The name comes from Akron's history as the "Rubber Capital of the World." Akron maintains standing as the home of Goodyear HQ and the Bridgestone-Firestone tech center.
"We wanted to do something that was fun and entertaining while honoring the heritage of this great community," RubberDucks owner Ken Babby says. "The logo accomplishes a lot of things. Right off the bat, it represents the grit and fierceness of this blue-collar market."
Known for pitching branding rights to the public in the form of contests (none of which came to fruition, really), the team whittled the possible names down to five back in 2011: the Vulcans, the Gum Dippers, the RubberDucks, the Tire Jacks, and the Aeros.
All of this, of course, falls closer in line with Minor League Baseball's fantastic tradition of boasting weird team names. A few parting examples: Toledo Mud Hens, Montgomery Biscuits, Fort Wayne TinCaps, Savannah Sand Gnats and the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx.
