Lehigh Valley IronPigs to Play as “Wooder Ice” on Salute to Philly Night

The Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs have paid homage to their parent club’s hometown in Philadelphia—just a short drive from their own hometown in Allentown, Pennsylvania—with Salute to Philly night. They’ve adopted temporary identities based on an ice cream confection (Jimmies, 2021), a multi-purpose slang term (Jawn, 2019), a specific play in the Super Bowl (Philly Special, 2018), and the NL Champion 1950 Philadelphia Phillies (Whiz Kids, 2018).

This year, the tradition continues when the IronPigs will play as the Wooder Ice. The name is a phonetic spelling of water ice, a term used in the greater Philadelphia area (including by relatives of this author) for a frozen confection known most other places as Italian ice.

“There is no confusion as to how to pronounce water ice,” said IronPigs President and General Manager Kurt Landes, on the team’s website. “I learned quick and fast that the passionate fans of Philadelphia recognize this amazing summer delicacy as ‘wooder ice.’ It’s appropriate that we not only pronounce it correctly, but going forward, we spell it how it sounds!”

The identity includes “Lehigh Valley Wooder Ice” in bubble letters on a curved baseline and an illustration of an iconic water ice container. The jersey features the full logo set against a gradient blend that is clearly meant to reflect the popular water ice flavors of cherry and “blue.”

The IronPigs will take the field as the Wooder Ice July 23.