The Appalachian League’s new group primarily based in Huntington, West Virginia, introduced on Thursday it is going to be referred to as the Tri-State Coal Cats as a nod to the area’s historic coal mining business.
The Coal Cats will play at Marshall College’s Jack Cook dinner Subject – a model new, $23 million ballpark that opens subsequent month – and borrow their colour scheme of Kelly inexperienced and black (with the addition of grey) from the Thundering Herd.
Whereas their nickname focuses on West Virginia’s place as a nationwide chief in coal manufacturing, the Coal Cats additionally hope to enchantment to followers in mining cities throughout Southern Ohio and Northeast Kentucky with the Tri-State moniker.
“Being able to connect the Tri-State region to Huntington by utilizing the symbolism of our past, present and future around the coal industry felt right with our new team name,” Marshall athletic director Christian Spears said.
“Dylan Winters, the director of graphic design here at Marshall Athletics, did a masterful job developing the brand and connecting it to our region by acknowledging our history while recognizing our future.”
The Coal Cats’ main emblem includes a cat with a inflexible, rock-like texture for fur, emulating a bit of coal. It sits the center of a roundel, which incorporates their location, nickname and baseball stitches.
The “TS” monogram, which will likely be used as Tri-State’s main hat design, prominently shows a pickaxe, whereas the tertiary paw emblem consists of “TSCC” – the group’s abbreviation – within the digital pads (toes).
As for the wordmarks, each the capitalized “C” and “S” are impressed by a cat’s claws extending from the paw emblem, whereas pickaxe can be included within the “T” towards the top of each marks.
“It was an honor to take a deep dive into the full visual identity system and to take on the entire project from naming the team, creating the logo marks and developing the uniform design,” Winters said. “I’m excited to say that there will be much more to follow.”
The Coal Cats will open their inaugural season at residence in opposition to the Pulaski River Turtles on June 4, as soon as once more increasing the summer season collegiate Appalachian League to 10 groups.
It additionally marks the town’s second stint within the league, which was previously a Rookie Superior circuit, because the Huntington Cubs served as a Minor League affiliate for the Chicago Cubs from 1990-94.
