News
In Finals: Contest yields some catchy team names
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Published: May 9, 2008
Winston-Salem could be the new home of the Mad Toms. Or the Woodchucks. Or the Copperheads.
Or the Wallbangers, Rhinos, Thunder or Aviators.
How about the Racers, Red Wolf or, simply, The Dash?
Or something else altogether.
Mandalay Baseball Properties, the management company now running the Winston-Salem Warthogs baseball team, said yesterday that it received more than 3,000 suggestions about what to rename the team as it prepares to move into a new downtown stadium next April.
Steve DeLay, the executive vice president of Mandalay, said that the team's name will likely come from the list of 10 culled from the 3,000 submitted as part of a renaming contest.
But DeLay did not rule out the possibility of some other winner. "There were none that really jumped out and said, ‘Wow, everybody loves this name,'" he said.
The names were submitted in a communitywide contest that began April 20 and has ended.
The team explained why it picked each of the finalists. For example, the Wallbangers was selected because it is "a fun and unique baseball term." Others, such as the Mad Toms, the Woodchucks and the Copperheads were picked because they are commonly found in North Carolina.
DeLay said that the company is working on the choice with lawyers and designers. The name has to be approved by minor-league baseball.
Billy Prim, a co-owner of the Warthogs, announced last month that the team would be getting a new name to go along with its $22.6 million, 5,500-seat stadium.
"I think it's safe to say we will start from scratch," DeLay said, "with a new name, new ballpark, new everything."
■ Blair Goldstein can be reached at 727-7284 or at bgoldstein@wsjournal.com.
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Thursday's relish stories will appear in the Entertainment section.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( WorstSiteEver ) on May 9, 2008 at 2:54 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
How about the Winston-Salem Sliders? I didn't see the contest in time to submit it, but I thought I'd throw it out there.
"Sliders" as in Red-Eared Sliders, a species of water turtle which is indigenous to Winston-Salem's lakes and ponds.
Sliders can also be related to baseball as in runners sliding into a base. The logo could be a turtle sliding into home plate.
In my opinion it beats out most of the top 10.
On another note, "The Dash" is winning, but I think the team should be called the Winston-Salem Dash if it wins. The name in the poll suggests it would be called the Winston-Salem "The Dash" and that would just be redundant.
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Posted by ( Bulldog558 ) on May 9, 2008 at 7:42 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
The logical and most appealing name for the Winston Salem baseball team is the "Gold Leafs". The history of the tobacco industry that made Winston Salem the wonderful city for which it remains today.
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Posted by ( GRyde ) on May 13, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
The Twin City Stars...as an homage to the Moravian stars from Old Salem. And kids love stars and space and of course, baseball!
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Posted by ( reginator ) on May 15, 2008 at 1:46 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Winston-Salem Twin-Spirits. Nostalgic in that it captures two of the city's previous minor league team names. Ripe for a ghoulish logo and some new team colors. Come on Mr. Prim.
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Posted by ( eze ) on May 15, 2008 at 4:38 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
looks like the fix is in, the rhino's are going to win in the last few hours. if i were cynical, i would think that the rhino's late surge had something to do with the connection between that name and the owner of the team...
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Posted by ( eze ) on May 15, 2008 at 4:56 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
not even 20 minutes later and rhinos adds the last 40 votes....i'm so surprised by this. why bother having a contest if you just wanted to have your old name on it?
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