Equipment Check

		Wiffle Logos in Words
		by Brandon Corbett

There is a trend in the NBA that is a joke on par with "that's what she said" at college parties. It almost seems to be mandatory that a team's primary logo feature a basketball, or in some cases be nothing but a basketball. You would think that a team at the pinnacle of the sport would be recognized as a basketball team, and thus render the inclusion of a basketball completely redundant. They keep showing up, though, and it humors design-geeks worldwide.

Now, it may be redundant for the biggest professional basketball league, but how about for a sport as grassroots and "up-and-coming" as Wiffleball? In our case, I think inclusion of a Wiffle ball or bat as a design element can actually be a good service to both the team and sport as a whole. Even with all the success a team like Freaky Franchise had in 2012, nobody outside of a Wiffleball circle will recognize that name as an NWLA Tournament champion. When they see the ball-headed logo, though, they will make the connection. Same for a storied team like the KWL's Industrials: "is that a labor union? Beer-league hockey? Oh, that's that plastic ball we played with in the backyard as kids!" Boom. Connected.

I thought it would be fun to look at exactly where Wiffleball leagues, in general, measure up in relation to the NBA and other sports leagues when it comes to using equipment in their team's primary designs. I included 14 Wiffleball leagues to get a decently varied sample. Also, note that the term "ball" includes the puck for NHL teams.

League	# Teams	# w/ Ball	% w/ Ball	# w/ Other Equip*	% w/ Any Equip
NBA	30	20	66.67	1	70.00
NFL	32	2	6.25	3	15.63
MLB	30	10	33.33	3	43.33
NHL	30	5	16.67	2	23.33
MLS	19	8	42.11	0	42.11
WIFFLE	160	105	65.63	19	77.50
Wiffle leagues used:  CWA, GSWL, HFWB, HRL, KWL, NWBL, OCWA, ORWBL, PWLSD, SWBL, WATL, WDSL, WSEM, WWL

As should be expected, the NFL takes a stand as a league of teams not needing to identify their sport. Only two teams feature a football: the Buccaneers and Jets. Three teams - Miami, Oakland, and Cleveland (duh) - also showcase a helmet. Still, this makes up only 15.63% of the league: by far the lowest proportion of all the professional leagues. The NHL is the next lowest with just 7 of 30 teams using a puck or stick in their design. The Hurricanes, Avalanche, Islanders, Flyers, and Capitals all have a puck, while the Penguins and Sharks both showcase a stick. This still amounts to only 23.33% of NHL teams does not exist.

MLB, a source of many Wiffle team logos, and MLS jump up a bit and come in at 42.33% and 42.11%, respectively. Very similar overall, but while all of the MLS teams feature a soccer ball only 10 of the 30 (33.33%) MLB teams use a baseball. The Pirates and Cardinals both feature a bat, and the Rays use the infield diamond to add to the total use of equipment, though.

I mentioned "mandatory" earlier in regard to NBA teams using equipment, and now we see just how close to accurate that is. Two-thirds of the league uses a basketball in their primary logo. When you add in the Rockets use of the rim, you end up with 70% of the league. Stout, and sure enough, Wiffleball stands toe-to-toe with the NBA numbers. 65.63% of the 160 teams sampled utilize a Wiffleball as part of their primary mark: just over 1% shy of the NBA. Since Wiffle has more vivid equipment to play with - bat, plate, etc. - we leapfrog the NBA in that category, though, bumping all the way up to 77.5%!

Breaking it down by individual Wiffle leagues, of the leagues sampled, we see that the HRL does the best job mimicking the NBA: two-thirds of their 18 teams feature a ball. Looking at the extremes, three leagues - GSWL, SWBL, and HFWB - have 100% of their teams showing a piece of equipment. SWBL and HFWB both have the Wiffle ball in 100% of their teams' primaries. On the other end, the WWL has the lowest percentage of teams with a ball, of leagues sampled, in their design at 12.5%. However, ORWBL has the least amount of equipment in general, just 25%.

Going to equipment seems extraneous and a bit cliche for professional teams, but in Wiffleball it seems less like a crutch and more like a sign of community and pride. It is true that the popularity of Wiffle has grown immensely over the past five years, however, the sport is still rarely recognized outside our circles. When teams promote the sport along with themselves by using a ball or bat it does not come off as a joke, rather as a vanguard for the game. In thirty years when Wiffle is dominating the programming on ESPN8 we can revisit the issue, but for now, keep flashing those balls!

* i.e. bat, stick, rim, helmet, playing surface. Not counted if ball also included
** roundels or ellipses alone not taken to represent ball or puck

Interview with Joel Crozier of the Whiteford Wicked Aces

		Wiffle Logos in Words
		The Wicked Aces won National Team Logo of the Year; we had to pick the brain of the designer.

Wiffle Logos:  First of all, Joel, congratulations on winning the National Team Logo of the Year Wiffy! Where does this award rank with all of your Wiffle achievements this season: All-Star, WSEM Champion, NWLA Tournament final four?


That's Joel up to bat. Say, "hi." Joel Crozier:  Thank you! Hmmm... as proud as I am of this award, I am more proud of how our team stepped up in the playoffs and took our play to the next level. I wish we could have played the championship series; I think we could have given Manchester a run for it despite the general thinking that they would have dispatched us easily. That this gained our team enough recognition to make a NWLA Final Four run is awesome and has to take second. My all-star selection probably comes third, but this is right behind all of them. I love doing all the background stuff that relates to Wiffle and it's nice to get recognition for doing it well.

WL:  The Whiteford Wiffleball Association has actually existed for longer than WSEM, so when joining the league this year you guys wanted to keep the 'WWA' abbreviation intact while adding a bit of team identity. Can you take us through the process of ultimately ending up at Whiteford Wicked Aces and the poker/playing cards identity? Were there any other names that almost beat Wicked Aces out?

JC:  Haha, yeah it actually took us a while before deciding to make a change... Austin (Bischoff) really loves tradition and there was a lot of good times stored in that name. When the league started putting a little pressure on us, though, I talked to him and we came up with a list of possible names, including the Whiteford Wiffling A's, Walking Anacondas, and Wild Aftershock. We did a poll in our Facebook group and the Aces came out on top. It was my favorite; I liked that it represented our team (multiple dominant pitchers) and also the unpredictability of Wiffleball (cards).

WL:  When you were designing the Aces' set did you ever think winning "National Team Logo of the Year" was a possibility... or that it was even a thing?

JC:  I knew that the NWLA gave away an award, but the thought never actually crossed my mind!

WL:  You went all out on the team's jerseys - league patch on the left sleeve, Aces primary on the right, names and numbers on the back, and (my favorite thing) putting the number inside the club on the front. Was going all out like that a conscious effort to completely dominate WSEM in the vein of "when you look good, you play good"?

JC:  Yeah, we spent awhile trying to determine what to do for the front, and when I put the numbers in the club it was like, "That's it." The "all-out" approach wasn't so much an attempt to affect our play; it was more about just having fun with it. We also hoped that it would inspire other teams to step up their jerseys, which would improve our league's image.

WL:  You also went the extra mile getting hats made with their own variant of the club and WWA design. Were those something your guys asked for, or just something you wanted to do to see this project all the way through?

JC:  The hats were something that I personally wanted, so I asked around for interest and we had enough guys that wanted one to make it worthwhile.

WL:  The infamous whooping crane. This thing showed up once or twice last offseason on the WSEM site and you guys hated it, but can you appreciate it a bit now, since without it you likely wouldn't have gone to the lengths to win this Wiffy?

JC:  Hahahaha, yeah Austin and I did not like the crane much... but the positive side was that it kind of pushed us towards getting a new identity, which was definitely a good thing looking back. The Whiteford Wiffleball Association is not a very good team name, haha.

WL:  Something tells me this Wicked Aces look will be sticking around and since the the NWLA tends not to double up on these types of Wiffy picks, what are the next Wiffys you Aces have in your sites for the 2013 season?

JC:  Well, I think if Austin can turn in another stellar year with the rule changes then he might find himself in consideration for pitcher of the year. I would like to think that Poolside Park might go on the radar for Field of the Year; we are planning several improvements for next season. Obviously, it would be awesome to win the NWLA Large Team Championship, but that is a very tall order indeed.

Thanks to Joel for taking the time to answer some questions, and congratulations again on the Wiffy! Good luck on following it up with future awards in 2013. Can you imagine if 'Walking Anacondas' had won their poll? Safe bet this interview would still have been called for in that case!

A League of (Your) Own

		Wiffle Logos in Words
		by Brandon Corbett

Wiffler's Digest has had a poll up asking whether or not "you approve of Wiffleball leagues using MLB team names." I answered no, with a caveat: using the names is okay so long as you create your own look with some of your personality put into it; otherwise it is rather boring, which is the polar opposite of Wiffleball. Currently, "yes" is receiving 70% of the vote in that poll, though, so what do I know? I actually do understand why teams use pro's looks. An interview with Hess Field done in 2011 mentions, "giv(ing) up silly team names, like the Circumcisers, and switch(ing) to MLB team names, insisting it gave the league a more professional feel and made ordering uniforms easier." It is true, MLB logos have a lifetime of stock built up with us. When we put that on or by our name, we feel like part of that. And yeah, the fact they are ready to go probably helps in the decision, too.


For me, though, nothing beats having an identity that is uniquely your own. There are many Cardinals, Tigers, Pirates, and Sox playing all kinds of ball, but you can still make yourself stand out from the pack while taking a name with "professional feel." HRL: Twin Cities does a good job with this. Their teams use only MLB club names, aside from the Gothams, but many do an outstanding job going their own way with the look. A look at past team has these gems: Astros, Brewers, Mariners, Padres, and this fabulous take on Tigers. The current set of teams keeps bringing the fun, too. Whether it be the eXpos with their "The X" anti-logo, the Mets classy way to carry a beer can, the Pilots geared up to do the "YMCA", or the Pirates who I've fawned over before. Without a doubt, though, my favorite team to "make the name their own" are HRL's Reds.

The Reds take the communist connection of the term that scared the professional baseball club in the 1950s and run wild with it. Their current look, which has been used since 2010, brandishes the hammer and sickle in gold on a bright red star. This same logo was used in 2007 when they were founded. During 2007, they used this "Communist Party" design on their jerseys, making this theme that much more awesome! As if that is not enough, the Reds rocked a Sputnik design for two years from 2008 - 2009.

Flyboys

		Wiffle Logos in Words
		by Brandon Corbett

The Flying Squirrels of WSEM have existed for four years, including their commitment for the 2013 season. They have had four different primary logos in that time. Additionally, they have had six alternates (seven if you count the Blue Jays-esque Opening Drey number), two jersey scripts, and two field logos. On the surface that sounds schizophrenic as hell. To be fair, it kind of is. However, when you actually look at the progression of the primaries, the identity as a whole has been tracking in one consistent direction: the "flying" aspect. In 2010, the team took the name from the Richmond Flying Squirrels for use in the London Tournament, but opted not to use the minor league club's logo or colors. They instead wore light blue (for the sky, "lofty expectations") and brown (for the dirt, "being able to dig out wins"), and wore a simple squirrel silhouette with player numbers inside plus wordmark.

When WSEM began league play in 2011, the Squirrels updated by tilting the Squirrel slightly to better show off that it's flying, hence garnering the nickname "Tipsy" for the mascot. The wordmark was kept around the Squirrel for the inaugural season, and a wiffled acorn and FS-tail logo were added as alternates. An arched "flying Squirrels" wordmark was made for the jersey, utilizing the acorns to dot the i's and the squirrel silhouette prominently as the S in Squirrels. Lore has it that the acorn over the "i" in Squirrels represented their past championship (the 2010 Fall Tournament) being "behind" the team, while the acorn over the "i" in flying represented their chase of future championships as it hung in front of the squirrel.


In 2012 the Squirrels pushed the "flying" aspect even more. They stripped the wordmark from their primary logo, and made it a roundel heavily based off that used by the RAAF. Roundels are everywhere in baseball nowadays, but when the team is playing off a motif dating back to the dawn of military aviation that can be easily overlooked. The jersey wordmark was also updated to a script "Squirrels", still utilizing the silhouette as the 'S' and an acorn to dot the 'i'; they also added a brown road jersey with the same script in blue. As a novelty the Squirrels also introduced the "angry Tipsy" logo, a mockery and play off of the updates made to the Detroit Lions look, complete with an "angry eye", "pointy tail", and "sharp claws" to make it look more fierce. Had late and offseason personnel moves not occurred, it is speculated angry Tipsy would have become the primary, and rendered this article entirely false. However, fate intervened, and now the progression towards flight... flies onward.

Led by new captain, Adam Cosby, the 2013 Flying Squirrels identity entirely drops Tipsy and the acorn from use - leaving them to the memory of "ye olde regime." The new primary mark is a squirrel's head and bust donning a circa WWII pilot's helmet, goggles, jacket and scarf. It's like Rocky grew up, learned to love cool things, met the Baltimore Oriole, and posed for a classy picture. The look conveys the sentiment, "yes, I'm a Squirrel, but more than that... I'm a flyboy first!" Perfectly fitting for the evolution this team's identity has been headed down. The only old logo that returns is the FS-tail as a secondary, which you have to admit could look sweet on a bomber jacket.

One more thing you have to admit, and applaud, is that - even with their perennially shifting identity - the Squirrels have never strayed from the bold light blue and brown color scheme. That is the kind of commitment that could see them coming onto the field dressed in Twisted Sister get-up, but so long as it was light blue and brown (with a pass given on red lipstick), you'd recognize them as the Squirrels. So, Squirrels, change logos as often as you want every year if you want, just keep the colors flying!


Full disclosure:  Brandon played for the Squirrels from 2010 - 2012, and was responsible for the identity package throughout that time. He harbors no grudge towards the franchise, and loves what Adam has done in terms of personnel and identity. He also respects Adam for retiring the acorn and Tipsy marks upon his takeover. Rumors about him using his old Squirrel jerseys to stuff his crotch are almost entirely unfounded, except for that one time.

Draw the (State) Line

		Wiffle Logos in Words
		by Brandon Corbett

Using state, county, or other geographic outlines in logos is a fantastic way to class up a team identity, and one that is highly underutilized. Even as a fan of showing off regional pride I count that as a good thing; under-use keeps over-saturation and commonplace out of the picture, after all. If state outlines ever became an overblown fad like grey in college basketball, random light/navy blue thirds in hockey, or "let's have a fashion show every week" in college football, I would probably start burning maps and moving loads of earth in lieu of sleep and financial responsibility just to screw up the designs #harlequin. Happily, that is not the case. Texas gets used quite often: Stars, Dallas Texans, Astros, but is best executed by the Houston Gamblers. Wisconsin also gets a bit of outlined love with the Brewers, Braves before them, and this awesome Packers alternate. Louisiana lends itself perfectly to an 'L' team, the Twins probably have my favorite of all of these, though the Squires are not far behind, the Kansas City Chiefs get a special nod for trying to capture nearly all land west of the Mississippi, while the Islanders win the "not a state, but we should be!" honor.

This trend translates to Wiffleball with leagues utilizing their home states to show off their game, and help outsiders easily identify their location. This is not a ranking, just a showcase for geographic flare in the Wiffle flavor. Who is up for an e-road trip?

BWBL	Very Dallas Texans-esque. Within a few seconds of looking at the BWBL logo I can tell - even hungover - that they play Wiffleball, that they play Wiffleball in Illinois, and not only do they play in Illinois, but they play Wiffleball up in the northeast corner of Illinois. This is effective.
KWLNY	The Empire State is an odd case in that it has a unique shape, but is still rarely used in logos. So, kudos to KWLNY for representing New York. I believe the ball pulls double duty as a location identifier, but I may be wrong. Either way, it is a good use of the irregular shape.
MNWA	I am not sure if this is the official MNWA logo, but it is used as the link on the NWLA site. Plus the Golden Gopher colors go well with the fantastic league logos MNWA uses, so I am going to roll with it. Everyone likes acronyms, and I obviously dig state outlines, so naturally working the acronym into Minnesota is an excellent move.
ORWBL	At a quick glance you might miss that Indiana is the base for the ORWBL logo. That is due to the great execution of including the Old Republic, a building in New Carlisle and league namesake, atop the state. Everything balances out very well.
SWBL	The smoothed outline and faint, almost watermarked Wiffle ball give a very clean look to the SWBL. The slight bit of red on the letters, yellow bat underline, and yellow location dot add a little pop, as well.
WSEM	In the spirit of unbiased opine, I cannot really talk about WSEM's design. So, I will just drop one quick comment: How can you not do this with a Michigan Wiffle logo?
CCWA	I know I said this is not a ranking, but if it was... hypothetically... Columbia Cowlitz is my favorite. So, we end our e-road trip there. Two states(!), negative space, a great swinging silhouette, well-balanced, and simple.

Pirate Marks

		Wiffle Logos in Words
		by Brandon Corbett

One thing I learned long ago, on a ship made of piled cushions with a blanket for a sail, is that every pirate needs a good mark for his flag. I have also learned something about myself while working on this site: I find pirate motifs make incredibly cool Wiffle logos. Wow. Did I really just learn that at nearly thirty I am still a giddy, seven-year-old boy when offered a jolly roger, swashbuckling, swordplay, booty and high seas fantasy? I am going to assume none of that is a problem, and offer you five of my favorite pirate-themed teams out there sailing the Wiffle seas.



Pirates    (HRL)
The HRL Pirates nail what I think works so well for the look in Wiffleball: bold, often bright colors and playful imagery that, even when it hints toward a bit of badass, stays jovial or a bit ridiculous (in a good way). The HRL crew's look is a simple, stark Wiffle-skull and cross bones. It pulls off "mean" in a 'cartoony villain you root for' way, which - along with the font used for the team name - fits the game of Wiffleball perfectly.



No Big Deal    (KWL)
No Big Deal's 2011 logo almost falls into '3 a.m., drunk in a tattoo parlor' design territory with their Wiffle-skull, but the silliness of what is going on saves it. The parrot takes this over the top (note the wing piercing). I really want to train a bird to speed up my swing; I am certain no league has a rule against this, and it guarantees not only an All-Star season but an Animal Planet TV series, as well.



Dead Eyes    (GSWL)
The Dead Eyes of Golden Stick elude the bright colors, but their drab browns work well for them. Any time you can work a term usually reserved for sniping into pirates you are onto something. When that involves the eye patch you are riding high. Throw a unique wiffleball* (5 holes!) into your cross bones mark on top of that and you are just showing off!

* Non-standard hole arrangements are always a welcome touch.



Pirates    (NLWL)
Westside Story and a pirate have a kid; does anyone really want to mess with their offspring? Awesome look. Sure, they use Pittsburgh's wordmark, but the style and color of everything else more than make up for it. The bandanna looks better than its Major League counterpart, while the bowler hat steals the show. At first glance you might miss the 'angry eye' in the details, but that fits this whole "Wiffle and pirates are always fun" theme nicely.



Triad Fighting French Toast     (WSWL)
Breakfast food + big pirate hat + cutlass and cape = swoon!
I am not sure what else you could possibly need me to say; it is a trifecta of hilarity and awesomeness for Triad.

'Seal the Deal

		Wiffle Logos in Words
		by Brandon Corbett

The updated Jason Mattseals logo, our first Wiffle Logo in Words, parallels the work on this site over the past eight months: an idea gotten very excited over, shelved for awhile, grabbed one day, thrown into the mix, and now performing many little tweaks to get everything right. When you hear the name Jason Mattseals, however, you have no time for such symmetry as your mind is hung up on a much more bewildering question: what is a Jason Mattseal?

The name does demand explanation, and the first three quarters of it are simple enough; the captain of the Mattseals is Jason Matt. Sorry, that was not very fun. The last quarter requires much more random meandering, though, I promise. In 2009, when the team first appeared in a Downriver Wiffle (now WSEM) Spring tournament, Jason was struggling to come up with a good name while watching a Pistons game. Jason Maxiell was a Piston at the time. He may still be, but that - much like the Pistons - is not important. What is important is that the reaching connection was made, it stuck, and the silly, fun-loving seal was here to stay.



The original Mattseals logo was thrown together quickly in the excitement leading up to tournament day and having this ridiculously great nickname involved. The logo is based on a Columbus Golden Seals promotional logo used on signage in the early 1970s. The hockey stick was trimmed into a bat, skates were removed, and balancing puck replaced with a Wiffleball. The color scheme - Kelley Green, Royal Blue, and Yellow - is a brighter version of the Golden Seals scheme, to highlight the fun of both Wiffle and the Mattseals character.

The 2009 Spring tournament did not happen (Wiffle is not as big a draw as the NCAA tournament apparently), and the Mattseals were almost lost to history on a design board. It was not until March of 2011, a month before the start of the inaugural WSEM season, that the Jason Mattseals finally, officially became the real-world team that everyone had been hoping to see. However, so soon before the season, there was not time to touch up the logo, so the rough 2009 version was used with only a quick color swap and a "JM" alternate added. With a full season and offseason under their pelts, the opportunity to fix the seal has finally come.



The tweaks performed are essentially like what the Dodgers did this year, or the Clippers before the 2010-2011 season: quality improvements and "duh!" fixes, respectively. Notable changes include rounding the head of the bat and adding the missing knob to better represent the yellow Wiffle bat. The Wiffleball balanced on the nose has also been better formed, and the lines and colors throughout the logo have been greatly cleaned up; though, still leaving just enough wobble to remind that their is kitsch here. The extraneous wordmark below the seal has also been removed.


In addition to the color-switched version of the primary (green outline, blue shorts), two new alternate logos have also been added. The first showcases the "Jason Matt" part of the name in a modified 1970s Denver Nuggets miner logo; having fun out there with a bushy red-beard. The second actually stems from the stopgap result of a near name change to Wild Drinking Men of Ireland. Pleasantly, the name change fell through, and as an alternate the logo works well to show off both the "Jason Matt" and "Seals" parts of the name together.