Many factors in conjuring Wizards’ new name
Link (GFWBW)

“Area baseball fans may be cheering for a certain animal or historical figure to replace the soon-to-be-retired Fort Wayne Wizards mascot. But it will take more than that for any suggested team name to get the call-up to the big leagues.

There are other factors in changing the Class A Wizards’ name, such as how well it plays into the team’s branding and merchandising.

A new name, colors, mascot and logo are expected to be unveiled at the end of the summer. Wizards management received 2,500 to 2,600 suggestions for a new team name during a 15-day period last month.”

“Attorney Tim Haffner, who helped bring the Wizards to Fort Wayne and is a former co-owner of the Gary Southshore RailCats minor-league baseball team, said there are legal considerations with a new name. A Web-site URL that uses some form of the team’s name must be available, and the name must be able to be protected as a trademark.

When Wizards management nears a decision on a new team name, Nutter said a short list will be sent to lawyers with Minor League Baseball to ensure the selections are not trademarked or in use by another professional team.

Mike Tatoian said when the Wizards moved to Fort Wayne from Kenosha, Wis., a naming contest produced many of the same types of names that have come up this year, including historical- and military-themed choices.

Tatoian, general manager of the team when it moved, said the name “Wizards” was not indigenous to the community, but the team and a board of community members picked it because, at the time, it was unique in sports. It also seemed to lend itself to merchandising, though it did not necessarily “pop out” from the other suggestions, he said.

“We were thinking a wizard is someone that can do magic with the baseball. It was a positive thing,” Tatoian said.

“Wizards” may seem like a innocuous name today, but Tatoian said the selection was somewhat controversial. Some community members criticized it because of its reference to sorcery.

“The challenging thing is: I don’t think ever in the history of sports a new team or a new name that is adopted is liked by 100 percent of the population,” he said.”