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New Hampshire Fisher Cats
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| New Hampshire Fisher Cats Founded in 1994 Manchester, New Hampshire |
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| League titles | 2000, 2004 | ||
| Division titles | 2003, 2004 | ||
| Owner(s)/Operated by: Art Solomon | |||
| Manager: Gary Cathcart | |||
| General Manager: | |||
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a minor league baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major-league club.
During the team's first season in Manchester, the Fisher Cats played at Gill Stadium, a historic ballpark in a residential neighborhood. Starting with the 2005 season, the Fisher Cats have played at Merchantsauto.com Stadium (originally known as simply "Fisher Cats Ballpark") located in Manchester. The park seats 6,500 fans.
The Fisher Cats won the Eastern League championship in 2004, their first season in New Hampshire after moving the franchise from New Haven, Connecticut.
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In 1992, New Haven, Connecticut was granted an expansion Double-A franchise which was named the New Haven Ravens. The Ravens began play in the 1994 season affiliated with the Colorado Rockies. The team hosted the 1998 Double-A All-Star Game, was league runner-up in 1995 and 2003, and won the Eastern League Championship in 2000 with an 82-60 record, defeating the Binghamton Mets 3 games to 1 in the championship series. The Ravens played in Yale Field.
On January 26, 2003, the team was sold to businessman Drew Weber, who had the intent of moving the team to Manchester, NH. During the league playoffs on September 2, 2003, the Eastern League baseball team owners voted to approve the move. The team's first season in Manchester was 2004. The first season was played at Gill Stadium south of the downtown area while the current ballpark, Merchantsauto.com Stadium, was under construction.
On July 19, 2005, Drew Weber sold his controlling interest in the team. Art Solomon is the new controlling owner with 60% ownership, while Weber retained a 40% ownership share.
Gary Cathcart was named the team's new manager on November 28, 2007; Cathcart had served as the Fisher Cats' hitting coach during 2005 and 2006, and had most recently managed the single-A Lansing Lugnuts.
On November 6, 2003, the new management unveiled the New Hampshire Primaries name and logo, which featured an elephant and a donkey holding baseball bats, and was to be used starting in the 2004 season. The management stated that they felt it reflected a unique aspect of the state, since the New Hampshire primary, held every four years, signifies the start of the Presidential election process. Immediately, the name and logo were widely criticized. An online petition was created by two local baseball fans asking the team ownership to reconsider their decision and was covered by local newspapers, radio, and television stations. This coverage was led by a front-page article in the New Hampshire Union Leader, New Hampshire's largest newspaper, on Sunday November 9, 2003. By the afternoon of November 10, over 1200 unique visitors had signed the petition. Later in the day, the team announced that they would not use the Primaries name after all and that they would seek public opinion on a new name.
On November 13, 2003, the team announced the “Name the Team” contest which had three phases over the following weeks. During the first phase, fans submitted suggestions. During the second phase, fans ranked their top five favorite names from the suggestions. For the final phase, fans voted for their single favorite among the top five names from the second round. On December 3, the final voting results were announced: New Hampshire Fisher Cats (1,574 votes - 24.5%), Manchester Millers (1,552 votes - 24.1%), Granite State Mountain Men (1,382 vote - 21.5%), New Hampshire Granite (1,302 votes - 20.2%), and New Hampshire Primaries (627 votes - 9.7%).
On January 22, 2004, the team unveiled the set of logos that would be used for the name New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
On August 25, 2007, the team played as the New Hampshire Primaries against the Portland Sea Dogs.
The ultimate source of the name is from the fisher, most often called a fisher cat in New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats logos were brought to life in 2004 with a variety of goals in mind. It was important for the team to create an identity that was marketable, sharp, had a strong color scheme, had mass appeal, and local symbolism. All of the team’s logos and fonts were created and designed by Studio Simon of Louisville, KY. Dan Simon is a veteran of sports art design and has created logos for teams of Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, the National Football League, the Super Bowl, sports seminars, and amateur organizations. Truly understanding a team’s goal in creating a marketing presence is an important factor in working with a ball club, and Studio Simon assisted the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in achieving this goal.
There are six active marks that the Fisher Cats have used since the 2004 season. They are the corporate logo, cap logo, alternate cap logo, home lettering, road lettering, and word mark. Team colors are dark green, white, black, silver/gray, and bronze. The official color scheme consists of a variety of Pantone colors. The dark green is listed as Pantone 3302, the black is Pantone Black, bronze is Pantone 4635, the white is Pantone White, and silver/gray is Pantone 7543.
The corporate logo features a variety of concepts. The logo represents many intricacies of the team name. The animal is shown almost in its entirety. The trees in the background capture two pieces of trivia about the state. First, fishers, as they are known, are actually born in hollowed-out trees, and secondly, there are over three dozen Christmas tree farms in New Hampshire which help contribute to the state’s economy and holiday cheer. The unique font for the words “Fisher Cats” has two references of its own. The white letters with black slashes resemble the look of the state’s official tree, the white birch, and also appear to have the claw marks of the fisher through them.
The cap logo features the NH of New Hampshire accompanied by the Fisher Cat and will appear on official team caps. The alternate cap logo is only of the head of the Fisher Cat and is on official team caps, batting helmets, batting practice jerseys, and jackets. The home lettering is the same font that appears on the Fisher Cats' white jerseys and black jerseys. The road lettering appears on the team’s gray jerseys and dark green jerseys. The word mark will be visible in some of the team’s marketing efforts.
On November 28, 2007, the team unveiled a new logo and new uniforms to be used beginning with the 2008 season. A team news release[1] describes the new scheme as follows:
The redesigned home uniforms are white with black piping around the arms and neck, down the front of the jersey and along the side of the legs. "Fisher Cats" will be displayed in script across the chest in emerald green lettering with a gold fill and a black outline. An emerald green "NH" logo will adorn the left sleeve with a silver Fisher Cat's tail crossing the "H". There will also be a home alternate white sleeveless uniform with the green "NH" logo on the left breast. Players will wear black undershirts under the alternate jersey.
(Place indicates finish in Northern Division)
- As New Haven Ravens
- 1994: 77-63 (2nd), manager Paul Zuvella
- 1995: 79-63 (2nd), manager Paul Zuvella
- 1996: 66-75 (4th), manager Bill Hayes
- 1997: 64-78 (5th), manager Bill Hayes
- 1998: 59-83 (5th), manager Tim Blackwell
- 1999: 65-77 (t-3rd), manager Dan Rohn
- 2000: 82-60 (2nd), manager Dan Rohn
- 2001: 47-95 (6th), manager Dan Sheaffer
- 2002: 74-65 (2nd), manager Mark DeJohn
- 2003: 79-63 (1st), manager Marty Pevey
- As New Hampshire Fisher Cats:
- 2004: 84-57 (1st), manager Mike Basso
- 2005: 68-74 (5th), manager Mike Basso
- 2006: 68-73 (4th), manager Doug Davis
- 2007: 70-73 (3rd), manager Bill Masse
- 1995 season: Defeated Portland 3-1 in semifinals; lost to Reading 3-2 in championship.
- 2000 season: Defeated Binghamton 3-1 in semifinals; defeated Reading 3-1 for league title.
- 2002 season: Lost to Norwich 3-0 in semifinals.
- 2003 season: Defeated New Britain 3-2 in semifinals; lost to Akron 3-0 in championship.
- 2004 season: Defeated Binghamton 3-1 in semifinals; defeated Altoona 3-0 for league title.
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| AAA | AA | A | Rookie |
| Syracuse Chiefs | New Hampshire Fisher Cats |
Dunedin Blue Jays Lansing Lugnuts Auburn Doubledays |
Gulf Coast Blue Jays VSL Blue Jays |
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| Northern Division | Binghamton Mets • Connecticut Defenders • New Britain Rock Cats • New Hampshire Fisher Cats • Portland Sea Dogs • Trenton Thunder |
| Southern Division | Akron Aeros • Altoona Curve • Bowie Baysox • Erie SeaWolves • Harrisburg Senators • Reading Phillies |
