Kane County Cougars Unveil Enhanced New Primary Logo
April 15, 2021 - American Association (AA)
Kane County Cougars News Release
Kane County Cougars new primary logo
(Kane County Cougars)
GENEVA, Ill. - The Kane County Cougars unveiled a new primary logo on Thursday, to celebrate the overall franchise history dating back to 1888. The enhanced logo remains true to its original stature, with Est. 1888 as a symbol featured on Ozzie T. Cougar's bat meant to replicate the way baseball bats are branded. While this will be the 31st year of baseball in Kane County, it will actually mark the 111st year of our franchises dating all the way back to 1888.
"We are very proud of the entire history of our great franchise," said Cougars Owner and President Dr. Bob Froehlich. "We are excited to share that history with our loyal fans and wonderful sponsors."
Beginning in 1888, the franchise spent 64 years in Decatur, Illinois mainly as the Decatur Commodores. In the team's 64 years, they had six different names. In the first year of the franchise, they went by "Decatur" and later "Lafayette" after relocating to West Lafayette, Indiana for a season. The team also held the names the Decatur Commodores, the Springfield Senators, the Decatur Nomads and the Decatur Cubs. Amongst the name changes, the team also was a part of seven different leagues, the Central Interstate League, Illinois-Indiana League, Central League, Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League, Northern Association, Mississippi-Ohio Valley League and the Midwest League. Along with a variety of different leagues, Decatur also had five different MLB affiliates including the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. Decatur also called six different stadiums home, including League Park (also known as Downing RaceTrack and now Hess Field), Stuart Field, Broadway Park, Elmwood Park, Staley Field and Fans Field. The Decatur Commodores played at Staley Field in 1915 and from 1922 to 1923. They shared Staley Field with the football team for which it was built, the Decatur Staleys. The Staleys were the early NFL franchise started by A.E. Staley and were headed by George Halas. The Staleys relocated from Decatur in 1922 and became the Chicago Bears.
The team transitioned to Wausau, Wisconsin in 1975 and would remain there for the next 16 years. They were referred to as the Wausau Mets for the first four seasons before changing the name to the Wausau Timbers. Wausau was a member of the Midwest League for all 16 years and was affiliated with the New York Mets, the Seattle Mariners and the Baltimore Orioles. Athletic Park, located just north of downtown Wausau, remained home for the Mets/Timbers every season.
For the last 31 years, the Kane County Cougars have had a home in Geneva, Illinois. The Cougars have remained timeless in Kane County with one name and one stadium. As of 2021, the Cougars have joined the American Association of Professional Baseball, after previously spending 30 years in the Midwest League. Overall, Kane County has had five MLB affiliations such as the Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and most recently, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Despite remaining in the same location for the last 31 years, the stadium has undergone numerous name changes, including Kane County Events Park, Phillip B. Elfstrom Stadium, Fifth Third Bank Ballpark, and now being named Northwestern Medicine Field.
No matter where the franchise has called home or what the name was, there has always been much success within the franchise. With qualifying for playoffs 30 times, nine league championships and six second place finishes, the franchise's vast history has continued to sparkle. Overall, the franchise has been located in five different cities throughout history, Decatur, Illinois, West Lafayette, Indiana, Springfield, Illinois, Wausau, Wisconsin and Geneva, Illinois.
As we head into our 111th season, we represent a franchise that dates back to 1888 and has won 6,874 regular season and playoff games. Despite that rich heritage and tradition we are embarking on a brand new path that we have never gone down before. Over the years our affiliation status has changed. In our franchise's history we have been affiliated with one individual MLB team for 76 of those years. For 34 years we have been independent of the MLB. The 2021 season will mark the first time we are an MLB Partner. It's a hybrid, whereas we are not affiliated with one specific MLB team, nor are we Independent from MLB, but rather an MLB Partner with all 30 MLB teams.
The Cougars open the 2021 season on May 18 at beautiful Northwestern Medicine Field. Tickets are on sale now. Follow the Cougars on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for updates and more information regarding tickets and promotions for the upcoming season.
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 Kane County Cougars new primary logo |
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