A new name for the Portland Beavers?
Recently, the Portland Beavers were bought by Merritt Paulson, the son of Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson. Though not a native of Portland, he reportedly searched for four years to find a team to own.
Now, Paulson is considering changing the name of the minor-league baseball team to prevent confusion with the two-time national champion Oregon State University Beavers baseball team. From the Oregonian:
But the Paulson era might proceed without the Beavers moniker, the team's nickname since 1906 when Portland won its first Pacific Coast League title. The club is conducting focus groups on a potential name change and will organize a fan poll on its Web site."It is important that we have our own identity," Paulson said. "It is something we are soliciting as much input from the community as we can before making the decision."
Paulson said preliminary research reveals some uncertainty in the community about the team's identity. He said fans can't identify the Beavers mascot during appearances, mostly because of confusion with the Oregon State Beavers.
The confusion is ironic because the Triple A baseball team was known as the Beavers when the mascot that represented the college was -- depending on which sources you believe -- either a coyote called Jimmie or a Presbyterian minister by the name of John Richard Newton Bell. The university didn't embrace the Beavers label until 1910, four years after the baseball team.
Paulson said the name won't change if the community clearly opposes a shift. But if he moves in that direction, he hopes to have a new name selected by September.
Of course, the Beavers have been in Portland (somewhat off and on) since 1906. To some extent, they're an ingrained part of this community's fabric and identity.
Should the team change its name? And if so, what should the new name be?
Discuss.
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July 20, 2007
Posted in in the news 2007. |
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Jul 20, '07
To honor that team that made minor league baseball famous in Portland in the mid 70's - The Portland Mavericks (Jim Bouton, Kurt Russell, et al)
Jul 20, '07
The name shouldn't change. The Beavers name is the only thing that gives the local franchise any continuity at all. If you remember, there was also a Portland minor league franchise called the Rockies. The name was restored when the current franchise moved here.
The Mavericks name needs to stay as part of the legacy of independent baseball teams. Stealing that name for a serious AAA team would be a travesty.
Jul 20, '07
Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
Owners tried to do the same thing back in the 80s. They wanted to change the name to the Phillies and make the team play in used Philly uniforms (Portland was the Phillies' AAA affiliate at the time). That proposal was laughed out of town. This one should be too.
It's not the nickname that's keeping folks from buying merchandise. It's the fact the team has yet to shake the Glickman doldrums.
8:24 a.m.
Jul 20, '07
NOOOOOOOOOOO!
The Portland Beavers have a very long history, dating back to a period when there were no MLB teams on the west coast, and the Pacific Coast League provided real baseball to fans in California, Oregon and Washington. My earliest baseball memory is being taken to a doubleheader in 1959 or so and getting a baseball signed during the second game.
This is a terrible idea. Terrible.
Jul 20, '07
No way! The Bevos are Oregon tradition. I listened to Beaver baseball on the radio back in the 1950s in the West Coast League. How about those great pitchers of the 1960s, like Mickey Lolich, who went on to a great career the Detroit Tigers?Do they really want to flush that history down the toilet?
Jul 20, '07
Since nothiong in America is sacred anymore, lets just have major corporations buy the rights to the team name and hope that ticket prices will depreciate in kind. How does the "Portland Intels," "PDX Nikes" or "Rose City Comcasts" sound to all you traditionalists out there?
Thank God Fenway is still named Fenway instead of Gillette or CMGI Park...
10:18 a.m.
Jul 20, '07
No kidding. We shouldn't sully the names of great historical places - like Wrigley Field. Oh wait, nevermind.
Jul 20, '07
wait for it...
.... The Simpsons :) That'll show Vermont!!!
10:41 a.m.
Jul 20, '07
I think it's a smart idea. OSU are the Beavers, whether the Portland minor league team was called that first or not. In five years, few will care that they're called something else.
I vote for the Isotopes. :)
Jul 20, '07
Go Portland Ducks.
Jul 20, '07
Call them the Portland Trams!
Jul 20, '07
This part of the public adamantly opposes changing the Beavers' name.
Jul 20, '07
Okay Ducks... calm down. How about a compromise:
The Portland Platypuses!
Jul 20, '07
Wikipedia says, "The original Portland Beavers began play in the PCL in 1903, being known variously as the Browns, Giants, Ducks, and Webfooters before deciding on the name Beavers in 1906."
After the Mavs in the 1970s, we had the Portland Rockies (formerly Bend Rockies) during the Single-A era of 1994-2000.
I understand the reasoning behind minor league team names echoing their major league affiliations, but Bend Rockies made no sense and Portland Rockies even less. If you're gonna name the team after some mountains, then it should of course be the Portland Cascades.
But I (a longtime Bevos fan and season ticket holder in the 1980s) also prefer to keep it like it is.
Jul 20, '07
Portland Visioneers!
Jul 20, '07
Oh boy, you mean an outsider wants to take what is special to Portlanders and change it to suit his business interests? New fla$hy uniform$, new ma$cots, new team color$? Oh, thank you, Mr. Outsider for swooping in to town and ridding us of our backwards ways.
I would rather this guy move the team than change the name. Yeah, I said it.
4:00 p.m.
Jul 20, '07
As long as he doesn't mess with the Timbers, I couldn't care care less. I'll let you folks who actually go to the baseball games decide...
4:23 p.m.
Jul 20, '07
People who can't tell the difference between the Portland Beavers and the OSU Beavers should probably stick to a sport that reflects that level of brainpower: Pro Wrestling! The Bevo's are a Portland tradition, they play damned good ball, they have a great mascot (Boomer) and do not need to be renamed. Go Beavers! Washcodems night at PGE Park Friday Aug 3 7PM, Beavers v Nashville, http://www.washcodems.org/node/191 for ticket info. TJ: The Albequerque team is already called the Isotopes. Hows that for Portland/Simpsons irony? Go 'Topes!
4:25 p.m.
Jul 20, '07
People who can't tell the difference between the Portland Beavers and the OSU Beavers should probably stick to a sport that reflects that level of brainpower: Pro Wrestling! The Bevo's are a Portland tradition, they play damned good ball, they have a great mascot (Boomer) and do not need to be renamed. Go Beavers! Washcodems night at PGE Park Friday Aug 3 7PM, Beavers v Nashville, for ticket info.
TJ: The Albequerque team is already called the Isotopes. Hows that for Portland/Simpsons irony? Go 'Topes!
7:47 p.m.
Jul 20, '07
I kind of agree, especially since the OSU teams are named the Beavers. The challange is coming up with something that goes along with what Portland represents. That would be hard given the fact that Timbers is associated with the soccer team.
Unfortunately, I'm not a big baseball fan and haven't been to the Beavers game in quite a few years.
Jul 21, '07
I dunno-- if I was given ownership of the this team I'd probably change the name, too. Considering OSU baseball's recent and rapid rise in visibility I can see the confusion. I understand the connection long term fans have with the name, but-- bottom line-- this is a business and if it helps the business its totally warranted. I love the idea of bringing back the Mavericks. What a great era to highlight-- a gritty, blue collar era, at that.
Full disclosure: I grew up in Eugene and went to UO, so the Portland Beavers name has never worked as a seperate entity to me.
4:52 p.m.
Jul 21, '07
Bonehead move. Portlanders don't cotton to changes for change's sake, and we're parochially historical. If the problem is revenue, changing the name won't help--it'll damage the franchise and hurt the bottom line. When will people learn?
Jul 22, '07
If you like the Portland Beavers name, then you had better buy some more merchandise. It's not just about differentiation. Even minor league baseball is a business, and a good name and logo sells junk. See the Las Vegas 51s or the Albuquerque Isotopes. A team won't survive on just ticket sales and hotdogs.
How often do you see someone walking around town with a Portland Beavers hat or Bucky Beaver t-shirt?
11:31 p.m.
Jul 22, '07
I am so glad that this thread has identified the statistically irrelevant number of Democrats who think baseball is either relevant to anything or in any way worth more than a passing snore. Call the team anything you want: Portland Trams (the term Portland Tramps already applies -- to a basketball team) or whatever you want; no one else cares.
Jul 23, '07
We need something more appropriate for Portland. How about the 'Portland Strippers?'
Would be a bit funny for a male team, however...
Jul 24, '07
They should change the name to Portland Black Sox!
Jul 25, '07
J Luthergoober: Since nothiong in America is sacred anymore, lets just have major corporations buy the rights to the team name and hope that ticket prices will depreciate in kind.
Bob T: It's stupid to expect something like that. What matters is that such sponsorship means that tax dollars don't get used to subsidize already wealthy team owners. I don't like the names of the remoceled and new stadiums any more than you do, but if the alternative is to have local politicians like Erik Sten give loads of tax dollars to people like George W Bush to "keep the team here" or bring it here, then I'll take a PGE Park any time. I cannot stand the progressive method of treating major league sports as public infrastructure.
Bob Tiernan
Jul 25, '07
Glen HD28: The Bevo's are a Portland tradition, they play damned good ball
Bob T: Have you seen their record lately?
Glen HD28: they have a great mascot (Boomer)
Bob T: Boomer's actually a pretty lousy mascot -- he's rarely seen and he's lazy. I saw him have to borrow a pen to sign an autograph for a kid the other week. The good news is that the new owner takes mascot stuff more seriously and may be lighting a fire under Boomer to get him to do more things on his own.
Glen HD28: and do not need to be renamed.
Bob T: I agree, but if they are to be renamed then The Portland Cascades or Cascadians sounds okay, or the Portland Columbians maybe.
Bob Tiernan
Jul 25, '07
zilfondel: We need something more appropriate for Portland. How about the 'Portland Strippers?'
Bob T: No, that would be the Portland Progressive Corporate-Welfare Providers".
Bob Tiernan
7:53 p.m.
May 26, '10
Typical wonk thinking. "Let's get a focus group to do our thinking for us." C'mon really? We need our own identity? I thought that's what they had. Since 1906. Let the college change THEIR name. The Beavers is too cool a name to lose.