St. Catharines Blue Jays burst on to the scene in 1986, they made an immediate impact — winning the New York-Penn League title in their inaugural season, and capturing the hearts and minds of baseball fans throughout the Golden Horseshoe. While the following seasons never matched that initial glory, the Blue Jays were hometown favourites, and regularly packed the stands at Community Park.
conclusion of the 1993 season, with their parent club’s recent success still fresh, management wanted to make a splash. Minor league teams were increasingly moving away from using their major league affiliate’s name and logo, and St. Catharines was no exception. The decision was made to axe the Blue Jays name after the 1994 season, and forge a new identity for the club.
On January 26, 1994, the St. Catharines Blue Jays held a Celebrity Banquet and Auction at the Parkway Conference Centre — welcoming troves of baseball fans for a meet-and-greet with Toronto Blue Jays legends, dinner, a silent auction, and an exciting announcement about the team. After countless autographs had been signed, and with attendees’ bellies full, team owner Terrence O’Malley took to the stage to debut the new team name and uniforms. The St. Catharines Seagulls.
intention was to stick with the avian theme of their parent club, fan response was swift and unanimously negative. A chorus of boos immediately erupted from the crowd in attendance, and O’Malley and team management exited the event to chants of “Seagulls Suck!”
Seeing the writing on the wall, the team quickly changed course, settling on the Stompers moniker for the 1995 season. No St. Catharines player ever wore the Seagulls uniform, with only one prototype ever being produced.
Check out the full Hidden St. Catharines Sports installation at Mahtay Cafe.
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