How do you name your fictional/relocated teams?

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by The Game

I created the Indy thread since I was unsure of which route to go but typically I pull up the city on Wikipedia and research the city more. I lived near Indy for a time and have been there dozens of times since I have family there. For my ABF league I have the Indianapolis Speed, but wanted to go into a different direction and was happy that that name got shot down. Many of my ABF names have a historical significance to them. Chicago Fire, Boston Fightin' Irish, New York Empires, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Rockets, etc.

Arrows, I tell you. Arrows!

There's real fake history with that name.

[Erik]

Originally Posted by The Wolf

I ate at an Italian restaurant like that once. A few years later I saw in the newspaper that the owner admitted under oath to being a member of an organized crime syndicate.

Sometimes appearances are deceiving, and sometimes they aren't.

This was the restaurant I went to. Randazzo's Italian Restaurant

I was all by myself on a business trip. The portion size was large and I was in a hotel without a fridge or microwave. Regardless I took the leftovers with me for fear of upsetting the kitchen staff.

It was actually really good food. It's owned by a former boxer. Would honestly recommend it if anyone went there.

[Ike348]

So going through the defunct leagues on Wikipedia was pretty interesting, with all of those "Class-D" leagues. Teams like the High Point Furniture Makers of the Piedmont Leage and the Selma Cloverleafs of the Alabama-Florida League definitely strike fear into opponent's hearts.

DreamTeams, sooner or later I'll check out that book full of baseball team nicknames. I also must thank you for your beautiful fictional ballparks that I use in other leagues.

The BB-ref link was very helpful. I think for cities without historical minor leagues, the town will be small enough that I can just use the only high school nickname. For those that do, I'll pick the one I like best.

For the big cities that haven't really had any minor league teams, because they've always had a major league team, I don't want to use the big league name. I decided I'll go with a name of a minor league affiliate.

In future leagues, I'll go through "The Nickname Project" and Justafan's logos and look for names and jerseys that look cool. But the purpose of this league was to use cities from the "Top 10 per State" jersey project, so the city was more important than the name.

Also, I'll take others suggestions and base teams off of places I've been (Bluff, Utah, anybody?) and the nicknames off of what I remember most about the place.

Thanks to all of those who responded, still looking for some more ideas though!

[The Game]

Originally Posted by The Wolf

Arrows, I tell you. Arrows!

There's real fake history with that name.

Think I am gonna go Arrows but use Silvams Indianapolis uniforms to start.
What about Arrow-Racers?

[bleachercreature]

It's a very random process. Some times it's alliteration. Sometimes it's taking something from that city. For example,Nashville, Memphis are always good for something to do with music. Cities along the Great lakes are always good for water references.

Almost every league: San Diego Armada. It sounds great and the city has a great military tradition.

Another one I always seem to use is Atlanta Generals. It just sound good, and probably has something do with watching The Dukes of Hazard growing up.

Other cities I might use a minor league team.

[Afino]

For my league, with the exception of my home city (which I wanted to be something certain), I took a database of street names in our area and used them for fictional city names.

Then I just took semi-common nicknames and matched them up to whatever sounded "right".

I used this site:

(an example)

http://www.melissadata.com/lookups/z...p?InData=14227

After removing anything that just wouldn't "fit", I'd make each zip code into a country, giving each "city" a random population.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

I have random ideas. In my league I am the St Louis Stallions so I named my minor league teams things like the Miami Mules. Other teams in my major league division are in state cities with whatever inspired me. Maybe in the NL I will name things after Medal of Honor winners and if my AL tries to go DH again I'll rename each team after someone shot for treason.

[Questdog]

I name each team in my league after one of my children. It is currently a 14 team league, but we are going to have to expand in the fall......

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Originally Posted by Questdog

I name each team in my league after one of my children. It is currently a 14 team league, but we are going to have to expand in the fall......

Lol. Congratulations.

You get a few more and you'll have a team at home!

[Ike348]

Originally Posted by Afino

For my league, with the exception of my home city (which I wanted to be something certain), I took a database of street names in our area and used them for fictional city names.

Then I just took semi-common nicknames and matched them up to whatever sounded "right".

I used this site:

(an example)

Street Name Lookup

After removing anything that just wouldn't "fit", I'd make each zip code into a country, giving each "city" a random population.

Thanks for this! Used it to find high school names for my league!

[Antonin]

If I am using jerseys with a city name on them, I pick the team nickname by just opening the dictionary at a random page and plopping my index finger down. If I don't like the selection, I repeat the process. In my fictional leagues I love non-traditional names.

For example, my African Baseball Association includes the Tripoli Reducers, Kampala Diodes, Kigali Retros, Algiers Offsets, etc.

I also like names related to astronomy. So, I often have teams called the Comets, Pulsars, Red Giants, etc.

[sdw1000]

I use defunct sports teams, college or high school names, or something that fits the city/area that the team represents. Such as ..New Hampshire Granites. So many options when choosing names. I still wanna do a beer league. lol