Hand-drawn baseball league (8/32)

[kcoslett17]

Hey everyone, this is the first time I'll be posting on the boards, so be easy on me. I have been working on-and-off on a hand-drawn baseball league for well over a year now. The league is broken down into two conferences, or leagues like in real baseball, that contain 4 divisions of 8 teams each. With this series, I really tried to a.) pick uncommon cities or cities that did not have an affiliated professional baseball team, b.) base team names on either a piece of that cities' history, culture, or some aspect of the city, and c.) make each team's identity sort of realistic and not totally out in left field with their jerseys and logos. I'll just be posting the logo sheet for each team, followed by home, away, and two alternate jerseys. Once this series is over, I might go back and do a few more alternate jerseys for some teams. I've been a looker on the boards for a long time, so I know that C+C is a huge aspect of these threads. That being said, I want as much as you guys are willing to give me, but I will probably not be doing any changes until I post a majority of the teams.

More on the actual league structure... Like I previously mentioned, its broken down into the Eastern and Western League. The Eastern League contains the Northeast Division, Great Lakes Division, Panhandle Division, and Mississippi River Division. The Western League contains the Pacific Division, Northwest Division, Great Plains Division, and Red River Division.

I will start with the Eastern League and kick things off with the Northeast Division. The first team I'll post is the first team I totally completed almost, if not more, than a year ago: the Utica Blue Sox. The Blue Sox were actually a professional baseball team in Utica that last played in 2001, but started in the 1930s. I thought bringing this team back would be a perfect start to my league, and I tried to modernize them while keeping the vintage feel as well. The "U" logo is a pretty simple logo, while the sock logo is heavily based on what the Blue Sox used to have as a logo. I added green as a secondary color to this team as a nod to the Utica Comets hockey team, and I was also trying to steer away from a red, white, and blue color scheme that was tempting to use. As far as the script goes, the plain green "Utica" script is simple but effective, and the "Blue Sox" script mimicks the one that was in use by the real team.

I gave the Sox some piping and Oriole-style hats. For those of you that are not fans of the Oriole-style hats, I apologize in advance for my use of them. The sleeves and trim on the home and away have blue and green piping, it's just kind of hard to see. But anyway, the blue jersey was designed to be used as both a home and road alternate jersey, and could be paired with either hat/helmet. The green jersey was designed primarily as a home alternate, so therefore will only be used with the home hat/helmet.

[Jabel777]

These look pretty good. One thing, though, is I don't think it is necessary to put "UTICA" in the sock. It might look better and more traditional without it. Good job for the most part!

[1insaneguy]

So far so good! I do agree with Jabel above. Take the Utica off the sock there.

[kcoslett17]

Thanks for the comments guys. I used the text in the logo because the old Blue Sox logo did, and I also liked the look of it. I'll definitely keep that in mind when I go back and make adjustments later on.

I want to move on with the series, and next up is the Worcester Whirlwinds. This seems like an unlikely nickname for a town in Massachusetts, but the nickname has meaning. Marshall Taylor was an African-American cyclist who won the world championship in 1899, becoming the second ever African-American champion in any sport. The local papers nicknamed him the "Worcester Whirlwind," and that is where the inspiration for this team came from. This is one team I know for sure that I will revisit with an alternate jersey or two, maybe a nod to the inspiration behind the name. I decided to not go the bicycle route with this identity because I have it planned for another team later on. I chose the red and green color scheme because those are the colors of the Worcester city flag and seal, and it worked well with the identity of the team. So, let me introduce the Worcester Whirlwinds.

I went the simplistic route with the jerseys, only using little piping and details. Like I said before, I plan on revisiting this team down the line and introducing one or two more jerseys and hats. The first two sets are the home and away, followed by the home alternate (white with "w") and the home or away green jersey.

[Blazersfan38]

Love that wordmark on the home uniform.

I, agree about taking the letters out of Utica's logo though.

[kcoslett17]

Past few days were pretty busy, but I will post the third team today: the Dover Racers. The nickname for this team seems pretty cliche and uncreative, but I wanted to take a more throwback approach to a team that could really have some modern elements. Dover is obviously known for their NASCAR track, and since it has been around since the late 60s, I felt the vintage look necessary. So, allow me to introduce the Dover Racers.

I used a vintage car text for the wordmarks, and I thought it would look cool as a primary wordmark for a baseball team.

Staying with the throwback feel of the logos, I made the jerseys simple. Since I had a brain fart when I was drawing these, I accidentally put the black alternate jersey on first instead of the home jersey. So, the home jersey is the top right, the away set is the bottom left, followed by the home/away red alternate, and the black home/away alternate. The red hat acts as the away and red alternate hat, the red hat with the "R" logo. Also, there is only one batting helmet with this set of jerseys to further push the throwback feel.

[Philsphan]

Looking good! The yellow really makes the wordmark and overall concept pop. Glad to have another hand-drawer here on the boards!

[TheGiantsFan]

Nice concepts here, from a fellow hand-drawer! Great jersey designs for each, and I especially like the Dover scripts. Keep it up, my friend!

One complaint, however: there seems to be no names on the backs of any of these jerseys.

[CyGuy5]

Just saw this thread, and it looks great! The Dover word mark and logo is great! It would be cool if you could somehow incorporate the tracks nickname, The Monster Mile, into the team somehow! Keep up the good work

[kcoslett17]

Thanks for the kind words guys, I really appreciate it! To answer some comments:

GiantsFan: The NOB are coming, but this first division I did seemed better off without names.

CyGuy: It didn't even occur ot me to incorporate the nickname into the team's identity. When I go back around and do some new alternate jerseys, I will without a doubt put that into consideration.

Moving on to the next team: the Atlantic City Gamblers. Atlantic City is a city that is kind of on the rebuild, both structurally and financially. I'm from NE Pennsylvania and I just went to AC for the first time last summer, and I thought the city could use something new... like a baseball team. Again, like the Racers, the nickname of Gamblers is kind of cliche, but I wanted to pick a name that would reflect what the city was built on. I wanted to keep the identity kind of modern but without going over the top. So, here are the Atlantic City Gamblers.

I made the "Gamblers" script a more modern and almost hand-written script. I thought it was an interesting break from the usual block-style scripts of other teams. The "Atlantic City" script is pretty simple. The roundel-style logo is supposed to look like a poker chip, and it serves as the primary logo. The spade logo is simple, and is almost necessary for a team named after gambling. The "AC" logo was modeled after the Rockies logo, although not directly.

I really think that the Gamblers were the team to introduce pinstripes into my series with, and I like the way they turned out. I went the Rockies route with the home jerseys, using the script for the primary and the "AC" logo for the home alternate. The road jersey has a black collar with black stripes on the sleeves. The black alternate jersey could technically be used as a home and away jersey, but is meant for a road jersey. Each jersey has a "DO AC" patch on the right sleeve in the team colors (mahogany and black), which is the new motto for the city.

The Gamblers conclude the Northeast Division. Once I get some comments on them, I'll continue with the Great Lakes Division. Hope you enjoy!

[Philsphan]

I like the overall concept and the pinstripes turned out well, but I think the AC in the poker chip is a little too simple. In the future, try to experiment more with your wordmarks. I'll think you'll be even happier with the end product. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to the Great Lakes Division.

[kcoslett17]

Philsphan: Thanks for the comment. I agree that maybe the logos were a little too simple, but because I am trying to make these teams more realistic I think they work. I do plan on going back and maybe making an alternate for the team, so I could definitely make a different logo, too.

I'll continue the series with the Great Lakes Division. The first team I'll put up is the Duluth Captains. Historically, Duluth was built on its shipping industry. At one point, it was largest port city in America. So, to reflect on this part of the city's history, I decided to name the team the Captains.

I really like how the main script came out with the lighthouse taking the place of the "i". I wish there was a fancy explanation as to why I picked the color scheme, but I honestly just liked the way they meshed together. The "D" logo is just a simple cursive letter, but I think it contrasts nicely with the wordmark. The steering wheel logo is obviously a nod to the ships used for shipping.

The jerseys were some of my favorite I've done so far. I love the wordmark on the home jersey, and I chose to go Dodgers-style with the numbers just to mix it up. I'm a big fan of the 09-13 Red Sox away jerseys that were basically blue and grey, so I went that route on the away jersey with brown and grey. The alternate jerseys are some of my favorite as well. The blue jersey might be my favorite jersey I've done to date, and the brown jersey is a close second. Let me know what you all think!

[Philsphan]

Yeah the jerseys really look fantastic! The blue alternate is my favorite so far too. My only suggestions would be to color in "Duluth" in the wordmark logo. Make it brown to match the wordmark on the home whites.

Also, on second thought, I think you are right about Atlantic City. The simplicity works.

[JakeTheLogoMaker]

Will you be drawing stadiums as well?

[gésier123]

If Duluth Captains was a real team i'll bought a jersey in a minute lol . I always loved maritime themed logo

[CyGuy5]

The captains look great! Love how you incorporated the lighthouse into the uniforms! Great job again!

[kcoslett17]

Sorry for the gap in posting here, got a little busy. Just a refresher... the Northeast Division is already done, and the Great Lakes Division was started with the Duluth Captains. The next team I'm posting is the Lafayette Generals. Lafayette is a city in Indiana that is named after Union General Lafayette, so the team kind of named itself.

The script is pretty straightforward, nothing too different. I didn't want to get crazy with a team that's named after a Civil War general. The city/road script, however, is different. I based it on the vintage Cubs script with the underline, and I think it turned out really good. The "G" logo is a letter G with a dress epaulet, or gold shoulder thing that generals wore. The star logo is also pretty simple but is an effective alternate logo.

The uniform set as a whole is one of my favorites so far. The blue and gold contrast really well on the home and away jersey. Now, completely contradicting myself from the scripts, I took my first real risk with the home alternate jersey. I wanted to model it after a general's coat, so I used the epaulets as part of the jersey on the sleeves. The pants are supposed to have a wide stripe on them, meant to resemble military pants. I thought about making an 80s style jersey with the full sleeve and side stripes, but I think this worked better. The away/blue alternate is also one of my favorite jerseys I've done so far. I think the yellow piping pops really well on the blue jersey. Let me know what you guys think! I'm hoping to get more C+C on this team and others before I continue. Thanks!

[kcoslett17]

Bump for C+C on the Generals and other teams...

[kcoslett17]

Alright, well I took a good break from this series to get the juices flowing again, so I'm going to continue with the third team in the Great Lakes Division. Introducing the Oshkosh Sawdusters.

The uniforms:

The piping is supposed to look the edge of a chainsaw or sawblade, also the "Loggers" home alternate is a throwback.

[kansas sports fan]

I really like the home uniform for Oshkosh. It flows really well from the red to the silver to the wordmark to the white. Is "Loggers" like a really well-known well-used nickname for the sawdusters or is there another reason why you put loggers on a sawdustersuniform?

EDIT: Just the chainsaw blade piping. That's Awesome.