the car:

 

giphy.gif

 

However, what if his move went through? What if Charlie O. managed to restore major league baseball to Louisville?

 

For this one, I decided that while Charlie O. would have had the Kelly Green/Fort Knox Gold A's settle in Fairgrounds Stadium, various factors would lead to him selling the team by 1981. At that point, a local ownership group would try to put their stamp on the team. These new executives would want to "localize" the team a bit more and appeal to the club's history. Kelly and yellow would give way to Forest Green and Red, while cursive scripts would return to the identity. Connie Mack's elephant would also come back, via an update of a 1930 press pin

 

The color change was an outgrowth of my experience in the city. My dad is from the area, so I saw plenty of the city and its architecture. While Forest Green was a fantastic fit (Churchill Downs Green), yellow didn't work as well. Red, due to all of the lovely brick buildings throughout the city (and UofL) felt like a better match. Also, I really wanted to mix up the myriad of A's concepts in this series. Green/yellow gets boring after a while.

 

The modified 1930 press pin elephant (with the A's emblem) features in a diamond, with Fleur De Lis' taking the place of bases (save for home plate) and the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge at the bottom of the diamond. In a city famed for its bridges, this is my favorite of the bunch. This is partially due to my family ties to Jeffersonville and partially because I'm a sucker for a good cantilever design. The logo text uses Batesina Athletica, and highlights a 1901 founding date (franchise over city). The elephant alone is the tertiary.

 

2NLlVw8.png

 

The home and road set are a modification of my Expos design (for number font and sleeve striping), since the city's semi-French connections (named after Louis XVI by George Rogers Clark) permitted them. The current "Athletics" script returns, with a matching "Louisville" wordmark. The cap logos now have a faint red outline, while the hats also gain red bills (justified by the red in the primary logo and front numbers). The primary is on the sleeves. The sock stripes use a double w/r/w design.

 

KU0B9gj.png

 

The alternates include a red top with a matching cap. Said headwear has a red crown and green bill, with an Old English L, done up to not look like UofL's design. Both alternates feature the "A's" insignia, as an homage to Charlie O. and Connie Mack's designs.

 

y2kKFQN.png

 

The throwbacks reference the history of both the city and franchise. The first uniform is a Louisville Colonels-inspired design, with the FDL striping on a design that mimics the 19601938and 1927 designs. The "L" takes center stage, while the full elephant features on the sleeve. The socks are Red Sox-style, as an homage to the many years the city housed a Red Sox affiliate. The other one is my 1930 A's throwback, albeit with a different number font and a blue/white version of the updated 1930 elephant.

 

f2a5x2Y.png

 

The dugout jackets make full use of their respective color schemes, with the primary version using the "Louisville" script (for a bit of variety).

 

i1enBZA.png Xf28jiv.png

 

This one really let me mix things up with the team without going too far. While I'm not sure Louisville would ever work as a major league city, I'd like to think that this concept demonstrates how it could have looked fantastic. C+C is appreciated, as always!

 

Next up, we head to the Miller Valley!

 

1John E. Peterson, The Kansas City Athletics: A Baseball History, 1954–1967 (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2012), 184.

Edited by SFGiants58
Proofreading fixes
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