Admit it, the first time you heard the nickname for one of minor league baseball’s newest teams—the El Paso Chihuahuas, Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres—you thought of Paris Hilton. Or possibly Taco Bell. This is one of the reasons the announcement of the new nickname in El Paso
Author: Paul Caputo
Paul Caputo is a grown man who collects plastic ice cream helmet sundaes from minor league baseball stadiums because he likes logos that much. Paul is the host of the Baseball By Design podcast and he is the author of the first book published by SportsLogos.net, The Story Behind the Nickname: The Origins of 100 Classic, Contemporary, and Wacky Minor League Baseball Team Names (also available on Kindle). He can be found on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky at @baseballbydesign, and he maintains the Countdown to Spring Training on Facebook. Paul is a Philadelphia sports fan, but he's not so bad.
Holy Sea Cow! The Story Behind the Brevard County Manatees
If the rumors are true, the reason that there’s a minor league baseball team called the Manatees is that fans wanted a Major League team called the Manatees, but the powers that be wouldn’t allow it. Here’s Kyle Smith, general manager of the single-A Brevard County Manatees of the Florida
Everything is Better with Bacon: The Story Behind the Lehigh Valley IronPigs
One of the reasons many minor league baseball teams adopt wacky nicknames is that they want to emphasize the fun, family-friendly atmosphere of a game at their ballpark. As I’ve spoken with representatives from different teams for this series, it’s become clear to me that a lot of minor league
Rock of Ages: The Story Behind the Midland RockHounds
The Double-A Oakland A’s affiliate in the Texas League is called the Midland RockHounds because it sounds better than the Midland Geologists. And Rocky the RockHound is definitely a better mascot than some guy named Ted (or whatever) in a white lab coat. When I spoke with Brian Smith, Midland’s
So Cool They Barely Need a Team: The Story Behind the Lake Elsinore Storm
In 2001, the Lake Elsinore Storm, single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, took their unremarkable storm cloud logo and made a terrific decision: They scrapped most of it. But they didn’t scrap all of it. They ditched the cloud and the breezy type and the lightning bolt and even
Gonna Fly Now: The Story Behind the Philadelphia Flyers Brand
Designed by a Philadelphia ad man in the mid-1960s, the Philadelphia Flyers’ primary logo has not been altered in its nearly 50 years of existence. Before the Flyers’ first season in 1967-68, the team adopted a name suggested by an owner’s sister, borrowed colors from a university in Texas, and
The story behind the Las Vegas 51s: Coolest logo this side of Gunga City
Here’s how much I like the nickname and logo of the triple-A Las Vegas 51s: I bought myself a 51s hat and shirt, even though I am a Phillies fan and the 51s are a Mets affiliate. I love their primary logo (above), the stand-alone alien head with the baseball seam
The Tale of the Whale: The Story Behind the Hartford Whalers
It’s been 17 years since the Hartford Whalers last played hockey, but their logo lives on in ways that no one could have predicted when it was unveiled in 1979. You would expect fans of the team to carry the torch for their beloved Whalers, who left Connecticut to become
The Most Edible Mascot in Baseball: The Story Behind the Montgomery Biscuits
In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that at time of this writing, my wife has had me on a grain-free, sugar-free diet for the better part of a month—and I use the word better loosely. This means no ice cream helmet sundaes, no beer, and for
Rock ‘n’ Roll Cats: The Story Behind the New Britain Rock Cats
If you’re like me, you’ll be humming Stray Cat Strut the rest of the day after reading the story of the New Britain Rock Cats. After all, if ever there was one, Rocky the Rock Cat is a feline Casanova, a ladies’ cat. If they made a movie about Rocky,
Nancy, Sluggo, and Slugger: The Story Behind the Portland Sea Dogs
The Portland Sea Dogs, who are celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2014, are among the most consistently popular teams in all of minor league baseball. They have been a fixture in New England since the 1993 expansion of Major League Baseball required the minor leagues to expand as well, first
Of Moose and (Celery) Men: The Story Behind the Wilmington Blue Rocks
The Wilmington Blue Rocks’ name derives from large chunks of rock found in Delaware’s Christina River. How the team went from a name based on lumps of blue-ish granite to logos that feature a moose and a stalk of celery merits some explaining. The first iteration of the Blue Rocks