The Appalachian League’s new team based in Huntington, West Virginia, announced on Thursday it will be known as the Tri-State Coal Cats as a nod to the region’s historic coal mining industry.
The Coal Cats will play at Marshall University’s Jack Cook Field – a brand new, $23 million ballpark that opens next month – and borrow their color scheme of Kelly green and black (with the addition of gray) from the Thundering Herd.
While their nickname focuses on West Virginia’s place as a national leader in coal production, the Coal Cats also hope to appeal to fans in mining towns across Southern Ohio and Northeast Kentucky with the Tri-State moniker.
“Being able to connect the Tri-State region to Huntington by utilizing the symbolism of our past, present and future around the coal industry felt right with our new team name,” Marshall athletic director Christian Spears said.
“Dylan Winters, the director of graphic design here at Marshall Athletics, did a masterful job developing the brand and connecting it to our region by acknowledging our history while recognizing our future.”
The Coal Cats’ primary logo features a cat with a rigid, rock-like texture for fur, emulating a chunk of coal. It sits the middle of a roundel, which includes their location, nickname and baseball stitches.
The “TS” monogram, which will be used as Tri-State’s primary hat design, prominently displays a pickaxe, while the tertiary paw logo includes “TSCC” – the team’s abbreviation – in the digital pads (toes).
As for the wordmarks, both the capitalized “C” and “S” are inspired by a cat’s claws extending from the paw logo, while pickaxe is also included in the “T” toward the end of both marks.
“It was an honor to take a deep dive into the full visual identity system and to take on the entire project from naming the team, creating the logo marks and developing the uniform design,” Winters said. “I’m excited to say that there will be much more to follow.”
The Coal Cats will open their inaugural season at home against the Pulaski River Turtles on June 4, once again expanding the summer collegiate Appalachian League to 10 teams.
It also marks the city’s second stint in the league, which was formerly a Rookie Advanced circuit, as the Huntington Cubs served as a Minor League affiliate for the Chicago Cubs from 1990-94.
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