When you think of Ontario and hockey, the first thing that leaps to mind is probably not southern California’s Inland Empire. But that’s where you’ll find the minor league Ontario Reign, an affiliate of the nearby LA Kings. The Reign play in the double-A ECHL, which used to stand for
Category: The Story Behind the Nickname
The Story Behind the Louisville Bats: For the Purple, By the Purple
I have always liked the Louisville Bats logo and team name, but three things that I learned about it recently make me like it even more: 1. There’s a specific and awesome reason that the team color is purple (see below for that), 2. The logo was designed by the
Men of Teal: The Story Behind the San Jose Sharks
More than one-third of all recorded great white shark attacks in the United States have occurred in an area of the Pacific Ocean called the Red Triangle, which lies along roughly 200 miles of the California coast from just north of San Francisco to just south of Monterey. Smack dab
Waterfalls, a Crown, and Sasquatch: The Story Behind the Northwest Arkansas Naturals
The hottest team in baseball is the Kansas City Royals, and their surge to the World Series has been sparked by players who came up through their minor league system. Players like Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez, and American League Championship Series MVP Lorenzo Cain are among 13 out of 25 players
Moon Shot: The Story Behind the Asheville Tourists
For nearly 100 years, the minor league baseball team in Asheville, North Carolina, has gone by the name Tourists. If you’re familiar with the area, you know that tourism is a major industry in Asheville—with visitors coming for attractions like the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Biltmore Estate, all sorts of
Akron RubberDucks, You Are the One. You Make Baseball So Much Fun
It’s okay if you heard the name of minor league baseball’s Akron RubberDucks, double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, and you thought, “Okay, now they’re just flipping open the dictionary and naming teams after the first word they point to.” But the RubberDucks’ name has a specific and meaningful origin
Getting Our Webfeet in a Row: The Story Behind the Oregon Ducks
The University of Oregon has gone by the name Ducks since around World War II—though not officially until 1978. It’s a name that traces back to the late 1800s—though not officially adopted by the university until 1926—when the team was called the Webfoots—or Webfeet, or Webfooters—which derives from a nickname
Aces Are Wild: The Story Behind the Reno Aces
When I reached out to the Reno Aces, triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, to talk to them about their logo and team name, I did not expect to end up talking about Ewoks. But when I asked Aces marketing director Brett McGinness about how the team’s sophisticated, traditional look bucks
Hockey’s Scariest Scavengers: The Story Behind the Bakersfield Condors
When sports teams set about choosing a mascot, the conversation usually does not begin with, “What’s the ugliest scavenger you can think of?” But in the case of the Condors of Bakersfield, California, an affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers in hockey’s minor league ECHL, that ugly scavenger was just the
Little Rascals: The Story Behind the Quad Cities River Bandits
The Quad Cities River Bandits, the Midwest League’s low-A Houston Astros affiliate, have done things a little differently. They are embodied perfectly by their logo and mascot, Rascal the raccoon—scrappy, undersized, and kind of adorable, but they’ll hold their own in a fight. In a market a fraction of the
Get your kicks with the Inland Empire 66ers: The story behind the nickname
The Inland Empire 66ers, an affiliate of the LA Angels and reigning champions of the single-A California League, are located in San Bernardino, California, a town noted for its place along the iconic highway Route 66. Since their inception in 2003 (they were previously the San Bernardino Stampede), the 66ers
The Story Behind the Bakersfield Blaze: It’s Hot. Blazing Hot.
The 31-year-old electronic board that tells the time and temperature in center field at Historic Sam Lynn Ballpark might actually work, but the team does not turn it on. It’s not an energy-saving technique; it’s more about keeping fans in the stands sane. “We don’t use it,” said Bakersfield Blaze assistant general