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Teams with asterisks are not yet posted

Aberdeen IronBirds*
Acereros del Norte
Águila de Veracruz
Aigles de Trois-Rivières
Akron RubberDucks
Albuquerque Isotopes
Algodoneros de Unión Laguna
Altoona Curve
Amarillo Sod Poodles
Arkansas Travelers
Asheville Tourists
Augusta GreenJackets
Beloit Sky Carp*
Billings Mustangs
Biloxi Shuckers
Binghamton Rumble Ponies
Birmingham Barons
Boise Hawks
Bowie Baysox
Bowling Green Hot Rods
Bradenton Marauders
Bravos de León
Brooklyn Cyclones
Buffalo Bisons
Capitales de Quebec
Carolina Mudcats
Cedar Rapids Kernels
Charleston Dirty Birds
Charleston RiverDogs
Charlotte Knights*
Chattanooga Lookouts
Chicago Dogs
Clearwater Threshers
Cleburne Railroaders
Columbia Fireflies
Columbus Clippers
Corpus Christi Hooks
Dayton Dragons
Daytona Tortugas
Delmarva Shorebirds
Diablos Rojos del México
Down East Wood Ducks
Dunedin Blue Jays
Durham Bulls
El Paso Chihuahuas
Empire State Greys*
Erie SeaWolves
Eugene Emeralds
Evansville Otters*
Everett AquaSox
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
Fayetteville Woodpeckers
Florence Y'Alls
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
Fort Wayne TinCaps
Fredericksburg Nationals
Fresno Grizzlies
Frisco RoughRiders
Gary SouthShore RailCats
Gastonia Honey Hunters
Gateway Grizzlies
Generales de Durango
Glacier Range Riders
Grand Junction Jackalopes
Great Falls Voyagers
Great Lakes Loons
Greensboro Grasshoppers
Greenville Drive
Guerreros de Oaxaca
Gwinnett Stripers
Harrisburg Senators
Hartford Yard Goats
Hickory Crawdads
High Point Rockers
Hillsboro Hops
Hudson Valley Renegades
Idaho Falls Chukars
Indianapolis Indians
Inland Empire 66ers of San
   Bernardino

Iowa Cubs
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
Jersey Shore BlueClaws*
Joliet Slammers
Jupiter Hammerheads
Kane County Cougars
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
Kansas City Monarchs
Lake County Captains
Lake Country DockHounds
Lake Elsinore Storm
Lake Erie Crushers
Lakeland Flying Tigers
Lancaster Barnstormers
Lansing Lugnuts
Las Vegas Aviators
Lehigh Valley IronPigs
Leones de Yucatán
Lexington Counter Clocks
Lincoln Saltdogs*
Long Island Ducks
Louisville Bats
Lynchburg Hillcats
Mariachis de Guadalajara
Memphis Redbirds
Midland RockHounds
Milwaukee Milkmen
Mississippi Braves
Missoula Paddleheads
Modesto Nuts
Montgomery Biscuits
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Nashville Sounds
New Hampshire Fisher Cats
New Jersey Jackals
New York Boulders
Norfolk Tides
Northern Colorado Owlz
Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Ogden Raptors
Oklahoma City Dodgers
Olmecas de Tabasco
Omaha Storm Chasers
Ottawa Titans
Palm Beach Cardinals
Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Peoria Chiefs
Pericos de Puebla
Piratas de Campeche
Portland Sea Dogs
Quad City River Bandits
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Reading Fightin Phils
Reno Aces
Richmond Flying Squirrels
Rieleros de Aguascalientes
Rochester Red Wings
Rocket City Trash Pandas
Rocky Mountain Vibes
Rome Braves
Round Rock Express
Sacramento River Cats
Salem Red Sox
Salt Lake Bees
San Antonio Missions
San Jose Giants
Saraperos de Saltillo
Schaumburg Boomers
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Sioux City Explorers
Sioux Falls Canaries
Somerset Patriots
South Bend Cubs
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
Spokane Indians
Spire City Ghost Hounds*
Springfield Cardinals
St. Lucie Mets
St. Paul Saints
Staten Island FerryHawks
Stockton Ports
Sugar Land Skeeters
Sultanes de Monterrey
Sussex County Miners*
Syracuse Mets
Tacoma Rainiers
Tampa Tarpons
Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos
Tennessee Smokies
Tigres de Quintana Roo
Toledo Mud Hens
Toros de Tijuana
Tri-City Dust Devils
Tri-City ValleyCats
Vancouver Canadians
Visalia Rawhide
Washington Wild Things
West Michigan Whitecaps
Wichita Wind Surge
Wilmington Blue Rocks
Windy City Thunderbolts
Winnipeg Goldeyes*
Winston-Salem Dash
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
Worcester Red Sox*
York Revolution
South Bend Cubs 12

Notice: All logos on this page are included within the parameters of 17 U.S.C. § 107, which states that the reproduction of a copyrighted work for purposes of criticism and/or comment is not an infringement of copyright. No challenge to the copyrights of these logos is intended by their inclusion here.
Posted 2023 July 16

NOTE: This review incorporates text from the previous review for the South Bend Cubs, which was posted on 2019 May 2016.

To the right you will see a picture of the Cubs Den, the team store for the South Bend Cubs. The careful observer may note that the store has a feature or two not typically associated with sports team stores, like the two Stars of David in the corners. And you probably can't see it in this photograph, but there's also Hebrew text below the rose window.

In short, this store looks an awful lot like a synagogue. There's a very good reason for that, which is that the building used to be a synagogue. It was built in 1901 and served as home to the B'nai Israel congregation until 1990. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places, and as such the store is likely the only team store in the United States that's located in a NRHP building (or at least, the only one located in a NRHP building that isn't a ballpark).

So why is the team store in a former synagogue? Well, for one thing, it was available (like I said, it served as home to the B'nai Israel congregation until 1990, which is over twenty years before the building became the team store). Also, it's right next to the stadium. If you're sitting in the stands along the first base line you'll see it beyond left field. It's the building with the ad for Toyota on its roof. No, I'm not making that up. The team (then known as the South Bend Silver Hawks) moved into the then-new stadium in 1988, and renovated the former synagogue in 2012. I'm sure some people reading this have a problem with the idea of a team store in an old synagogue, and I can see where they're coming from, but all things considered I think it's a good thing. It's not like the team kicked them out. And the building sat empty for most of the time since the congregation left. Being used as a store may not be the most respectful fate for a synagogue, but it beats sitting empty and falling into disrepair.

That's not the only former synagogue nearby, incidentally. If you walk out of the team store and look ahead and about forty-five degrees to your right, you'll see the building that now belongs to Sweet Home Ministries. That building, as it happens, is another former synagogue (former home to the Hebrew Orthodox Congregation). This may make you think the stadium was built in what used to be the Jewish part of town.* Maybe it was. But if you walk around the back of the stadium until you're a bit past center field, you'll find the building that is now home to Zion Hill Baptist Church, and from what I can find that's been the site of a church (and not a synagogue) since 1873. So maybe that was just the block where all the religious buildings went. You can make your own joke about how that block is now home to a baseball stadium. Or you can speculate on how many old church and synagogue buildings were torn down to make room for the baseball stadium. Maybe a mosque or two and a Hindu temple as well. Use your imagination. Go nuts.

Anyway, as I said, the Silver Hawks started using the former B'nai Israel Synagogue as their team store in 2012. A few years later — 2015, to be precise — the Silver Hawks changed their name when they switched their affiliation from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Chicago Cubs. I suppose I can understand why, seeing as how Chicago is less than two hours away. And it's not like Silver Hawks was such a great name in the first place. But it's always a little disappointing to see a minor league team just brand itself with its parent team's name. It used to be even worse, because until this season the logo was just a variation on the Chicago Cubs' logo. This year they decided to do something a little different and put an actual cub in the logo. Truth be told they've just gone from a variant of the Chicago Cubs' primary logo to a variant of the Chicago Cubs' old secondary logo from back in the 90s. But that's still an improvement in my book.

I don't get the leaves, though. I get that they wanted to put something there. Without them the logo would look imbalanced because the top half of the circle would say "SOUTH BEND" while the bottom half just said "CUBS". But why leaves? I could understand if South Bend's nickname was "The Tree City" or "The City of Maples" or something like that. But apparently the nickname of South Bend is "Lotion City". Granted, they're not likely to be able to incorporate lotion into the logo and I'd rather not see them try. But still, I don't get the leaves.

Maybe they should replace them with some stars of David and some crosses? You know, to honor the area where the stadium was built? Maybe that's blasphemous. But if so, it's probably no worse than turning a former place of worship into your team store.


* What do you call the Jewish part of town? Li-Tel Aviv?


Final Score: 12 points.
Penalties: Offspring, 12 pts.
Bonuses: None.


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