It was announced today the American Association’s Cleburne Railroaders will be take the field with a new look in 2021. One that embraces the dynamics of the City of Cleburne and the railroading heritage throughout its history. In the announcement, the organization wants to show baseball fans all over the world where they come from within the great state of Texas.
Neil Leibman, who owns multiple professional sports teams, along with Alan Miller and Jon Ryan (Portland Pickles) have made significant investments in the team’s future growth which ensures an increased commitment to Johnson and southern Tarrant counties.
“The growth of Cleburne and the kindness of the people who live here are impressive, but I’m most excited about our partners’ commitment to developing baseball at all levels,” Leibman said. “Daryn and John have done a great job building a strong community asset and I hope that Jon, Alan and I can contribute positively to their growth.”
The new colors are inspired by the Texas flag: Caboose Red, Steel Rail Blue, and Whistle Post White. The new wording features the beloved Cleburne mascot, Spike – popping up as the letter ‘L’. For the font, it’s based on the script lettering of ‘The Katy,’ the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas railroad – a name inscribed on the side of the Union Pacific Heritage locomotive.
“We wanted to create an identity that honors the 115-year heritage of the team and the region,” Miller stated. “Baseball and trains are the fabric of America. We couldn’t be more excited to build a Texas mecca for baseball fans.”
The marks were created by Miller’s COLLiDE Agency and designer Kevin McLaughlin.
New logos will include the ‘C-Texas,’ with a railroad track-shaped ‘C’, which also doubles as a horseshoe, leading to the location of Cleburne. It is marked with a star and a railroad spike. The ‘Katy-R’ includes the star and spike that locates Cleburne. And finally, fans will be able to see the ‘Cleburne Circle,’ which features the ‘C-Texas’ in the middle with a narrow railroad tracks substituting baseball seams.
“I’m so excited to become a part of the great Cleburne community. Although my playing experience has been in football, I have a huge passion for baseball. I look forward to bringing my on-field knowledge of professional sports to the Railroaders and to ultimately bring a championship trophy to the city,” said new owner Jon Ryan who played fourteen seasons in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.
There’s also a new mascot – Gandy. Gandy will be joining Spike in representing the Railroaders this season. The new mascot was part of the Santa Fe railroad track maintenance gang from the old days. These track gangs were known as ‘Gandy Dancers.’ The dancers would sing songs while working.
Gandy’s story according to the new announcement: “Gandy was sad when he lost his job to machines but he is now a happy guy, thanks to his newfound friend, Spike, who helped fix his broken railroad hammer.”
“The Cleburne Railroaders have been on an upward trajectory since Daryn and John took over, and the addition of Neil, Alan and Jon make this ownership group one of the more dynamic in all of minor league baseball,” American Association Commissioner Joshua Schaub said. “The strengths of each will benefit not only the Railroaders organization, but the city of Cleburne and its neighboring communities and will continue to position the American Association as a premier league in professional baseball.”
For more information, you can visit https://ilovetexasbaseball.com/
(Photo Credit: CRR Social Media)
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