What’s in a Name?

Posts Tagged ‘What’s in a Name?’

August 2, 2016

“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet”
~ William Shakespeare

What’s in a Name?

Sometimes it’s as simple as what you put in – or what you take out of – the thing.

It may also be a matter of what happens to your good or bad fortune when you get rid of – or take 0n – a particular name. For example, in Monday night’s opener, relief pitcher Scott Feldman did something for the Astros that he had been unable to do all season until that moment. He won a game for Houston by throwing only four pitches to two batters in the bottom of the 14th inning. Of course, he was also pitching for the Blue Jays in last night’s game. At least, we think he was. He was wearing their uniform.

The Blue Jays missed a great opportunity to trade at the deadline for the acquiring the “best pun of the baseball season”. Had they also traded with the Astros for another shaky, but sometimes OK starting pitcher, Toronto could have also immediately embarked upon a new name-edgy playoff ticket campaign:

“Follow the Toronto Blue Jays to the World Series! Why? Because we are the only team in baseball that can now brag ~ ‘Where there’s Smoak, there’s Fiers!’ “

Maybe “B-R-E-G-M-A-N” is an acronym for “Batting Really Easily (and) Great (in AAA) Means Absolutely Nothing!”

Which 1935 MLB club played the season is absolute ruthless abandonment? (Hint (which you should not need): Hyphenate the word “ruthless” into two words for the obvious answer.

Where was Judge Roy Hofheinz’s legal background when he originally decided to name the new 1962 Houston MLB franchise club as the “Colt .45s”? Didn’t he realize that the name had to have been copyrighted by either the famous gun company or the brewery that was then producing “Colt .45 Malt Liquor’? Or was the very existence of the much younger beer company all the Judge needed to feed his conclusion that there would be no legal problems for the baseball club down the line. – If so, that doesn’t sound like any law school professor speaking that we’ve ever known. And speaking of names – how come the great marketing mind of Roy Hofheinz never came up with the idea for selling the domed stadium’s “naming rights” as an incredibly valuable revenue stream? Was the idea simply that far ahead of the less imaginative or less mercenary team owners of that era – including the guy who so often has been compared to P.T. Barnum of 19th century circus fame? Guess we should just be glad that the naming rights idea never rose or was pushed in 1965. Had they named the new domed venue “TDECU Stadium”, it would hardly be as memorable today as “Astrodome” is and shall be – forever.

Have a Ruby Tuesday, Everybody!

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