Earlier this year, comedian John Oliver brought Minor League Baseball’s wacky nicknames and alternate identities into public focus on his HBO show Last Week Tonight. As part of his tongue-in-cheek exposé, Oliver and his team offered to rebrand one MiLB club.
Oliver made good on his promise last night, unveiling a brand that the Erie SeaWolves, Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, will wear four times in 2025: the Erie Moon Mammoths. Given its expediency, it’s clear the process circumvented many of the protocols that teams must go through to gain approval of alternate brands, which, now under Major League Baseball’s supervision, takes up to several years.
The nickname is inspired by the 1991 discovery of woolly mammoth remains by local resident George Moon, who discovered a large bone while scuba diving in Lake Pleasant, about eight miles from Erie, Pennsylvania. The remains, which now reside in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, are known as the “Moon Mammoth.” The Moon Mammoth skeleton is recognized for being one of the most complete specimens from the region, with 80 percent of the animal intact.
“We’re excited to partner with Last Week Tonight with John Oliver to bring baseball fans a new experience that is playful, prehistoric, purposeful, and purple,” Erie Team President Greg Coleman said in a statement. “Special thanks to SeaWolves owner Fernando Aguirre, the Last Week Tonight with John Oliver production team, Major League Baseball, VisitErie, UPMC, the Detroit Tigers, key vendors, and our front office crew for their creativity, support, flexibility, and discretion.”
Per the stipulations laid out on the show, the team had no input on the name or logo. The brand combines lunar and prehistoric elements, with a cap logo that highlights the mammoth in a space helmet, and an on-field jersey featuring a rising moon on the chest and a moon pattern on the sleeves.
The team will play as the Moon Mammoths July 19 with John Oliver in attendance, as well as Tuesday, August 19; Friday, September 12; and Saturday, September 13.
