Cleveland Napoleons Baseball

[MJWalker45]

Since Chief Wahoo is being sent to the bench after this year I thought I'd go back to the Indians past to come up with an identity going forward. Most people say Spiders is perfect, forgetting that the one thing the Spiders were best known for was having the worst record in National League history. The Tribe have been known as the Blues and Naps. Since Naps was derived from newly acquired Napolean LaJoie I went with the full name Napoleons as it would show that the team's ambition is to still dominate the American League, even if they routinely punched above their weight most seasons. 

 

Primary logo

 

Cap logo

 

 

 

[Whittier S]

I like that you've taken on this particular challenge. That said, though you've created a fantastic illustration, it's far too detailed to be a logo. Also, it should be spelt "Napoleons."

[MJWalker45]

19 hours ago, Whittier S said:

I like that you've taken on this particular challenge. That said, though you've created a fantastic illustration, it's far too detailed to be a logo. Also, it should be spelt "Napoleons."

Good catch, I'll have to go back and fix that. As far as too detailed, I actually had to strip it down a bit from the original picture to get to where it is now. The face was especially a pain since old photos don't bring out facial features as cleanly as HRD cameras can. As far as a sleeve patch the upper torso inside the C is what I had created but I used a different font before going with this one. I added the arrowhead as a reminder of the Indians name and to make the sleeve application easier when using the skinnier C.

[neo_prankster]

I love it.

[FightingGoldenDevil]

Isn't naps a racial slur as well? I could be wrong but it sounds like one

[MJWalker45]

24 minutes ago, FightingGoldenDevil said:

Isn't naps a racial slur as well? I could be wrong but it sounds like one

Naps was short for Napoleons which was the name of the best player on the team. I'd expect the team to say Napoleons at all times though. I also just had the though of the team calling themselves the Earls in honor of Earl Averill. They could come up with a logo based on Moses Cleveland.

[BigRed618]

That’s not a bad idea, actually. Napoleons, or Naps for short. I’m not too sold on the logo, though. A photo-realistic image of a ball player doesn’t seem that exciting to me. A name like Napoleons should come with more flash, a little quirkiness, something so cool even people from outside Cleveland would want to buy and wear it.

[SFGiants58]

While I get where you’re coming from and I want to like it, there are significant flaws in the concept.

 

1. “Napoleons” is too long for a baseball team. If you don’t want the “Naps” nickname, go back to the drawing board. It should be two syllables, for writing on a jersey and for singing (tip: if “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” sounds awkward with the team name/nickname, start over).

 

2. When we hear the name “Napoleon,” we think of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France or the phrase “Napoleon Complex.” Almost nobody outside of Cleveland would think about a really good Deadball-Era player/manager.

 

3. The illustration logo would be terrible for branding. Either go for the cartoony style or a Blackhawks-style profile for Lajoie. The arrowhead might be ok, but it makes little sense for a new brand. The “C” you have in the latest update is also a downgrade from their current logo.

 

I totally get where you’re coming from, but it’s just a bad idea all around to name the team after an obscure player and to use an outdated logo style. There’s potential, but it needs refinement and/or a reboot.

[FUNKAFIED]

6 hours ago, FightingGoldenDevil said:

Isn't naps a racial slur as well? I could be wrong but it sounds like one

I think you are thinking of "Nip" which is a WWII-era slur toward Japanese.  It evolved from Nippon, the Japanese name for the country.