Fort Smith baseball team adopts ‘Marshals’ moniker, mascot

“Marshals” is the team name and mascot for the Fort Smith baseball team set to begin play in the new Mid America League this spring. The name and logo was unveiled Thursday (Jan. 18) during an event at the U.S. Marshals Museum in downtown Fort Smith.

According to Marshals General Manager Greg Kigar the new name was “easily the most popular” in a naming contest sponsored by the team. Other names considered included Lawmen, Judges, Gunslingers and Outlaws.

“The Marshals name is a great fit for the team, which includes the regional history of Bass Reeves, Judge Parker, and the U.S. Marshals Museum,” Kigar said in a statement. “The primary team cap will incorporate a unique star with an ‘F’ and ’S’ for Fort Smith, and the secondary logo is a rugged image of a marshal with cowboy hat and scarf. An Old West script will be utilized for the uniforms, incorporating Fort Smith on the road jerseys and Marshals on the home uniforms.”

The primary team colors are pantone 282 C blue and 130 C yellow. The logos were prepared by Zachry Associates based in Abilene, Texas, who have prepared logos for other teams in the League.

The Marshals also named Steve Maddock as the head coach for the inaugural season. His background includes coaching at the professional, summer collegiate and high school levels, and ownership and operations of baseball academies. Maddock resides in Frisco, Texas, and coaches the Trinity High School baseball program in the region.

“I can’t be more excited to be involved with the Fort Smith franchise. We’ve already started the process of securing players and will be announcing roster signings in the near future. Fans are going to love the new League,” Maddock said.

Other employees with the new team are Jack Misterovich, director of operations, and Laura Asbill, director of sales. The team’s office will soon open at 101 N. 10th St., Suite A101, in Fort Smith.

League teams will initially be from Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. Teams will play a 68-game schedule beginning May 23 and ending in early August. The league will conduct playoffs to determine a champion. According to Mid America, the team selection is from regions with at least 100,000 population “with a solid business base, and will initially play in a combination of municipal and university facilities.”

“Teams will be owned by individual ownership groups with several markets offering opportunities for new stadium development in the future. League founders are already actively pursuing expansion markets for future seasons,” noted a Nov. 9 statement from Mid America.

Kigar said the team is working the the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith for a possible lease to use its baseball field the first year.