Princeton Whistlepigs' revealed as name of the city's new Appalachian League baseball team
Mar. 24—PRINCETON — Princeton's reimagined local Appalachian League franchise finally has a new name.
The Princeton Baseball Association revealed that the city's new Appalachian League team has been branded the Princeton Whistlepigs — 'Whistlepig' being a colloquial name for Marmota monax — otherwise commonly known as the groundhog or woodchuck.
The new team name and logo were revealed in a ceremony held at the City Council Chamber at the Princeton Municipal Building. The team colors will be brown and gold.
"This is a great day for Princeton baseball," said Princeton Whistlepigs General Manager Danny Shingleton, who served as General Manager of the Princeton Rays during its final seasons as a rookie league team affiliated with the Tampa Bay major league organization.
The Princeton Whistlepigs join the Bluefield Ridge Runners among the ranks of the former Appalachian League professional teams that have been re-branded under a restructured 'New Appalachian League' amateur baseball format being overseen jointly by Major League Baseball and USA Baseball.
"We came up with a lot of different names. It was just by chance somebody said to Danny ... look! There are groundhogs running all over the place. They're known by a lot of people as whistlepigs.' And we kind of liked the name. It's catchy," said Dewey Russell, President of Princeton Baseball Association.
Bluefield Baseball Club revealed its new name on February 16. Princeton's reveal was originally slated to precede Bluefield during a ceremony to be held on February 2 — a.k.a. 'Groundhog Day. However but issues relating to the name 'Whistlepigs' coming into potential trademark conflict with two different pre-existing brand-name products delayed the reveal.
"That left us wondering if we were going to be called 'The Princeton Baseball Club' come June 3. Nothing wrong with that, but we're glad we got the name that we have," said Shingleton. "If it wasn't for the efforts of Dan Moushon, our Appalachian League President, and John D'Angelo from Major League Baseball, today might not have happened. John D'Angelo ... we owe him a huge thanks. It was because of his continued hard work and support for our team's identity that this has happened. He really went to bat for us."
Shingleton noted that the development of the team name had collective input, both locally as well as from professionals who develop brands for baseball. Consensus was that the animals were nothing if not ubiquitous in Mercer County.
"When I first got to Princeton almost four years ago, I noticed these furry things running around the Princeton High School campus," said Shingleton, who said Princeton Baseball Association had considered some kind of offbeat animal name early in the name selection process.
"We wanted to look at some other funny animal names. There are some great minor league baseball teams that have some really good names and we wanted to do something along that line. We Googled funny animal names and we came up with the whistlepig.
The main reason for the holdup of the reveal was the existence of a craft distillery in Vermont that produced a brand of Rye Whiskey know as 'Whistlepig.'
"They don't want us to get into their product line — which we don't. We do not sell alcohol at our stadium. We don't sell anything that's related to alcohol. Their mascot is a pig in a top hat and a tuxedo. Ours is a groundhog," said Shingleton, who said most of the legal wrangling that delayed the name reveal pertained to the team signing off on things that would not infringe on the distiller's product line.
The name approval process led to the discovery of a Whistle Pig Brewery in Colorado, but the Princeton team had no issues to resolve with that company.
Shingleton thanked Major League Baseball for "keeping their commitment to keep baseball here in Appalachia." He also thanked USA Baseball for being part of the collaborative effort to support all Appalachian League Teams. He also issued special thanks to the Hunnicutt Foundation, the Mercer County Board of Education, the City of Princeton, the Mercer County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Chamber of Commerce of the Two Virginias.
"Finally, we want to thank our fans for their support. We look forward to having you all back at Hunnicutt Field this season," Shingleton said.
