San Antonio Missions

31

A few years ago, when I was writing the review for the Jamestown Jammers, I did a rundown of all the categories that comprised the nicknames of teams I had reviewed up to that point. Most teams fell into one of two categories — "Animals and Animal Parts" and "Humans and Humanoids" — but the remaining categories showed considerable diversity. There were Forces of Nature, Transportation, Clothing, Abstract Concepts, Machinery and Machine Parts, Gems, Places, Plants, Celestial Objects, and Games. (Plus an "Uncategorizable" category because I had no idea where else to put "Wild Things".) There was not a category for buildings. There didn't need to be at the time. But that's precisely what the Missions are named after. In fact, they are arguably the only team named after a building in all of minor league baseball. There's also the Joliet Slammers, but they're arguably named after the concept of jail more than the building itself; the Missions are indisputably named after the buildings themselves.

I personally love it when teams do something truly different like this. Names like this take true creativity. And the local reference is undeniable. For those who don't know, San Antonio is famous for five missions: the Alamo (originally Mission San Antonio), Mission Concepción, Mission San José, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada. These are such an integral part of San Antonio's history that they've been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And of course, the most famous incident in the history of San Antonio (perhaps the most famous incident in the history of Texas) happened at the Alamo. It's hard to imagine a more quintessentially San Antonio-esque thing to name a team after.

So what do you do for a logo with a name like this? Well, unlike the team I covered last week, this name demands you don't get silly with the logo. And the team didn't. The logo is little more than the team name on a background. The "M" in "Missions" is reminiscent of the architectural style of the missions (it looks like a cross between Mission Espada and the Alamo), as does the badge (which basically duplicates the shape of the Alamo). A star near the top of the logo satisfies the Texas state law that every single thing in the whole damn state must remind you that you're in Texas. The baseball, like most baseballs in logos, is unnecessary, but even it manages to be fairly unobtrusive.

If there's anything to criticize, it's the "Since 1888" statement. It's not that I blame a team that has been around since 1888 for wanting to brag about that fact. My problem is that the team hasn't been around since 1888. The current team only dates back to 1972. The first team in San Antonio does date to 1888 and did have a similar name (San Antonio Missionaries), but there's really no way to spin it to say that either this team or any team called the San Antonio Missions have been around since 1888. The Missions are hardly the only team to claim to be older than they are by pretending to be associated with an unrelated team in the same city, but most teams don't exaggerate by over eighty years. Nor do most teams put the false date in the logo.

Then again, they had to put something there or the logo would have looked imbalanced, and a second star would have violated state law (it is the Lone Star State, after all). I'm willing to go easy on them on that point. And as I said, it's really the only thing to criticize. All in all this is a solid effort, and certainly one of the better logos out there.

Final Score: 31 points.
Penalties: Equipment, 13 pts; Letter, 24 pts.
Bonuses: Local, -6 pts.