Texas League (baseball) - Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi - Name That Team

The Corpus Christi ____

Suggestions for team names will be accepted through Dec. 15 at certain Whataburger locations, KRISTV.com or through a form on Page B7 of Sunday's paper.

The Corpus Christi Heat?

No, wait. Miami's professional basketball team beat us to the punch.

But sticking with the South Texas weather theme, the Nolan Ryan family could try calling the area's awaited baseball team the The Steam, or The Humidity.

Or maybe something else quintessentially South Texas, like The Fire Ants, or The Feral Hogs.

But more likely the team's moniker will come from one the hundreds of suggestions that interested persons submitted thus far at various locations. Or maybe the name will stem from one of the thousands of recommendations that team officials are expecting before the end of a team-naming contest.

After the first day of the name-the-team marketing pitch, the president of the unnamed team, J.J. Gottsch, collected ideas that included The Vaqueros, The Caballeros, The Breeze, The Red Fish, The Tankers, The T-Heads, Red Tide, The Harbor Rats and The Wharf Cats.

People also proposed The Seagulls and The Barracudas, the names of defunct Corpus Christi independent baseball teams.

A recent transplant to the area, Gottsch said he has neither the experience nor knowledge of the area to make the decision. Besides, the decision should be up to the fans, Gottsch said. They will even determine if the words Corpus Christi will be part of the name, or if it will take a more regional like the Coastal Bend Aviators, the independent minor league team with a home stadium in Robstown. "The citizens of Corpus Christi are the ones who voted for the bond," he said. "It gives the city ownership of the team."

Gottsch said that 80 percent to 90 percent of teams that enter a new market allow the public in their new fan base to choose a name.

When the Ryans introduced their team to Round Rock, which is the same team that is moving here, they let Round Rock residents decide. The citizenry chose "The Express." Gottsch said the reason was twofold: Round Rock has a railroad history, and Express was Nolan Ryan's nickname when he pitched in the majors.

A marine life theme

"We let people get creative as they could," Gottsch said.

Jesus Quiroz of Corpus Christi likes the name "The Dolphins." He let the team leaders know about it when he put the suggestion into the box at Whataburger by the Bay.

An admitted fan of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins, Quiroz said he wants to keep the nautical theme in Corpus Christi team names. And dolphins swim with rays, as in the Corpus Christi Rayz hockey team.

"I put the name in because we are by the water," Quiroz said. "And also we've seen dolphins by the T-Heads."

He said he thinks his name suggestion has a shot.

Corpus Christi residents Sheryl Starry and her husband Tom Burkholder also let their creativity flow with a series of thoughts in the Whataburger by the Bay suggestion box.

Starry thought The Stars would be a good option, she said. Starry admitted that the choice was made out of an obvious self-interest. Then she conceded that a starfish might not be an aggressive enough mascot.

The Hammerheads, however, now there is a ferocious creature and a great team name, she said.

Starry said she could already imagine the theme from the movie "Jaws" blaring over the loud speaker in the new ballpark.

"It doesn't really matter if they are World Series class," she said. "It's just great to have a home team and go out and know the players and get all excited."

The Starry/Buckholder collaboration also came up with The Kings.

"The King Ranch," Starry said in a tone that suggested the allusion should be obvious. Also, "Corpus Christi means the 'Body of Christ,' and Christ is the King."

Contest ends soon

Starry, Buckholder, Quiroz and others will have to wait until after team officials choose a name, which is expected sometime after the contest ends in a little more than a week.

One thing they can be sure of, though, is that it will not be as obvious or generic as the result of the bridge-naming contest in 1959. In that competition Eleanor Tarrant dubbed the bridge over the ship channel Harbor Bridge.

But a name like The Corpus Christi Baseball Team likely will not cut the proverbial ballpark hotdog mustard, Gottsch said.

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