Better than the Vulcans?
The owners of the Akron Aeros are expected to hold a press conference Tuesday to announce a name change.
Could the Akron Aeros be considering changing their name to the Akron Rubberducks?
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the name and logo was recently submitted under the company name, Akron Baseball, LLC. That’s the same company name that was referenced in a press release when the city of Akron announced that the Akron Aeros had been sold to Ken Babby, current owner and CEO, in 2012.
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The Akron Aeros has yet to confirm if the team is considering a name change or if the team submitted the name/logo to the USPTO.
In 2011, the Akron Aeros held a renaming contest. Nearly 70 percent of fans picked “Aeros” as their top choice, beating out Rubber Ducks, Tire Jacks, Vulcans and Gum Dippers.
Hey, it’s official! Here are the new marks!
If nothing else, I like the colors. And they could have come up with a far worse name. For example, Tire Jacks. Or Vulcans. Or Gum Dippers. In case you’re wondering, Akron was for many years known as The Rubber Capital of the World, by virtue of four major tire companies -- Goodyear, Goodrich, Firestone, and General Tire -- being headquartered in the city. It’s also been known simply as Rubber City.
In 1906, the Akron Rubbernecks played in the Ohio-Pennsylvania League; in 1912, the Akron Rubbermen played in the Ohio State League. But Akron’s had a troubled baseball life, with long stretches without a team at all. The Middle Atlantic League’s Akron Yankees disbanded after the 1941 season, and the city was without professional baseball until 1997, when the Eastern League’s Aeros moved in. It’s not entirely clear to me why the name Aeros was used. Dayton claims the Wright Brothers, and Akron’s only notable connection to aviation seems to be airships, and the huge airship hangar that still exists.
I wouldn’t too much stock in that renaming “contest” ... Fans will typically vote for the old name, because humans are inherently conservative (i.e. afraid of anything changing). But if “Aeros” got 70 percent and there were four other candidates, how small must the percentage have been for “Rubber Ducks”?
Then again, eight-year-olds rarely vote in polls.
