The Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ “City Connect” series pays tribute to three Pennsylvania towns, Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, over the course of three seasons. Last year the first installment highlighted the famous strawberry pie at the Allentown department store Hess. This year the team will honor the “Christmas City” of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with a star-themed brand.
The identity features the so-called Bethlehem Star, a nearly 900-foot tall wooden structure that was placed on South Mountain in the 1930s and has been a centerpiece of the town ever since. Coinciding with the city’s association with the steel industry, particularly Bethlehem Steel, the structure’s wooden frame was replaced by steel and lights were added.
The team described the design of the jersey in a statement:
Using a combination of the Bethlehem Star and the illustrious history of the steel industry in Bethlehem to guide the design, the end result is a dark blue jersey (reminiscent of the night sky and of the uniforms steel workers would wear) with Bethlehem across the front. The similar font style—with a nod to Bethlehem Steel—is white outlined in yellow, not too dissimilar from the bulbs that light up the Bethlehem Star. The Star itself is used as the ‘T’ in Bethlehem. On the left side of the sleeve is a patch that is from the IronPigs primary logo, with a base color of dark blue, outlined in yellow on a white backdrop.
The IronPigs will wear the Bethlehem jerseys and caps on Friday, July 19, in a game against the WooSox.
