A rebranding of the former Florence Freedom is now complete, as the club has officially become the Florence Y’alls (independent; Frontier League) in a nod to a local landmark.
Back in October, the club announced that it would change its name prior to the 2020 season. Five finalists for a new moniker were later unveiled, including the Go-Goettas, Fossil Jockeys, Pop Flies, No Sox, and the eventual new name, the Y’alls,
The new name, complete with its logos and color scheme, was unveiled Tuesday evening. It takes inspiration from the Florence Y’All Water Tower, as the club explains with a backstory on its website:
1974: Mayor Hop Ewing was in a sticky spot. The Florence water tower needed to be repainted to remove the word “Mall” because it was illegal to have corporate sponsorships on a water tower. An ingenious problem solver, Hop decided he’d paint over the sides of the “M” and turn it into a “Y,” and ever since the tower has read “Florence Y’all.”
What was a simple solution to avoid a legal issue has grown into a cultural landmark. Visit the “Y’all” entry on Wikipedia and you’ll find the water tower has become a symbol for something bigger. Y’all isn’t just a water tower: y’all is a culture, and Florence is its capital.
In the capital of y’all culture play the Florence Y’alls: the baseball team that’s pure Kentucky. As the first (going south) and last (going north) professional sports team in the south, it’s our obligation to deliver nostalgic charm with competitive baseball, topped with a Kentucky Twist.
Additionally, the Y’alls have explained more details on social media, including a fuller overview of their color scheme:
These are our colors. pic.twitter.com/JZhjnAMMTv
— Florence Y’alls (@florence_yalls) January 21, 2020
New branding comes months after an ownership change for the team. Over the summer, the group Freedom Baseball Club LLC finalized its purchase of the then Freedom from Kim Brown. The contingent includes four local businesspeople: David DelBello, Brian Bortz, Danny Heilbrunn, and Matt Kappers.
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