As our nation enters its 250th anniversary year, there are a ton of patriotic themes that will pop up – especially in the sports world, as we celebrate. On Wednesday morning, the Hub City Spartanburgers unveiled something that is not only a revolutionary theme, but an identity that continues to reflect the team’s ongoing commitment to making themselves truly Spartanburg’s home team.
The upstate – really the entirety of the state of South Carolina, has just as rich of a revolutionary history as northern states like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York. Home to more battles and skirmishes than any of the other 13 colonies save for New Jersey, it can be argued that without such things as General Daniel Morgan’s major tide-turning victory at the Battle of Cowpens or the efforts of such legendary militia as those under the command of Generals Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion and Thomas “The Fighting Gamecock” Sumter slowing the British advance through the state and subsequently the south, the colonies would not have won their independence.
Spartanburg county, which was home to 10 major revolutionary war battles and skirmishes such as Musgrove’s Mill, Wofford’s Iron Works, Cedar Springs, Fort Prince, and Cowpens, made another key contribution to the fight for liberty with the creation of a militia regiment that would go on to become the namesake of both the city and county – The Spartan Regiment. Initially founded to help protect from growing unrest in the South Carolina frontier at the onset of the American Revolution in 1775, the regiment began near what is now Glendale at Wofford’s Iron Works. By 1777, the regiment had split into 2 divisions and saw a lot of action ranging from involvement in the Battle of Cowpens, Siege of Charleston, the Battle of King’s Mountain, and all of the aforementioned engagements across what is now Spartanburg county.
That historic regiment is the basis as well as the name of the first-ever alternate identity for the Hub City Spartanburgers and in short, perfectly embraces the revolutionary history of Spartanburg and honors those tough, brave, and highly-disciplined “Spartans” that sacrificed so much for the cause of creating a free and independent country for themselves, their families, and all of us that still enjoy the freedom we have 250 years later.
“This is really exciting to us”, said Hub City Spartanburgers General Manager Tyson Jeffers. “As we enter our third year of operation as a business and our second season as a team, we are still doing things for the first time and this being the first alternate identity being unveiled is going to be so monumental, even more so because of the timing as it ties into our celebration of 250 years of freedom – 250 years of America and how that ties into our community and things that happened right here in our own back yard.”
The new uniform that was unveiled on Wednesday morning at the Spartanburg County Library Headquarters features the colors of the Spartan Regiment’s flag – blue and gold with an interlocking stylized ‘SR’ on the cap (meant to symbolize the unity of the militia members), gold text saying ‘Spartan’ and a play on quill pen handwriting in the word ‘Regiment’ across the jersey chest, one sleeve with the interlocked HC inside the outline of the state, and the other featuring the 13 stripes from the regimental flag’s field (representing the original 13 colonies).
To clear up any confusion, all minor league baseball teams wear an alternate identity from time to time. Many are a part of a program with MiLB called “Copa de La Diversion” in which teams will come up with a Latin-American branding to play as for select games (for example, the Greenville Drive play a few games as the “Ranas del Rio”, which translates to “River Frogs” – a reference to their mascot Reedy Ripit). Hub City will participate in the Copa this season for the first time, but that identity will be unveiled at a later date.
For other alternate identities, it is often just a matter of further marketing with a quirky/fun name, such as the Asheville Tourists’ “Snot Otters” branding. The Spartanburgers will also unveil a third identity later on this season that, given how the marketing team has done with this franchise over the last three years, promises to be a big hit that will be unique to Spartanburg.
“It seems pretty crazy that a year ago today, many of our staff had never set foot inside Fifth Third Park”, said Spartanburgers play-by-play voice and Director of Media Relations Ian Unsworth during the reveal. “Now we have a season under our belts, and we have had a championship chase and have hosted playoff games. It has been an unforgettable first season and there is room to build off that. With America’s 250th anniversary celebration that will be going on all Summer, why would we not be a part of that? This identity is rooted in military history, Spartanburg’s military background, and hopefully educates the younger generation that comes to Fifth Third Park for the fun and hijinks that come with Minor League Baseball.”
The “Spartan Regiment”, whose merch is already available both in the team store and online, will take to the field in Fifth Third Park three times this season – twice over Memorial Day weekend (May 23rd, which will also be Military Appreciation Night, and the 24th with a big fireworks show after the game) as well as on August 2nd, coming with a special “no tax” promotion on tickets that will also include a replica of the regiment’s flag for the first thousand fans to enter the gates.
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