Help naming teams in state-themed league?

[Toad Eightyfive]

Hi, new to the forum.

I've been planning a new 64-team session for a short while now. Basically, the concept is that each team represents a state or territory (with some duplicates for larger states), rather than a city. The divisions are broken up based on geography, with groups like "Northeast" or "Great Plains". Everything else is pretty similar to the MLB.

I've been working on making names for each of the teams, but I'm terribly uncreative at this kind of thing and I got stuck halfway through. Help would be appreciated. I'd prefer the names to have something cultural, historical, or symbolic meaning for the state in question, but that isn't necessarily a hard requirement.

I'll list the names I’ve already decided on here, with a short explanation for each choice:

• Alabama Slammers [Alcoholic beverage. Also, that assonance is too perfect.]
• Alaska Huskies [Popular breed of dogs. Also a reference to the Iditarod Trail dogsled race, which predominantly uses huskies.]
• Arizona Saguaros [Suggested by Joefromchicago. Cactus species of the Sonoran desert.]
• Northern California Gold Rush [Refers, of course, to the 1848 gold rush near San Francisco.]
• Central California Raisineaters [Suggested by Joefromchicago; reference to the agricultural industry.]
• Southern California Surf [Gnarly, dude.]
• Colorado Black Diamonds [Suggested by Dogzilla. Skiing term, a symbol that represents a difficult slope.]
• Connecticut Nutmeggers [Demonym for residents of the "Nutmeg State".]
• District of Columbia Federals [Federal government is located here.]
• North Florida Manatees [Endangered species native to the Florida area.]
• South Florida Hurricanes [Floridian weather is fickle as hell.]
• North Georgia Firecrackers [Double-whammy reference: recalls both General Sherman's campaign in Atlanta (fire), and the old minor league Atlanta Crackers.]
• South Georgia Peaches [Somewhat trite, but it works.]
• Hawaii Volcanoes [After the two active volcanoes on the island, Mauna Loa and Kilauea.]
• Kansas Pioneers [Suggested by Bowtie. Somewhat self-explanatory.]
• Kentucky Distillers [Suggested by Joefromchicago. Kentucky is known for its Bourbon production.]
• Idaho Spuds [Potatoes. Self-explanatory.]
• Illinois Metro Skyscrapers [Sears/Willis Tower was at one point the tallest building in the world.]
• South Illinois Cornjerkers [Suggested by Joefromchicago, a type of cornhusking machinery.]
• Indiana Hoosiers [Self-explanatory.]
• Iowa Porkers [Suggested by Joefromchicago. Pig farming.]
• Louisiana Krewe [A krewe is a group that organizes parades on Mardi Gras. Honestly don't know how someone hasn't capitalized on this name yet.]
• Maryland Crabbers [Crab fishing is a major part of the state economy.]
• Massachusetts Monsters [Named after the "Green Monster" wall at Fenway Park. Also, I like alliteration. Alliteration is cool.]
• Minnesota Loons [Suggested by Puckett guy. State bird.]
• Montana Grizzlies [Suggested by Bowtie. Grizzly bears are native to Montana, plus it reinforces a "woodsy" feel that fits the state.]
• Nevada Silver Bullets ["Silver State" + wild west iconography = badass name]
• New Jersey Elysians [Named after the first recorded baseball park, Elysian Fields in Hoboken.]
• New Mexico Roadrunners. [Since I took a cactus species for Arizona, I settled on the state bird.]
• New York Metro Gothams [Somewhat more interesting than "Empires." or "Big Apples."]
• Upstate New York Hawkeyes [Suggested by JCarter93. Named after a nickname of the main character in The Last of the Mohicans. The author's father, James Fenimore Cooper, founded Cooperstown, NY.]
• North Carolina Regulators [Suggestion by Coxmeatsandwich. Reference to the Battle of Alamance.]
• North Ohio Mainliners [Suggested by Joefromchicago, albeit for a different state. Reference to Ohio's railroading history, especially the Baltimore & Ohio.]
• Oklahoma Aviators [After Tinker Air Force Base in OKC.]
• East Pennsylvania Keystones [Pennsylvania is the Keystone State.]
• West Pennsylvania Ironmen [Suggested by Bowtie; refers to Pittsburgh's metal industry.]
• Puerto Rico Isleños [Self-explanatory.]
• Rhode Island Burnsides [After general, politician, industrialist, and facial hair aficionado Ambrose Burnside.]
• South Carolina Palmettos [On the state flag.]
• Tennessee Hound Dogs [Elvis spent most of his career at Graceland, located in Memphis. This is part of the title of one of his most famous songs.]
• U.S. Territories Travelers [Catch-all team based in Guam, but also representing American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands. Needless to say, as the farthest-flung team from the mainland, on road trips they have to travel pretty far.]
• Utah Arches [Suggested by Canaveral. Arches National Park is simply gorgeous.]
• Vermont Greens [Vermont derives its name from the French for "green mountain".]
• Virginia Colonials [Suggested by JCarter93. Refers to Virginia's long pre-Revolution history.]
• West Virginia Miners [Suggested by Joefromchicago. West Virginia is a hub for the coal mining industry.]
• Wisconsin Cheddar [Cheese-related. It sounds terrible, but I think it has a certain charm.]
• Wyoming Jackalopes [Mythical bunny creature from Wyoming folklore.]

Team names I'm unsure about, still mulling over, or looking to change:

• Maine Lobsters [I like the name, but it's very similar to Maryland's and I could be convinced to go with something more unique.]
• Mississippi Bayou Something [Reference to Mississippi River delta topography. Had used Bulldogs, but with Tennessee's name it's redundant, so I need a better animal name. Just "Oxbows", maybe?]
• New Hampshire Granites [Suggested by Joefromchicago. New Hampshire is the Granite State. While I like the name, A. I already have a bunch of teams themed after minerals, and even if I didn't, B. it's not a particularly original team name considering it derives directly from the official nickname. However, it's still a great suggestion, and it does convey something important to New Hampshire history, so unless something better comes up I'll probably end up using it.
• Washington Emeralds/Grunge/Sasquatches/Techies/Rain. [Can't decide, too many good options.]

Teams I still need:

• Arkansas
• Los Angeles Metro California
• Delaware
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• North Dakota
• South Ohio
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• North Texas
• South Texas
• West Texas

Uniforms aren’t necessary; I tend to just go with the defaults. Thanks if you can help!

EDIT: Thanks for the help! If I didn't include your suggestion, that doesn't mean I've dismissed it; I'm just giving some more time in case anyone else has suggestions.

[Puckett guy]

You could go with the Minnesota Loons (our State bird) or the Minnesota Mosquitoes (our other State bird).

[Dogzilla]

Colorado 14ers or Colorado Black Diamonds

[Bowtie]

Some possible considerations:

• Iowa Farmers
• Kansas Pioneers
• Pennsylvania Ironmen
• Colorado Bighorn
• Montana Grizzlies
• Oregon Loggers
• Arkansas Cyclones
• Arizona Outlaws
• Nebraska Crows

[joefromchicago]

• Arizona Sagueros
• Arkansas Diamonds
• Central California Raisin Eaters
• Los Angeles Metro California (for lack of more concise term) Blockbusters
• Colorado Goldbugs
• Delaware Blue Rocks
• South Illinois (think Peoria) Cornjerkers
• Iowa Porkers
• Kansas Wheatshockers
• Kentucky Distillers
• Michigan Bobolinks
• Missouri Mules
• Montana Copper Sox
• Nebraska Prairie Dogs
• New Hampshire Granites
• New York Metro Plutocrats
• Upstate New York Patroons
• North Carolina Swamp Foxes
• North Dakota Frackers
• North Ohio Steelheads
• South Ohio Steamers
• Oregon Widgeons
• The Pennsylvania team that won't be called the Keystones - Mainliners
• South Dakota Pheasants
• Tennessee Tri-Stars
• North Texas Panhandlers
• South Texas Grandes
• West Texas Rustlers
• Utah Gulls
• Virginia Planters
• West Virginia Miners

[OakDragon]

"North California" and "South California" sound odd. Nobody calls them that. It ought to be "Northern California" and "Southern California".

Central California is pretty much all agriculture, so you could pick just about any fruit or vegetable name and be safe. From what I've read, CA produces almost all of the nation's artichokes, walnuts, garlic and almonds, so those are big ones. Oh, and as far as the LA metro area needing a concise team name, as far as I can tell, they don't care. I'm partial to the "Los Angeles Southern Californians of North America", myself.

[Toad Eightyfive]

Originally Posted by OakDragon

"North California" and "South California" sound odd. Nobody calls them that. It ought to be "Northern California" and "Southern California".

Point duly noted, I'll edit that in a jiffy. I didn't know the common regional terms, so I tried to make it consistent with "South Florida", "East Pennsylvania" and the like; I understand how that can sound weird.

Also adding a couple of the names suggested above, with credit given.

(Also just noticed that I made a mistake on the Illinois South team: the parentheses are meant to say "think south of Peoria", but I missed that crucial directional detail. Which probably confused the hell out of any Illinoisans browsing. Apologies.)

[Padreman]

Central California Death (Death Valley)
Northern California Golden Bay
(Basically combining gold, Golden Bay bridge, Bay Area as one)
Southern California Suns

[JCarter93]

Base the Upstate New York team in Albany or Cooperstown and call them the Hawkeyes after the character in "Last of the Mohicans", which was set in that region.

[bwburke94]

Originally Posted by JCarter93

Base the Upstate New York team in Albany or Cooperstown and call them the Hawkeyes after the character in "Last of the Mohicans", which was set in that region.

Albany works better for that suggestion.

Or you could put the team in Buffalo and call them the Buffalo Buffaloes.

[JCarter93]

Originally Posted by bwburke94

Albany works better for that suggestion.

Or you could put the team in Buffalo and call them the Buffalo Buffaloes.

Alternatively and still grammatically correct: Buffalo Buffalo. Which also means the headline of an exhibition game between them and the Jays farm club could (correctly) read:

Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Bison.

But isn't the author of Mohicans James Fenmore Cooper actually from Cooperstown?

[bwburke94]

Originally Posted by JCarter93

Alternatively and still grammatically correct: Buffalo Buffalo. Which also means the headline of an exhibition game between them and the Jays farm club could (correctly) read:

Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Bison.

The farm club is the Bisons, not the Bison.

So wait, is the proper casing of that sentence supposed to be "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" or "Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo"?

[Coxmeatsandwich]

The North Carolina Regulators would be a good name with a lot of historical significance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Alamance

[JCarter93]

Originally Posted by bwburke94

The farm club is the Bisons, not the Bison.

So wait, is the proper casing of that sentence supposed to be "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" or "Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo"?

I believe the correct capitalization would be:

"Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo."

Or if the city is being buffaloed:

"Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo."

If said buffaloing is happening all Buffalo-style, then:

"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo."

Unless it's not Buffalo-style but just buffalo-style, then:

"Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo."

Either way, the Bisons lose.

[The Game]

There is so much more to Illinois then just Chicago. Just call them the Cardinals. Illini, Rail Splitters (ode to Abraham Lincoln), Prairie Dogs or just Sky.

Missouri Show Stoppers, Explorers

[JCarter93]

Virginia Colonials? Or (after their state animals) Virginia Bats or Virginia Foxhounds.

[OakDragon]

Originally Posted by Toad Eightyfive

Point duly noted, I'll edit that in a jiffy. I didn't know the common regional terms, so I tried to make it consistent with "South Florida", "East Pennsylvania" and the like; I understand how that can sound weird.

Also adding a couple of the names suggested above, with credit given.

(Also just noticed that I made a mistake on the Illinois South team: the parentheses are meant to say "think south of Peoria", but I missed that crucial directional detail. Which probably confused the hell out of any Illinoisans browsing. Apologies.)

I understand completely. California seems to be odd in that regard (too).

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by OakDragon

Central California is pretty much all agriculture,

And hippies. Lots of hippies.

[Toad Eightyfive]

Originally Posted by JCarter93

Base the Upstate New York team in Albany or Cooperstown and call them the Hawkeyes after the character in "Last of the Mohicans", which was set in that region.

...you know, I was thinking about Cooperstown anyway, but that's actually a really cool connection I didn't know. Same goes for Coxmeatsandwich's link to the War of the Regulators. You learn something new everyday! Thanks for the tips!

(it's late, and i just got back from a movie, so i'll update the list tomorrow morning. thank you all so much, never expected this kind of response!)

[The Game]

I know you said you dont need jerseys but i have some Cooperstown jerseys.