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mjrbaseball

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oddly enough, the Cubs are much cooler than the White Sox! How does THAT work out?

I can sum that up in two letters: TV

in the Chicago area (which apparently includes here) fans tuning into WGN can see both the Cubs and Sox. outside of the area, the nationwide WGN only shows the Cubs thanks to Tribune Co., which owns both teh Cubs and WGN.

also there's a certain charm the Cubs have always had that the Paleys never seem to have. then there's the ballpark...no contest, many would take Wrigley over Comiskey.

2016cubscreamsig.png

A strong mind gets high off success, a weak mind gets high off bull🤬

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The elephant came from a remark by John McGraw calling the then-Philadelphia Athletics "a bunch of white elephants".  They brought it back (with a little bit of help from moi) in 1988.

Oh, and Maury, welcome to the boards.

Yep. Connie Mack embraced McGraw's comments.

Why the Athletics Are Called "White Elephants"

By S.O. Grauley

Assistant Sporting Editor,

Philadelphia Inquirer

April 12, 1909 - Open Day of Shibe Park

Muggsy McGraw, once upon a time when the American League was in its infancy, made the now famous remark that Messrs. Shibe and Mack had a White Elephant on their hands in taking hold of the Athletics in this city.

Look around Shibe Park to-day. Think of the wonderful success the Athletics have had since being a Philadelphia concern and the vast amount of money spent to build these grounds. Then ponder over the question if you would like to have similar animal on your hands.

White Elephants are generally hard to find, that is the proper kind such as Messrs. Shibe and Mack have, and then when once in your possession generally much harder to keep alive in captivity. McGraw perhaps meant well enough for the other fellows and himself in particular when he sprung that White Elephant gag but that he was not "wise" to what the people of Philadelphia really wanted has been amply demonstrated ever since the Athletics have been with us.

When McGraw started that White Elephant "joke" way back in the war days he was paving a way for the Athletics to seize on a motto and trade-mark that is to-day recognized as one of the very best titles for a ball club to have. And Messrs. Shibe and Mack are duly thankful for McGraw's little timely "gag".

McGraw felt sure that invading Philadelphia against the strong National League club that Messrs. Shibe and Mack had bitten off entirely too much for chewing matter and that the Athletics would be but a matter of a few weeks before they would disappear a la Union League. He had it "doped" out all right according to this logic and when he passed the remark that the Philadelphia promoters had a nice and juicy extravagant White Elephant on their hands he was sincere in the belief that the Athletics were sure to go to the wall.

But since that magic name was fitted to the Athleitics it not only helped out the local writers in hunting around for a proper nickname for the Americans but as well has spelled success, wonderful success, both financially and otherwise, far greater than any baseball magnate ever dreamed of.

The Athletics battled a way through dark and dismal times when they started back in 1901 and until that magic White Elephant title appeared to brighten things up it was rough going for the Americans. But once seizing on that title as a suitable nickname things began to look better and gradually the Athletics in leaps and bounds went to the top of the American League with that White Elephant flag flying in their teeth, an emblem of success and glory.

The White Elephant cry was quickly grasped by every true born rooter as the war shout and in many a sensational game since the old blue and white elephant flag whitch graced the side arm of the big flag pole at Twenty-ninth Street and Columbia Avenue has waved triumphantly over the opposition.

It's a well-understood fact that to keep an elephant requires plenty of hay and particular attention. But with such able keepers as "Uncle Ben" Shibe and Connie Mack the elephant which was passed on to the Athletics by McGraw, has grown to such a size that he required larger and finer quarters in which to exercise. With to-day's game the elephant which was so tenderly cared for at Columbia Park will now boast of having the finest quarters in the world in having Shibe Park to roam over.

White Elephants may come and go, but it's doubtful if any circus promoter ever possessed the kind of animal which brought them in the same amount of revenue as the one the Athletics have in captivity.

Back up, you Bolivar! May your life be one long continuous success of glory and gold at Shibe park.

By the way, thanks for the welcome.

Curious, for those that actually work within some of the sports franchises...

From a business perspective, how much marketing analysis is done on changes to logos? I'm not talking wholesale changes, such as the Padres and Blue Jays in MLB, but as you brought up, the reincarnation of the Athletics' Elephant logo.

How much is MLB involved in the approval process, etc.?

Thanks,

Maury

Maury Brown

President and Founder - Business of Sports Network

http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com

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Well I've only been to the ballparks in SoCal and the Colesium in it's OLD configuration (you know, when they had that nice green area out in centerfield instead of big ugly concrete) and can say that I love PETCO Park and Angels Field. Dodgers stadium is great but it'd be nice if they refurbished the seats and made it look at bit newer as far as paint and pipes and the such. The green hills are nice, the park itself is very nice.

My wife and I do plan to take in games at Denver, Phoenix, San Francisco, Oakland, and Seattle in 2006. Possibly could hit Denver and/or Phoenix this year. I'll put down a ballpark when I've been there. Until then I'll hold off judgement.

-Daniel
Check Out My Podcast! Latest Episode 273: The Color Blinky
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The "cutesy angles" in the outfield fence are for fans to peek in along the right field wall for free.  I don't recall any ballpark that does that.

comerica park in detroit also has an area where passers-by can check out the action for free.

My bad, Joel. Thanks for correcting me. I didn't know about Detroit. :)

2004 San Jose Sharks 7th Man Fan of the Year

San Jose Gold Miners - 4x Lombardi Cup Champions

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The "cutesy angles" in the outfield fence are for fans to peek in along the right field wall for free.  I don't recall any ballpark that does that.

comerica park in detroit also has an area where passers-by can check out the action for free.

My bad, Joel. Thanks for correcting me. I didn't know about Detroit. :)

The field in Citizen's Bank Park in Phila. is actually below surface level, so if you are walking near the park you can actually look in and "down" on the field. You can't see the whole field, but it's still neat.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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I've always hated the fact that Oakland's logo is rendered as...

A's

THe team's official name is the Oakland Athletics, not the Oakland Athletic's. Why the logo is rendered as a possessive is a mystery to me. If you insist on including the "s", the logo should be...

As

In addition to denoting posession, doesn't an apostrophe also signify the absense of letters? Such as with contractions?

I would think that "A's" is OK.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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