On Monday, the Missoula’s Pioneer League announced their new team name after two decades as the Osprey. The Osprey are now the Missoula PaddleHeads.
The PaddleHeads name was chosen due to having a variety of meanings. Moose antlers are occasionally referred to as paddles. While a paddle can also reference outdoor activities in the area like kayaking and canoeing.
Taylor Rush, the PaddleHeads director of marketing and public relations, said that discussions for a potential name change began soon after new ownership took over in October of 2018, but the Osprey name had a special significance. Missoula was the only professional sports team named after a species that lives at the ballpark in its natural habitat. A specially constructed osprey nest, sitting atop a tall man-made platform is located just beyond the right-center field fence.
“We’d had the same logo since 1999, and this is coming from someone who has to do creative content: the center of that logo is not where you think the center is. It was a real pain for graphic design,” said Rush.
The new-look was developed by the San Diego-based design firm, Brandiose, which has worked with dozens of Minor League teams over recent years.
The primary logo they created features a baseball bat paddle and a partially submerged moose with a baseball and fishing line in its antlers. If you look closely at the eye of the moose in the primary logo you can see [Missoula’s] Mount Sentinel and Mount Jumbo, with the moon/sun over it.
Another mark features a moose in sandals, lounging in an inner tube while holding a baseball bat. A third logo, in the shape of Montana, illustrates a moose in the background catching a trout. An additional logo incorporates many elements including an inner tube, fishing line and paddles to make a peace sign to recognize Missoula’s hippie culture. There’s also an antler-topped “M” logo to complete the brand.
Lastly, the orange used in the new logos was the orange that the Nashville Sounds originally used when they redesigned their look before the 2015 season. Nashville ditched the color after their fans didn’t like the change. Missoula is the only team with this shade of orange in Minor League Baseball.