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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 2018 June 14 In 1950, the team that is now the Great Falls Voyagers was called the Great Fall Selectrics. With some teams I might be content to comment on what a silly name for a baseball team "Selectrics" is, but trust me, you're going to forget all about that "Selectrics" detail in a minute. One morning — 1950 August 15, to be precise — Selectrics general manager Nick Mariana was doing an inspection of the field before a game. And Mariana looked up in the sky and saw...well, what he saw is the $64,000 question, as they say. (Okay, nobody says that anymore. But they did say that in the 1950s.) Mariana described them as bright, silvery objects moving at a few hundred miles an hour. He ran to his car to pull out a movie camera and filmed the objects for about fifteen seconds. Yes, reader, one of the earliest UFO sightings happened at a baseball stadium. So what were these objects? Well, experts at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base looked at the film and concluded that it was a couple of F-94 fighter jets that were flying in the area (Maelstrom Air Force Base, known in 1950 as Great Falls Air Force Base, is on the eastern edge of town). Mariana cried foul, and claimed that when the film was returned, the first two seconds were missing. These first two seconds, Mariana further claimed, more clearly showed that the objects were rotating discs. The Air Force said this was nonsense, and they had only removed a single frame (and even that only because it was damaged in the analysis). So in 1952 the experts at Wright-Patterson looked at it again and said that it wasn't F-94's after all. Then in 1953 some experts on a panel formed by the Air Force and the CIA looked at it and said yeah, it was airplanes. Then in 1954 an expert who worked at Douglas Aircraft said no, these aren't airplanes. Then people apparently got tired of looking at it, because the next expert to look at it didn't do so until 1960. And what did this expert have to say? That maybe it was an airplane and maybe it wasn't. Gee, thanks, pal. That clears everything up. The footage is, of course, on YouTube (search for "Mariana UFO incident"). You've probably seen the footage before if you've watched any specials on UFOs, but if not, take a moment to go look at it. (I'll wait.) I've looked at it and I'm come to two conclusions regarding it. One, the suggested videos that come up when I go to YouTube are about to get a lot wackier. Two, my money's on them being airplanes. Of course, I reject the notion that UFOs are alien spacecraft, so that's exactly what you'd expect me to say. I also reject the notions that ghosts are real, that vaccines cause autism, and that the moon landings were faked. So clearly I'm what some people would call "a government shill". Or, to use the terminology I prefer, "sane". Anyway, fast forward to 2008, and the team then known as the Great Falls White Sox decide it's time for a new team name. So what better inspiration for a name than one of the most famous UFO incidents ever, one which just so happened to have an undeniable connection to the team? Thus the Great Falls Voyagers were born. Even if I think the notion of alien spacecraft is ridiculous, I do think it's a good name. And given the name, it's a good logo. The old logo, which was very similar but featured a flying saucer with a 50's-edque alien peeking out of it, was even better. But this one still works. One last thing: In 1950 the team was called the Selectrics. You'd completely forgotten about that detail, hadn't you? Told you so.
Final Score: 11 points.
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