Another WHAT IF? The Federal League survives! CIN added

[sky1324]

6 minutes ago, SFGiants58 said:

I agree with H-town on the Hammers. While it’s a fantastic adaptation of the Braves’ design (and the peach is lovely), it wouldn’t really work with the Braves around. Unless you want to turn the Braves into the Brewers (or rename the Braves as the Brewers, which would be nice), it likely won’t work.

 

Also, from a historical POV, Hank Aaron going to the team owned by Calvin “I moved my team from DC because I didn’t want African-Americans at my games” Griffith seems odd. That’s not got much to do with the concept, but it’s a historical tidbit to consider.

I'll echo that. It seems odd to adapt the Braves' identity when they still exist. Additionally, since SFG58 brought it up, Griffith only moved to Minnesota because he was a big-time racist and at the time Minnesota was a very, very white state. Him moving to Atlanta, the heart of the New South, seems odd. However, I'm willing to just kind of ignore it and pretend he sold the team or something happened.

 

As for the identity itself, the colors are gorgeous and scripts are very nice. I'd like to see a peach-colored "A" on the road cap, the gray one gets lost in the navy.

[mcrosby]

I do think I'll be making the Milwaukee club into the Brewers instead of the Braves, so that will be remedied. I suppose the Braves-like identity should just be chalked up to mixing reality and alternate-reality. There's no reason the Terrapins should have an identity that looks anything like the O's, or the Tops look anything like the Mets, just that this alternate-reality is just a tiny bit off from our own. Almost recognizable, but not quite. 

[SFGiants58]

4 minutes ago, mcrosby said:

I do think I'll be making the Milwaukee club into the Brewers instead of the Braves, so that will be remedied.

 

 

I'm looking forward to that! Let's just say, for the sake of the history, that Calvin Griffith purchased the Minnesota Saints while the Saints' now-former owner bought the Senators and moved them to Atlanta. Think the Celtics-Buffalo Braves or Rams-Colts swapenings.

[GriffinM6]

4 hours ago, mcrosby said:

I was going to go with Peaches but I couldn't pass up replacing the tomahawk with a rail spike hammer. Too perfect.

 

Why South Park? I think they'd probably have much more vulgar and tongue-in-cheek nicknames.

It was in reference to Darkpiranha's post. Not yours lol.

[Htown1141]

46-52, the Boston braves had the tomahawk logo. Just sayin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Still lost on why Giants still move to San Fran, as the only reason why the team really moved out west in the first place (instead of somewhere in the midwest) was because O'Malley convinced Stoneham to move out to the west coast with him (because the NL wanted two west coast teams). Don't know where or if they should move in this timeline, maybe the Indianapolis stars move to San Fran instead of LA in the federal league, as the browns are already out there? Idk just trying to think.

[mcrosby]

2 hours ago, Htown1141 said:

46-52, the Boston braves had the tomahawk logo. Just sayin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Still lost on why Giants still move to San Fran, as the only reason why the team really moved out west in the first place (instead of somewhere in the midwest) was because O'Malley convinced Stoneham to move out to the west coast with him (because the NL wanted two west coast teams). Don't know where or if they should move in this timeline, maybe the Indianapolis stars move to San Fran instead of LA in the federal league, as the browns are already out there? Idk just trying to think.

 

Let's go with the immediate success of the LA Browns being the impetus for the westward move for the Giants. The Browns have gone from worst to first in every regard. The Giants don't move to LA because the Stars are already there. There's a chance I swap the Dodgers and the A's so that the Dodgers still have their crosstown...cross-bay...rivals. The A's were little more than the Yankees farm team and real estate venture while in Kansas City, what's to say they couldn't have been the same in Dallas. The Dallas A's is a bit of a mouthful though.

[mcrosby]

2 hours ago, GriffinM6 said:

It was in reference to Darkpiranha's post. Not yours lol.

oh, duh. 

[Walk-Off]

3 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

Let's just say, for the sake of the history, that Calvin Griffith purchased the Minnesota Saints while the Saints' now-former owner bought the Senators and moved them to Atlanta. Think the Celtics-Buffalo Braves or Rams-Colts swapenings.

 

Given the rather anomalous natures of the Colts-Rams trade and especially the Celtics-Buffalo Braves swap (in which the Buffalo team's recipient had a clear-cut desire to own a California-based NBA team, was unable and/or unwilling to move the Celtics out of Boston, and transformed the Buffalo Braves into the San Diego Clippers shortly after that exchange of franchises), I think that a more plausible fate for both Calvin Griffith and the Washington Senators in this universe is if Griffith buys the Minnesota Saints (quite possibly from a person or family going through a high degree of financial distress) and sells the Senators to an Atlanta-based third party, or at least a third party who happens to want to bring an MLB team to Atlanta specifically.

[SFGiants58]

Speaking as somebody who made a Dallas A’s concept (and really wants to redo some of it), it could work. Another option for the team would be Louisville, Seattle, and Denver. These are all locations the A’s considered IRL, with plenty of possibilities for giving them a “local” color.

[sportsfan7]

1 hour ago, Walk-Off said:

...The Celtics-Buffalo Braves swap (in which the Buffalo team's recipient had a clear-cut desire to own a California-based NBA team, was unable and/or unwilling to move the Celtics out of Boston, and transformed the Buffalo Braves into the San Diego Clippers shortly after that exchange of franchises),

In fact, the only reason John Brown owned the Braves in the first place was from money he got when he agreed to fold the Kentucky Colonels instead of joining the NBA during the merger. He somehow managed to own 3 basketball teams at separate times, in 3 different states and in 2 different leagues, in less than a decade (he bought the Colonels in 1973 and sold his share in the Celtics in 1979, the same year he was elected governor of Kentucky).

[mcrosby]

All this Dodgers talk led to something real weird. Enjoy this sacrilege. 

 

OAKLAND GIANTS

Reality: The NY Giants were convinced to head to San Francisco by SF Mayor George Christopher. Their 1958 move was allegedly contingent on a second club moving to California. The Brooklyn Dodgers would be this second club. 

 

What if?: The Giants are lured by Oakland Mayor Frank Mott with the promise of the construction of the baseball-specific Oakland Coliseum. The Giants still need to convince an East Coast club to move West with them, a more difficult task with the wildly successful Browns already occupying LA. 

 

This Bay-crossing abomination was the perfect opportunity to move away from the Golden Gate imagery and into the Giant redwood imagery that I've always wanted to try out for the Giants. The home and away have sublimated wood grain pinstripes. A new logo features an ancient, giant tree. I modified the under-used California Redwoods (UFL) helmet stripe for this because I've always loved it and it's a travesty that it only lasted a year. 

 

 

SAN FRANCISCO DODGERS

Reality: The Dodgers join the Giants in Westward expansion in 1958, heading to Southern California instead of The Bay. The Dodgers take over LA and are still one of the most storied franchises in the MLB.

 

What if?: The Dodgers avoid LA, already occupied by the Browns. Sick of playing second fiddle in their home town but still eager to keep their rivalry with the Giants they head to San Francisco. San Franciscans are unsure of the MLB club replacing the Pacific League Seals but warm to the Trolley Dodgers quickly. 

 

Yet another California abomination, but yet another nickname that makes perfect sense in the new city. 

[coco1997]

That’s definitely sacrilege, but BEAUTIFUL sacrilege! Love the wood grain pattern on the Giants’ unis and the Dodgers trolley logo. I kind of think the “SF” logo should appear somewhere on that secondary logo, though.
 

This has been a fantastic series so far!

[_DietDrPepper_]

I think the wood grain would look better reserved for only an alternate but outside of that these are gorgeous.

[Frylock]

So much in this series that I absolutely LOVE. The Hammers identity is fantastic, especially the Atl script. And that Giants tradition uniform is MONEY. It has a vintage simplicity, not unlike the Yankees and Red Sox (1980s) road sets, but the single color script brings it to life. Keep up the great work!

[jbird669]

I'm really liking this series! 

[mcrosby]

@SFGiants58 mentioned to me that the SF monogram could stand to look more like the Seals monogram, similar to how the LA Dodgers adopted the Pacific League Angels LA. I may edit with that in mind. He also mentioned the whispy Dodgers script. That's a personal preference of mine, but it doesn't quite match the San Francisco script, so that may be included in edits as well. Any other input on those things would be great!

 

5 hours ago, _DietDrPepper_ said:

I think the wood grain would look better reserved for only an alternate but outside of that these are gorgeous.

I initially had it just on the Home Plate, but I love it too much to not see it multiple times per week.

 

5 hours ago, coco1997 said:

I kind of think the “SF” logo should appear somewhere on that secondary logo, though.

I had trouble finding a good place for it. I considered putting in in the center red portion of the cablecar, but I couldn't get it to work right. Open to suggestions.

 

4 hours ago, Frylock said:

And that Giants tradition uniform is MONEY. It has a vintage simplicity, not unlike the Yankees and Red Sox (1980s) road sets, but the single color script brings it to life.

I initially had an orange outline and made the last second decision to scrap that for a more timeless feel. Glad that worked out.

I've got more Federal League clubs, the Browns, the A's, the Saints/Twins, the Nationals, and a few rebrands of current clubs left. Anyone have something they really want to see?

[coco1997]

43 minutes ago, mcrosby said:'ve got more Federal League clubs, the Browns, the A's, the Saints/Twins, the Nationals, and a few rebrands of current clubs left. Anyone have something they really want to see?

Really looking forward to the rest of the FL clubs, especially the Whales and the Stars!

[Brian in Boston]

12 hours ago, mcrosby said:

I've got more Federal League clubs, the Browns, the A's, the Saints/Twins, the Nationals, and a few rebrands of current clubs left. Anyone have something they really want to see?

Personally, I can't wait to see the Federal League's San Diego Whales.

Beyond that team, the following markets - along with some suggested names in the event that a rebrand might be in the offing - should all prove interesting:

Cleveland Spiders (AL)
Phoenix Firebirds (AL)
Miami Flamingos / Miami Marlins (NL)
Dallas Athletics / Dallas Spurs / Dallas Steers / Dallas Wranglers (AL)
Los Angeles Stars (FL)
Seattle Rainiers (AL)
Los Angeles Angels (AL)

Thus far, I'm really enjoying the series.
 

[Megildur]

Loving this so far! Both Buffalo and Oakland are the highlights to me so far. I think the wood grain pinstripes are ingenious. I'm most looking forward to the Whales and Saints' concepts.

[mcrosby]

1 hour ago, Brian in Boston said:

Cleveland Spiders (AL)

 

I forgot I've got a Cleveland rebrand nearly finished! I think that will be next. I'm not sure exactly where to take the Whales, but I'll prioritize that.