Appy League introduces Bristol State Liners in flurry of rebrands

The Appalachian League baseball team that plays in the Twin Cities of Bristol, Tennessee, and Bristol, Virginia, heretofore the Bristol Pirates, is reviving a century-old nickname of one of the cities’ previous teams. The original Bristol State Liners made their Appalachian League debut in 1921 and played for five seasons.

“The decision to return to the use of the State Liners as the team’s name celebrates not only the centennial of that return of baseball to Bristol, but also the uniqueness of our city, joining Tennessee and Virginia along the state line,” said Lucas Hobbs, General Counsel of team owner Bristol Baseball, Inc., quoted on the team’s website.

The primary logo at the top of this post is based on an iconic sign found between the two Bristols.

The Appalachian League was an affiliated rookie-level league until Major League Baseball restructured the minors this offseason. Now, the league will be a collegiate wood bat league operated by MLB. This brand unveil is the second of ten total league-wide, since all ten teams were previously named for Major League parent clubs that they are no longer affiliated with.

All but one of the Appalachian League redesigns will be created by Major League Baseball, with the lone outlier being the Burlington Sock Puppets, which was created by Dan Simon of Studio Simon.

The new-look Appalachian League will make its debut June 3.