Eastern League (baseball) - New Hampshire Fisher Cats

New Hampshire Baseball Introduces New Team Name

December 3, 2003 -- Thirteen thousand voters, three phases, two weeks, 3,000 name suggestions and a whole lot of debate later, the suspense is over. The fans have spoken.

New Hampshire Baseball, the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, is proud to announce that the new name of the Granite State's first Eastern League team in three decades is ...

THE NEW HAMPSHIRE FISHER CATS

In an incredibly tight vote among 6,436 voters, 24.5% of the voters (1,574 votes) selected the nickname Fisher Cats. Following closely behind was the Manchester Millers, with 24.1% of the vote (1,552 votes). Shawn Smith, president and general manager of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, said the team is proud to follow the voice of the public.

"The fans have spoken. We heard from fans from every corner of the state, and in the end, the difference was just 22 votes, "Smith said. "We took extreme measures to make sure that all votes were legitimate, considering the voting was so close. "New Hampshire Baseball worked in conjunction with SilverTech, Inc. of Manchester, the team's third-party voting validation agency, to insure the integrity of the final voting results.

In all, four names received over 1,000 votes. Here are the official totals:

"To see the amazing turnout and still, the small margins between names, it's an exciting finish," said team majority owner Drew Weber. "We've said all along that we are here for the fans, and so we'll definitely take these voting results to heart. We are here to entertain the entire state of New Hampshire, but make no mistake, we are proud to be here in Manchester. We look forward to drawing folks from all parts of the Granite State in to Manchester to witness firsthand the thrilling renaissance in progress throughout this wonderful city. We're honored to be part of the newest chapter in the rebirth." Starting with the inaugural 2004 season, the team will honor the city's rich mill tradition, the state's pride in the Old Man of the Mountain and the magnificent environmental nature of the state in many aspects of marketing and game-day activities.

As part of the "Name the Team" contest, Keith Lacasse of Weare was the winner of the trip for two to Blue Jays and Fisher Cats spring training in Dunedin, Florida in March 2004. Keith is a sports fan and got interested in the name the team contest from the beginning. His wife, Cindy, and kids, Jamaison and Macie, are long-time New Hampshire residents.

"I love live sports," Lacasse said. "We're looking forward to baseball in Manchester. I thought Primaries best represented the character of the state, but our family will support the team no matter what the nickname. The trip is quite a pleasant surprise."

With the "name the team" contest now officially concluded, the team will now begin work on marketing concepts and fun activities around the name, including design of the team logo.

"We're going to have a lot of fun with the team logo," Smith said. "Fishers are cute on the surface but fierce animals to be feared when engaged in battle. That's exactly how we want our fellow Eastern League opponents to think of us."

The Fisher Cats logo and uniform design is being created by Dan Simon of Simon Studios in Louisville, Kentucky. Simon Studios have designed various award-winning pro and college sports logos, including the logos for the past two Super Bowls. The new team Web site will be unveiled along with the Fisher Cats logo in mid-winter 2004.

The Fisher Cats continue to sell full- and half-season ticket plans, as well as 12-ticket Bakers' Dozen packs, online at www.newhampshirebaseball.com, via phone at 603-641-2005, or in person at their Hampshire Plaza Mall offices, located at 1000 Elm Street in downtown Manchester. Smith said the amazing volume of fan attention has spurred on ticket sales (though plenty of good seats are still available), and wishes to thank the people of Manchester and New Hampshire for an amazing reception thus far.

"The volume and spirit of feedback in this process from the people of New Hampshire has excited us all as we draw closer to Opening Day 2004,"Smith said. "We hope to see you all at Gill, and can't wait to entertain you for many years to come."

Top 20 Voting results from the second phase of fan voting

New Hampshire Fisher Cats - 1461
Manchester Millers - 1155
New Hampshire Granite - 697
New Hampshire Primaries - 671
Granite State Mountain Men - 651
Manchester Mill Rats - 620
New Hampshire Mountain Men - 481
Manchester Mountain Men - 466
Manchester Mill Cats - 444
Manchester Mill Dawgs - 443
Mill Town Sluggers - 432
Granite State Quarrymen - 422
Manchester Fisher Cats - 422
Manchester Granite - 397
Manchester Hobos - 384
Manchester Mill Sox - 350
New Hampshire Blue Socks - 347
Granite State Grizzly Bears - 342
Granite State Boulders - 314
Granite State Freedom Fighters - 299

In the second phase of voting, fans were asked to select five favorites, in order of preference, among over 550 name choices. Their first choice was assigned five points, their second choice assigned four points, their third choice assigned three points, their fourth choice assigned two points, their fifth choice assigned one point.

This article was taken from www.newhampshirebaseball.com.  All rights reserved.