Brockton's pro baseball club dumps 'Chowdahheads' name. Here's the new name
BROCKTON — The name of Brockton's new pro baseball club will honor the city's boxing history after all, chucking "Chowdahheads" for "Knockouts."
Fans chose "Chowdahheads" in an online contest that received about 3,100 votes. But team officials overruled that moniker after it got an unenthusiastic reception.
On social media, the new name landed much better than Chowdahheads did. The announcement on the team's Facebook page and Instagram account drew positive reactions, including several memes clapping approval.
Knockout brass explained they made the change to salute the city, though "Brockton" still won't be in the name. The team will be the New England Knockouts, in an effort to attract crowds from the whole region.
"Although our soon-to-be fans voted in favor of our team being called the Chowdahheads," said Nick Desrosiers, vice president and general manager of the club, "we heard loud and clear from our partners and others from Boston, through Providence and all the way down to Hartford that we might be missing a key opportunity to name our team in honor of our Host City, Brockton's storied history of producing some of the best boxing talent in the world."
Desrosiers said Friday that many of the contest votes for "Chowdahheads" came from outside the region. Among local voters, "Knockouts" was the top pick, he said. "We want everyone to have a sense of ownership of this team," he said.
Knockouts debut at Campanelli on May 10
The pro Knockouts and the amateur Rox are scheduled to play 80 home games this spring and summer. That's a lot of chances to take the family to the ballpark. The Knockouts have 48 home games scheduled. For the Rox, the 2024 schedule isn't out yet, but they expect to host about 32 games, according to a previous press release.
Tickets will be in the range of $8-13, Desrosiers said. The team will offer discounts including for seniors, students, military personnel and first responders.
Opening day for the Knockouts is Friday, May 10, as the Ottawa Titans come for three games of a six-game homestand. The Knockouts play in the Frontier League, which is "professional partner league" of Major League Baseball. Observers say the Frontier League is a little lower than a single-A minor league team.
During the naming contest, the pro team had offered a prize package to the person who nominated the winning name: season tickets, a plaque that says "I named this team," merch and the honor of throwing out the first pitch.
"Due to the unique circumstances of the situation, the contest will honor two winners one for the Chowdahheads first submission and one for the Knockouts first submission," the pro club said in announcing the name change.
Mascot and merch TBA
So, when will the team announce a mascot and start selling merch? Desrosiers said they don't have a date but are working with their designers. "We're aiming for soon," he said. "You don't want to rush anything."
One thing the team does have is a manager. The club named Massachusetts native Jerod Edmondson as the team's first skipper. Edmondson played with the Rox in addition to playing and coaching at the college level at UMass Lowell and St. Anselm College.
Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @HelmsNews.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton's pro baseball team renames to New England Knockouts
