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New baseball’s team nickname, logo evokes Jack The Ripper

neate sager

Apparently, one baseball team's idea of "fun" and "Canadian" is to adopt a nickname synonymous with one of history's most infamous serial killers.

Generally, new minor-league baseball teams try to pick a name that's cheeky, cheesy and ha-ha funny. The goal is to push the envelope to just shy of the point where it's so stupid that it puts off people who are on the fence or disinclined to support a fledgling operation. The independent Frontier League, for instance, has teams named the Beach Bums, Boomers and CornBelters. So what did the operators of the league's new London, Ont., franchise come up with to try and match that?

The London Rippers. Really.

Of course, there is no way anyone would connect that to the other London and that guy who preyed on lower-class women in the late 19th century. Except they did. Clearly, they think too much.

Within minutes of unveiling the team's new name and logo, the Internet was abuzz with bemused and angry Londoners, interpreting the name as a not-so-subtle reference to serial killer Jack The Ripper.

"London Rippers? Seriously? What, was London Bernardos already taken?" said one Tweet, referring to the convicted schoolgirl killer, Paul Bernardo.

... Team president and general manager David Martin was unapologetic, saying the name, Rippers, is a common baseball term that speaks to the bat prowess of the cartoon character they've created as part of a marketing strategy.

Martin said the character's name is Diamond Jack, a frustrated hockey player who found he could "rip" the cover off baseballs. Despite his talent, teams grew weary of the expense of replacing balls so Diamond Jack decided to form his own team in London, Ontario.

"It's Phantom of the Opera meets baseball. He's a mysterious character who is somewhat edgy," said Martin.

"I think this is going to help redefine baseball in Canada. We wanted to make it fun and make it Canadian." (London Free Press)

Except Phantom of the Opera was fictional. So was the inspiration for London's previous Frontier League entry, the London Werewolves, who had a mascot named Warren Z. Vaughn after the late, great singer-songwriter. Jack The Ripper was a real guy and sadly, for many women, facing violence just for being female is all too real in 2011. It's just a name, but frankly, they should do a lot better.

Excuse using one's judgement, but there is no mistaking the Jack The Ripper imagery. A fun name such as Lake Monsters or Fat Cats is good for merchandise sales. What mom is going to buy her kids something bearing that logo? (Uh, better you not answer that.) More to the point, how many "frustrated hockey players" sport Victorian-era stovepipe hats peculiar to Jack's day? Rip the cover of the ball is a pretty ubiquitous expression heard around ball diamonds from mixed slo-pitch to the Major League Baseball. In 16 years of playing poorly and umpiring to mixed acclai, I never heard it coined as the noun rippers, though. In Canadian slang, rippers is much more commonly associated with strip clubs, or flatulence.

As one London Community News commenter put it, there's no mistaking the unfortunate association.

As a female baseball player and history buff, this name is bollocks. Of course it's Jack the Ripper; look at the Victorian stovepipe hat on the logo. While I appreciate that team names are best served aggressive, this one is too stupid.

... Plus, Jack the Ripper worked alone and nobody ever knew who he was. Good name for a team, London.

Some will try the counter-argument that those who would make the connection between this team name and Jack The Ripper are a bunch of pointy-heads who wouldn't attend baseball games in any event. That's nothing but a smear tactic; who knows whether Megan Walker and others involved with the London Abused Women's Centre (who says, "I think it's appalling. It's insulting and stupid and they better rethink their entire marketing strategy.") are baseball fans, or better yet, whether their partners and friends are?

If you have to use that tactic, you've lost the argument already. It's deliberately divisive. It defeats the very idea of having a minor-league baseball team. A well-run, well-supported minor-league ballclub, can help foster a sense of civic pride and shared experienced in smaller cities. Enraging a sizable portion of the population right off the hop hardly serves that end.

Update: Check out the response by the London Majors, the city's Inter-County League team.

The London Majors will be making a donation to the London Abused Women's Centre (LAWC) in support of their Shine The Light On Woman Abuse campaign.

In addition, Roop Chanderdat, co-owner, general manager, and field manager of the Majors will be at Labatt Park on Thursday (Nov. 17) from 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. giving away free tickets for the 2012 regular season on behalf of LAWC and the London Majors. (London Community News)

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet (photo: London Community News).