Bisons go Blue for '09
Out with the green, in with the blue.
That's going to be one theme for the Buffalo Bisons in 2009, as the Herd unveiled its new colors and logo today for its inaugural season as the New York Mets' top farm club.
In honor of the new affiliation, the Bisons are adopting Mets-style blue and orange and dropping the green scheme they switched to in 1998 when they returned to the International League. The logo is circluar, like the Mets' longtime trademark, with the laces of a baseball showing similar to the parent club's.
It has a charging Buffalo with its tail arched running through a depiction of the Buffalo skyline, the word "Bisons" at the bottom with "Buffalo" in smaller orange letters above.
"The logo will pay tribute we believe to the longstanding success our franchise has had in the city of Buffalo," said Bisons Vice President/General Manager Mike Buczkowski. "We're thrilled to usher in a new era of Bison Baseball. We thought this would be a great time to take a look at the logo and tie in to what we believe is an exciting future for our team."
Buczkowski announced the team will unveil its uniforms, caps and jackets at a Hot Stove Luncheon Jan. 16 in the Adam's Mark hotel.
Former major-leaguer Ken Oberkfell, who was officially hired as the Herd's manager by the Mets on Friday, was also introduced today as part of the press conference in Pettibones Grille at Dunn Tire Park. Oberkfell was to hold a meet-and-greet and autograph signing for fans in the ballpark restaurant tonight until 8 p.m. Merchandise with the new logo will be available for sale.
That will be the last official event in the ballpark under the Dunn Tire name. The team has scheduled another press conference for Wednesday morning to announce a new naming rights deal for the 21-year-old facility. It is expected to become Coca-Cola Field.
The new logo and uniform is the third scheme the team has worn since moving downtown in 1988. It will appear on the field for the first time when the Bisons make their debut as a Mets affiliate April 9 in the home and season opener against the Pawtucket Red Sox.
The Bisons unveiled red, white and blue uniforms for the 1988 opening of then-Pilot Field and wore those through 1997. From 1985 to '97, the main logo was the charging Buster Bison character swinging a bat.
Beginning in 1998 to mark the return to the IL, the Bisons switched to an orange and green scheme with a logo depicting Buster sliding into home plate. The orange has gradually disappeared in recent years, with green becoming the primary color.
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