MLB: The Defunct Saga - Bibliography Added

[CaptainKirkMN]

I like these sets!  As you pointed out, the wordmark logos do a good job of imitating their Boston and Milwaukee counterparts.  I do wish that the cap insignia also matched the style of the Boston and Atlanta insignias-the block M sticks out a sore thumb.  I'm not sure how well it would work, but it seems like it would be simple to adapt the M from the Milwaukee wordmark.

[SFGiants58]

On 8/17/2018 at 8:47 AM, Carolingian Steamroller said:

I really dig what's going on with the Brewers. The shade of grey/blue on the roads is perfect! The Owgust is terrific and the little hint of gold is a great callback to the Braves. 

 

One minor tweak is to shrink the tail on the script a touch. 

 

Aside from that it looks great!

 

Side note: I was a Junior at Marquette when the whole Marquette Gold fiasco went down. I voted for Hilltoppers in the poll they ran for a new name. 

 

Thanks! It was an easy translation. I'm shrinking the tail in an upcoming update.

 

I attended Marquette for grad school for the past few years, so I'm familiar with the story. I would have voted Hilltoppers as well, if only to find out what the mascot would have been.

 

On 8/17/2018 at 1:31 PM, CaptainKirkMN said:

I like these sets!  As you pointed out, the wordmark logos do a good job of imitating their Boston and Milwaukee counterparts.  I do wish that the cap insignia also matched the style of the Boston and Atlanta insignias-the block M sticks out a sore thumb.  I'm not sure how well it would work, but it seems like it would be simple to adapt the M from the Milwaukee wordmark.

 

Thanks! I can see where you're coming from with the "cursive M," but I thought that it looked downright awful compared to the "B" and the "A:"

 

 

While it does sort of read as an "M" on its own, it doesn't carry the same heft as the cursive B or A. Also, the "block M" has the history of the American Association Brewers and the 1957 Braves behind it, so I felt like I had to use it (albeit with a slight modernization).

 

On 8/17/2018 at 10:10 AM, coco1997 said:

It's hard to imagine the Brewers in anything other than some form of blue/gold, but this looks great. The gold wheat stalks on the roundel really stand out.

 

This whole series has been a Brewers fan's dream come true!

On 8/17/2018 at 11:34 AM, MJD7 said:

The Br(aves)ewers look nice! I’d never seen that AA look before, but it fits well within the set. I also like the powder blue tinted road.

 

Thanks, guys!

 

Anyway, here's the next flavor!

 

MILWAUKEE BREWERS, PT. II - Riverwest (several miles away) Stein

 

For the next entry, let's suppose that the Br(aves)ewers went a bit further in changing up their identity. I originally wanted to use Blatz's brown/gold color scheme (a @NicDB suggestion), but I figured that it wouldn't have really fit with the AA Brewers or the Boston Braves' aesthetic. I assumed that the team would look to the different breweries in the area (County Stadium/Miller Park are in the Miller Valley, after all) for inspiration, building upon the different aspects of their graphic design. I know that the Lakefront Brewery image is far more modern than the others, but it exhibits a similar aesthetic:

 

 

Shades of blue, red, and gold tie all of them together. So, the Milwaukee NL club would shake up their color balance, swapping red and yellow-gold for each other while further emphasizing navy. They would also change up the scripts to use Miller-like underlines (replacing the tomahawk), while featuring a Blatz (a sponsor of the Milwaukee Braves) -like extension on the "B" and the thick gold outlines/script use of the Schlitz rhombus. Pabst's influence would appear in the presence of red accents. This would all produce a classy identity for the now-Brewers, as they'd establish themselves as Milwaukee's team with a Milwaukee-an color scheme.

 

The roundel is now a beer bottle cap, inspired by this graphic (and similar ones). It would be a modernization of an older design, like the Buffalo Bisons' bottle cap. Owgust remains (albeit recolored with an Athletic Gold "M" - the leaf would be impossible to render at that size), while the Project 32 "M-leaf" returns. This would be the result of a 1980s/90s modernization, trying to evade Michigan comparisons. TribeType remains as the block font for the roundel/lettermark.

 

Edit (11/10/19): I have adjusted the Owgust design, per @Gothamite's suggestions. Also, per @MJD7's C+C, I promoted the athletic gold-billed cap to primary, removed the navy-only cap, and added an athletic gold front-paneled alternate cap for the yellow and Sunday alternates. Here are the originals: Logo sheet, home and road uniforms, home and road alternates, Sunday/Borchert Field alternates, main dugout jacket, and Borchert Field dugout jacket.

 

 

The home and road uniforms are a bit of a "best of" for my different Brewers' concepts. I modified the Project 32 scripts to feature underlines instead of tails (still with the American Association-style left terminal), while also using extended strokes on the capital letters (the Blatz touch). The underlines feature a red streak, to both emulate the local breweries' use of the color and to add a little detail to the design, like the Braves' yellow tomahawk stitches. The number font is MLB Block with Serifs, featuring a "Packers-style notch on the "5." I kept the Braves' striping pattern, with the slight modification of a one-color Northwestern Stripe. The placket added some heft to the design.

 

 

The alternates play a bit more with the color scheme. The Athletic Gold jersey features a gold-billed cap, while the Light Navy (282 C, like my Sens/Nats concept) top features the "M" logo. In order to add a dash of red back into the design (because it's not on the insignia), I used y/r/y trim. It's a bit of an old St. Louis Blues trick, but I think it works here (not having white and using navy helps). The primary is on the sleeve.

 

Edit (11/10/19): The gold-billed cap is now a gold-paneled cap, with the all-navy cap removed.

 

 

The next set of alts pairs the alternate cap with the home uniform, while also bringing back the "Borchert Field" set (based off of their 1948 American Association home uniforms).

 

 

The primary jacket features the "Brewers" script, while also using shoulder inserts to emulate the streak. The primary logo is on the back. The Borchert Field jacket now features the "M" insignia, akin to the AA Brewers' vintage jackets (am I the only one who thinks that it's weird that I'm pairing the acronym "AA" with the Brewers so often?).

 

 

 

While I normally don't like combining all three primary colors, doing so here allowed me to give a unique spin on the Brewers/former Braves. It pays tribute to both the club's history and city's baseball/aesthetic traditions. C+C is appreciated, as always!

 

 

Up next, we check in with Charlie O. on his quest to escape Kansas City!

[coco1997]

So many fantastic variations on the Brew Crew! 

[vtgco]

Those Part 2 Braves-Brewers are amazing! I love the color hierarchy, the script is great, and the bottle cap Owgust logo is perfect! Great work!

[MJD7]

This Brewers set is great! I like the color distribution a whole lot more than the Braves version, and all the brewery imagery is inspired. If the Braves franchise stayed in Milwaukee but rebranded as the Brewers, this would be an ideal identity for them. My only suggestion is that I think the gold-brimmed hat could be the primary home option, to give it a bit of that extra Braves flair.

[The_Admiral]

Roundel as bottle cap is inspired and well done, nice touch. If you're not too married to TribeType, which is a nice sports font, I wonder what the closest thing to the old lettering on the side of County Stadium might be:

 

 

I know the Brewers have used Clarendon for throwbacky stuff in the past, but that's not it there.

EDIT: hm, the Brewers still to this day have a travel advisory station at 1180 AM, who knew.

[MilSox]

I definitely enjoyed the evolution of the AA Brewers, can't say I'm feeling that last Brewers concept though.  Perhaps that's where you should go more gold than yellow.  Tulsa and the WLAF's London Monarchs have had some good looks over the years in those colors, but I can't say I recall a baseball team pulling it off.
 

On 8/17/2018 at 6:49 PM, SFGiants58 said:

For the next entry, let's suppose that the Br(aves)ewers went a bit further in changing up their identity. I originally wanted to use Blatz's brown/gold color scheme (a @NicDB suggestion), but I figured that it wouldn't have really fit with the AA Brewers or the Boston Braves' aesthetic. I assumed that the team would look to the different breweries in the area (County Stadium/Miller Park are in the Miller Valley, after all) for inspiration, building upon the different aspects of their graphic design. I know that the Lakefront Brewery image is far more modern than the others, but it exhibits a similar aesthetic:

Well, in my alt universe, it was also the Browns who moved to Milwaukee, not the Braves.  The Blatz story also gave me an excuse to change the Brewers to blue when Pabst took over sponsorship in the 1970s (as they did with the real life Brewers).

[Carolingian Steamroller]

That Brewers set looks impossibly good. 

 

I have no comments. 

[Dalcowboyfan92]

That's such a beautiful Brewers set. The colors mesh so well together; and while its not the beautiful baby blue-yellow combination that the "ball-in-glove" Brewers made famous; I think this set would've made a logical sense for Milwaukee, and would've been a treat to see on the field.

[SFGiants58]

On 8/17/2018 at 10:17 PM, coco1997 said:

So many fantastic variations on the Brew Crew! 

On 8/17/2018 at 10:31 PM, vtgco said:

Those Part 2 Braves-Brewers are amazing! I love the color hierarchy, the script is great, and the bottle cap Owgust logo is perfect! Great work!

 

Thanks, guy! I had a lot of fun producing it and taking influence from both the Braves and the Brewers (former Pilots).

 

On 8/17/2018 at 10:55 PM, MJD7 said:

This Brewers set is great! I like the color distribution a whole lot more than the Braves version, and all the brewery imagery is inspired. If the Braves franchise stayed in Milwaukee but rebranded as the Brewers, this would be an ideal identity for them. My only suggestion is that I think the gold-brimmed hat could be the primary home option, to give it a bit of that extra Braves flair.

 

Thanks! I tried it with the gold bill, but I thought that the uniform didn't have enough yellow-gold to make it work on both home and the road.

 

 

On 8/17/2018 at 10:59 PM, the admiral said:

Roundel as bottle cap is inspired and well done, nice touch. If you're not too married to TribeType, which is a nice sports font, I wonder what the closest thing to the old lettering on the side of County Stadium might be:

 

 

I know the Brewers have used Clarendon for throwbacky stuff in the past, but that's not it there.

EDIT: hm, the Brewers still to this day have a travel advisory station at 1180 AM, who knew.

 

Thank you. That font is City Bold:

 

 

This is a pretty decent font, but I don't know if I like it more than TribeType. I'm keeping it in mind for future concepts, that's for sure (another Milwaukee team, maybe?).

 

On 8/19/2018 at 2:15 AM, NicDB said:

I definitely enjoyed the evolution of the AA Brewers, can't say I'm feeling that last Brewers concept though.  Perhaps that's where you should go more gold than yellow.  Tulsa and the WLAF's London Monarchs have had some good looks over the years in those colors, but I can't say I recall a baseball team pulling it off.
 

Well, in my alt universe, it was also the Browns who moved to Milwaukee, not the Braves.  The Blatz story also gave me an excuse to change the Brewers to blue when Pabst took over sponsorship in the 1970s (as they did with the real life Brewers).

 

Thanks! The metallic gold looks pretty decent, but I really prefer yellow-gold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, I’m sorry about misinterpreting your story. This is what happens when you glance over something lightly. Still, I’m thinking it’ll make for a fun update (historical scenarios creating different identities?).

 

On 8/19/2018 at 8:41 AM, Carolingian Steamroller said:

That Brewers set looks impossibly good. 

 

I have no comments. 

 

Thank you! I've also got the smaller tail update for the Braves-style version ready:

 

 

 

 

On 8/20/2018 at 8:18 AM, Dalcowboyfan92 said:

That's such a beautiful Brewers set. The colors mesh so well together; and while its not the beautiful baby blue-yellow combination that the "ball-in-glove" Brewers made famous; I think this set would've made a logical sense for Milwaukee, and would've been a treat to see on the field.

 

Thanks! I like the royal/yellow as well, but I do have to admit that navy/yellow/powder and navy/yellow/red are both compelling options.

 

The "Reaction to Braves"-Athletics concepts should be up soon!

[neo_prankster]

Nice job once again!

[The_Admiral]

I don't think that's City on the County Stadium wall. The bottom serif of the T is too big and the R has a diagonal line instead of a right angle. No matter.

[MilSox]

1 hour ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

Also, I’m sorry about misinterpreting your story. This is what happens when you glance over something lightly. Still, I’m thinking it’ll make for a fun update (historical scenarios creating different identities?).

 

I just don't understand how you could have neglected such an important detail of no consequence in a story that never happened. 

[coco1997]

I'm surprised how much I'm liking that Brewers concept in navy and metallic gold. Goes to show that new scripts would really go a long way toward making the current Brewers set more palatable. 

[irkentier]

Any chance we'll see an Indiana relocation / aborted expansion in here somewhere? 

[SFGiants58]

On 8/21/2018 at 2:43 PM, neo_prankster said:

Nice job once again!

 

Thanks!

 

On 8/21/2018 at 2:46 PM, the admiral said:

I don't think that's City on the County Stadium wall. The bottom serif of the T is too big and the R has a diagonal line instead of a right angle. No matter.

 

Well, I figured it was close enough, especially when comparing it to signage across County Stadium. 

 

 

Yeah, it's either City Bold modified or some other font. 

 

On 8/21/2018 at 3:58 PM, NicDB said:

I just don't understand how you could have neglected such an important detail of no consequence in a story that never happened. 

 

Ha! 

 

On 8/21/2018 at 5:46 PM, coco1997 said:

I'm surprised how much I'm liking that Brewers concept in navy and metallic gold. Goes to show that new scripts would really go a long way toward making the current Brewers set more palatable. 

 

Thanks! The color scheme isn't beyond saving, unlike the script fonts and Times New Roman number font.

 

On 8/22/2018 at 1:43 PM, irkentier said:

Any chance we'll see an Indiana relocation / aborted expansion in here somewhere? 

 

Well, shoot off an arrow for that! [/foreshadowing] 

 

Anyway, it's time for the further adventures of Charlie O. Finley! 

 

 

ATLANTA + MILWAUKEE ATHLETICS - A Brave Response

 

Charlie O.'s long desire to leave Kansas City has been well-documented in this thread. This is a series of developments connected to the Braves relocation from Milwaukee to Atlanta. Finley wanted to move to Atlanta in 1964 during a rather bitter series of lease negotiations (for which the Atlanta city officials would expand Ponce de Leon Park, before the construction of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). However, the AL turned him down for fears of travel costs.¹ Following the Braves' move to Atlanta, the Schlitz Brewing Company wanted to move the team to Milwaukee and take a majority stake in the team (51%). Charlie O. would only offer 49%, so the deal fell through.² However, what if one of these deals went through?

 

ATLANTA ATHLETICS - Resurgens of the A

 

Let's assume that the Atlanta deal went through, with Charlie O. moving the team to the city. The team has their early-70s successes, but Finley sells the team to Ted Turner at some point during the '70s-'80s. Realizing that he had a strong brand on his hands, he doesn't do much to it. When the 1987 "retro revival" came around, the team darkens their green shade and modernizes bits of the team's history (e.g., the 1920s-30s "A" jerseys, the Kansas City script-style for the road uniforms, and the double placket stripes of the 1950 jerseys). The Northwestern Stripe pattern (meant to tie in with the Falcons) and gold billed-cap remain from Finley's uniforms, for a bit of colorfulness.

 

One notable shift in the Atlanta A's identity is the absence of the "apostrophe s." Both Finley and Turner argued that the "A" could stand for both "Athletics" and "Atlanta," so it stuck. The second prominent alternation is the lack of an elephant in the post-1987 identity. The Atlanta Athletics would be playing in Atlanta, where there would be overlap with UGA fans. The elephant is a semi-official symbol of one of the Bulldog's conference enemies, the Crimson Tide. Therefore, the white elephant gave way to a white-hot phoenix, a civic symbol of Atlanta (because of the city's post-Civil War resurgence). Since I couldn't use red on the design, I added a bit more yellow to the overall look of the uniforms.

 

The phoenix comes from my Atlanta Firebirds concept, with a few more flames from the Calgary Flames' "sinus infection horse." The phoenix rises up from a ball with the "A" insignia, which also appears as a secondary. The tertiary is a retro design, which updates the 1960s-'70s primary logo(s). Rockwell Condensed is the wordmark font.

 

 

The home and road uniforms feature a few Braves-style touches, such as Wilson Varsity numbers and arched NOBs. Contrast-colored front numbers add a bit more yellow to the identity. Like with several other A's concepts I've done, the insignia is on the home uniform while the city name script resides on the road jersey. The phoenix is on the sleeve, while the white-yellow-white Northwestern Stripes are on the socks.

 

 

The alternates include a yellow-gold "Athletics" jersey. The green alternate includes Northwestern Stripes on the sleeves (the 1983-93 Giants used something similar). It's a way to homage the stripes of the "Swingin' A's" uniforms.

 

 

Much like the Braves with Royal Blue, the A's would see the marketing potential of their Kelly Green period. They'd use two alternates, the first coming from the 1960s. It features an "Atlanta" version of the 1968 "Oakland" wordmark. The 1970s-style alt takes the 1972 green jersey (from the first of the 1970s three-peat  - complete with Expos-style front numbers), with some slight modifications to fit with the Atlanta setting. These include white stripes on the Northwestern Stripe, Wilson Varisty numbers, and the dropping of the "apostrophe s." A gold-billed cap appears on both uniforms.

 

 

The dugout jackets highlight the striping pattern, with "Athletics" on the primary and "A" for the throwbacks.

 

 

 

The Milwaukee equivalent will be up tonight.

 

¹John E. Peterson, The Kansas City Athletics: A Baseball History, 1954–1967 (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2012), 178-80.

²Ibid, 254.

[coco1997]

Wow, I had no idea the A's to Atlanta was ever a possibility. Love just about everything about this set, especially the phoenix and "Atlanta" script! 

[SFGiants58]

On 8/25/2018 at 7:24 PM, coco1997 said:

Wow, I had no idea the A's to Atlanta was ever a possibility. Love just about everything about this set, especially the phoenix and "Atlanta" script! 

 

Thanks! A lot of this series was news to me when I set out researching it. It was good to refine the old Firebirds concept and do more script modification.

 

Anyway, it's time to Milwaukee the A's up!

 

MILWAUKEE ATHLETICS - Packing a Cartoonish Punch

 

Whenever the topic of "civic" color schemes and/or diversifying MLB's color schemes comes up, one of the most common tricks is to have Forest Green/Athletic Gold for Wisconsin/the Brewers. While it does look good for the Brewers (@Lights Out made a good one, as did @Section30 in his series), I'm not that big of a fan of it. Navy/royal has such a long history with Milwaukee's baseball teams (as well as with the city's civic identity), that I can't really justify a switch-over to green. The only condition that would justify a green/yellow baseball in Milwaukee for me would be if the A's had moved to Milwaukee instead of the Pilots. 

 

Let's assume that Schlitz had purchased the A's and taken the majority share from Charlie O. Finley. With majority control, Schlitz would see the potential of co-branding the team with the Packers (who played a few games at County Stadium each year at the time). They would darken Charlie O.'s green, while also implementing Brashier Stripes on the pants, socks (the full pattern), and (eventually) the sleeves. Schlitz also shot down Finley's idea for white cleats, because a board member thought they looked "show-y." At the time of the 1987 redesign, the team would incorporate stylistic elements from the American Association Brewers, which included their script styles and cartoon mascot. 

 

Connie Mack's white elephant undergoes a transformation for Milwaukee. Stomper is now a cartoon logo, which is a modified version of the Lehigh Valley IronPig's bat-swinging logo. I simplified the details, while adding an elephant head with the team cap (with elements inspired by elephants and  cartoon  versions). I'd like to give a shoutout to @MJD7 for consulting on the logo. Stomper resides in a roundel, with the Carton font for the wordmarks. I'm honestly surprised that the A's have never really had a bat swinging cartoon logo. The full-body version is the tertiary. The "A's" insignia has an Old English "M" accompanying it.

 

EDIT: I redid the "M" to better resemble a proper Old English "M" instead of Liebe's font approximation, per @coco1997's suggestion. Here is the original graphic. Here is a comparison for the both the "M" and "Milwaukee" script.

 

 

The home and road set feature the scripts, contrast-colored font numbers (the same font as the ex-Browns version of the Brewers), and a powder blue-tinted road grey. Stomper is on the sleeves. The gold bills remain on both hats, due to the amount of Athletic Gold on the uniforms. I opted to use green cleats instead of white, for a less "show-y" look.

 

EDIT: The image has been updated to include the new "Milwaukee" script. Here is a link to the original.

 

 

 

The alternates feature the "A's" insignia, with the green jersey featuring the primary logo and an all-green cap with the Old English "M."

 

EDIT: The Old English "M" cap now features the new "M." Here is a link to the first edition.

 

 

The other alternates include an Athletic Gold-heavy "Cream City" alternate with the "M" insignia (a la the 1911-37 American Association Brewers) and a Forest Green/Athletic Gold version of the mid-late 1960s vests, albeit with the new font. I made a Wisconsin version of the 1960s-'70s primaries/press pins with the Brewers' old Wisconsin logo.

EDIT: The "M" is now the updated version. This link is to the original concept.

 

 

The dugout jackets feature the new logos, with the insignia on the primary's chest and the script on the alternate. Given the script's resemblance to the AA Brewers' script, I'd argue that it fits on the throwback-style outerwear. I employed simplified Packers-style stripes on the trim.

 

EDIT: I've adjusted the jackets to reflect changes to the "M" logo. Here are the originals: primary and fauxback styles.

 

 

 

Both the Atlanta and Milwaukee Athletics open up a lot of opportunities for some fun twists to the team's identity. Whether it be different scripts, cartoon logos, or colorways, the A's identity has a lot of possibilities C+C is appreciated, as always!

 

Up next, Charlie hits up the west coast (hint: Vedder Cup).

[vtgco]

Geez, this guy sure was chomping at the bit to get out of KC.

 

I agree that Georgia red (or Georgia Tech gold or a peach color or even BFBS ala 2000s A's) would've been nice for Atlanta. However, you did a good job with the colors as is. The phoenix is a nice local touch, as is the "A" instead of "A's." I'd go with the name roundel-style around the baseball rather than on top, though.

 

Milwaukee is great! I love the cartoon, Owgust-esque Stomper! The Wisconsin logo works well, and the colors are perfect to go with the Packers and Bucks. Only wish is for a Milwaukee cream home jersey...

 

If you're doing the Seattle A's (ewwww gross) next, I'd like to see kelly + white only, with no yellow!

 

Sorry to get so hung up on the colors, but the same old green+yellow feels a bit repetitive, and I think that you don't need to feel very committed to the dynasty look given that the real A's aren't very committed to it.

 

Still, good work as always!

[MilSox]

Love the Milwaukee A's.  I have to think Milwaukee would have gone all in embracing Al Simmons' old ballclub.  Perhaps some sort of tribute to him is in order?

But I rather like this alt universe where green and gold come to stand for Wisconsin the way black and gold do for Pittsburgh.