What are some of the most major-league caliber minor league team names?

[Gothamite]

11 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

While the B in that logo is the classic Dodger logo, the mismatched C ruins it, and makes the whole thing a big mess.  

 

The team should have chosen a C that harmonises better with the B.  For inspiration I look to the cap logo of the Kansas City A's.

 

 

I hate using the nickname initial, which is why I don't buy Brooklyn Cyclones caps.  But if they are to do it, I think deliberately mismatching is the way to go. 

 

Its not like "Kansas City" where both letters are part of the initials. One is the city, one is the nickname, and I really like the juxtoposition of the two styles to reflect that.  

 

 

I like it it a lot less when they match the colors, for just that reason.  

 

[Digby]

 

I've always loved the Portland Sea Dogs brand and I'm glad they haven't succumbed to the temptation to change everything every three years just to sell hats. Perfect for the city. Even minor additions, like a new alternate logo cap with the state of Maine, have been excellent.

 

[4_tattoos]

As far as Arena Football teams went, this was easily my favorite team name and general branding.

 

[-Akronite-]

On 4/29/2017 at 11:56 AM, 4_tattoos said:

As far as Arena Football teams went, this was easily my favorite team name and general branding.

 

 

So they're using the name Avengers but have an X-Men silver X in their logo? What gives?

[BurdBranding]

4 hours ago, -Akronite- said:

 

So they're using the name Avengers but have an X-Men silver X in their logo? What gives?

Because ten seasons

[Gothamite]

On 4/29/2017 at 11:56 AM, 4_tattoos said:

As far as Arena Football teams went, this was easily my favorite team name and general branding.

 

 

What is that helmet supposed to be?  That seems so-very-90s, self-consciously cool with lots of angles and points that don't make much sense. 

 

It's also kind of a silly name for a sports team.  Sounds cool, but think about it for a few seconds and you realize it's purely reactive.  What exactly are they avenging? Silly name for a comic book team too, which is why the film tries a tortured justification.

[nash61]

2 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

What is that helmet supposed to be?  That seems so-very-90s, self-consciously cool with lots of angles and points that don't make much sense. 

 

It's also kind of a silly name for a sports team.  Sounds cool, but think about it for a few seconds and you realize it's purely reactive.  What exactly are they avenging? Silly name for a comic book team too, which is why the film tries a tortured justification.

Looks like a Roman god helmet, similar to this one on Mercury

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

On 4/29/2017 at 11:56 AM, 4_tattoos said:

As far as Arena Football teams went, this was easily my favorite team name and general branding.

 

 

3 hours ago, Gothamite said:

What is that helmet supposed to be?  That seems so-very-90s, self-consciously cool with lots of angles and points that don't make much sense. 

 

It's also kind of a silly name for a sports team.  Sounds cool, but think about it for a few seconds and you realize it's purely reactive.  What exactly are they avenging? Silly name for a comic book team too, which is why the film tries a tortured justification.

 

53 minutes ago, nash61 said:

Looks like a Roman god helmet, similar to this one on Mercury

 

 

I think that the Avengers' identity was solid, even if their uniforms weren't as good as their logo and wordmark.  (Arena Football uniforms tend to be very bad.)

 

I think the best look/identity/name combination from Arena Football was that of the Arizona Rattlers, back in the Bonner/Cooper days.

 

 

    

 

That R logo is superb.  The nickname (which predates the Diamondbacks) is great both in terms of meaning and sound.  And the colours were awesome.  This team even wore italicised numbers well, perhaps the only team about whom I can say that.

All around, a very professional look -- except for when they wore monochrome black, in keeping with the very unfortunate monochrome trend that began in Arena Football and is now seeping into the NFL.

[VancouverFan69]

On 4/28/2017 at 10:19 AM, Scratcher said:

Vancouver Canadians

 

110% agree. And the C's have a major league caliber logo too.

 

 

[RichO]

It's names that have local flavor and aren't hokey as hell that are the most "major league" sounding. County or region identifiers are also pretty much automatically minor league sounding (Inland Empire, Kane County, etc).

 

So in AAA baseball that takes out the IronPigs, Storm Chasers, Baby Cakes, River Cats, Chihuahuas, Isotopes, and RailRiders (if only SWB just went back to Red Barons). That's actually a pretty good hit rate.

 

Things start to get more minor league sounding in AA. Most of the Eastern League is out, except for the Senators and Altoona Curve.

The Southern League is strong- Barons, Lookouts, and Smokies, are classics and even Shuckers works. The Texas League is also strong, except the RockHounds.

 

What's tough is where names like Toledo Mud Hens and Asheville Tourists fit. In some ways they're quintessential minor league names, but they're also ancient embedded baseball names for their cities which elevates them.

[IceBurgs70]

Homer pick: San Antonio Missions

 

[leopard88]

1 hour ago, RichO said:

What's tough is where names like Toledo Mud Hens and Asheville Tourists fit. In some ways they're quintessential minor league names, but they're also ancient embedded baseball names for their cities which elevates them.

 

That's a good point, especially regarding the Mud Hens.  If a new team named itself the Toledo Mud Hens, we would all think it sounded just as ridiculous as Baby Cakes or IronPigs or the Binghamton name that I've thankfully repressed for the moment.

[RichO]

2 hours ago, leopard88 said:

 

That's a good point, especially regarding the Mud Hens.  If a new team named itself the Toledo Mud Hens, we would all think it sounded just as ridiculous as Baby Cakes or IronPigs or the Binghamton name that I've thankfully repressed for the moment.

 

Makes me wonder how long a team has to stay committed before a name goes from hokey to venerable.

 

The Portland Sea Dogs and Charleston RiverDogs have been around since the early to mid 90s. Still corny.

 

If there had been Portland Sea Dogs since the 60s? It probably seems more like an institution.

 

Then again, if Wichita Falls, TX was still home to the Spudders, I don't know that it'd ever not seem hokey.

 

 

 

 

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

3 minutes ago, RichO said:

Makes me wonder how long a team has to stay committed before a name goes from hokey to venerable.

 

The Portland Sea Dogs and Charleston RiverDogs have been around since the early to mid 90s. Still corny.

 

If there had been Portland Sea Dogs since the 60s? It probably seems more like an institution.

 

Then again, if Wichita Falls, TX was still home to the Spudders, I don't know that it'd ever not seem hokey.

 

The colourful expression "sea dog" goes back hundreds of years.  I wouldn't call the name "Sea Dogs" hokey or corny.  It is no cornier than "Buccaneers". 

[leopard88]

1 hour ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

The colourful expression "sea dog" goes back hundreds of years.  I wouldn't call the name "Sea Dogs" hokey or corny.  It is no cornier than "Buccaneers". 

 

Did it refers to seals (as in the logo) back then or just salty old sailors?

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

3 hours ago, leopard88 said:

5 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

The colourful expression "sea dog" goes back hundreds of years.  I wouldn't call the name "Sea Dogs" hokey or corny.  It is no cornier than "Buccaneers". 

 

3 hours ago, leopard88 said:

Did it refers to seals (as in the logo) back then or just salty old sailors?

 

The term "sea dog" means "old sailor"; it is similar to the terms "old salt" and "salty dog".

 

I know that the team's logo is a seal.  But I'm not sure that this means that they are asserting that the term "salty dog" actually means "seal".  I think the seal is just their mascot, just as the Cleveland Browns use a bulldog mascot and the Pittsburgh Pirates use a parrot mascot.

[KittSmith_95]

The Saint John Sea Dogs also use a seal as their logo. Seals are referred to by people as Dogs of the Sea. So the name makes sense. 

 

I have an odd choice, and it's not a homer pick: The Columbus Cottonmouths of the SPHL. 

 

 

 

[BJ Sands]

Charlotte Knights is probably the most "major league" of all minor league identities.

 

 

[Gothamite]

The name, absolutely.

 

The uniforms, somewhat less so.

 

The logos, not really.

[leopard88]

I would love to see them do some sort of homage to "The Natural".  I know they're not the New York Knights, but they could still have some fun with this.