Name changes, all-decades team among highlights as Omaha Storm Chasers celebrate their 50th season
Omaha baseball fans, prepare for a new team name for your minor league franchise. Three, to be honest. Rest assured, each name change is temporary. It’s all part of the team’s 50th season celebration. Originally named the Omaha Royals, the team saw its name changed to the Golden Spikes in the 1990s, back to the Royals and then to the Storm Chasers when the team moved to Papillion’s Werner Park eight seasons ago.
The team, which enjoys baseball’s longest-running minor league relationship with the Kansas City Royals, plans to recognize each of its decades with a team night honoring a previous nickname. In addition, on June 9, the team will be known as the Omaha Runzas as it takes on the Albuquerque Green Chile Burgers (normally the Isotopes) in a game sponsored by Runza. Afterward, the team will auction off the game jerseys.
Martie Cordaro, the Chasers’ general manager, shared the team’s 2018 plans during a media event Tuesday. The 50th season celebration will include a mural highlighting the team’s history, led by Omaha artist Hugo Zamarano.
The Omaha Royals joined the American Association for the 1969 season. Playing at the old Rosenblatt Stadium, the Royals ended a six-year drought of Triple-A baseball in Omaha. They won the league’s 1969 championship. The team will be recognized with a jersey throwback night Aug. 24.
Other flashback jersey nights are:
April 20 – The 2011 Omaha Storm Chasers recognize the team’s first season at Werner Park.
May 25 – The 2010 Omaha Royals jersey will honor the team’s last season at Rosenblatt Stadium.
June 22 – Players will wear the 1999 Golden Spikes’ jersey. The team went by the nickname from 1999-2001 before changing back to the Royals.
July 20 – The 1985 Omaha Royals will be recognized with a flashback jersey, honoring the Kansas City Royals’ World Series championship that season.
Celebrations scheduled throughout season
In addition to throwback jerseys, the team plan a special bobblehead series featuring former Royals who made it to the Majors. The bobbleheads form the team’s O-Bolt (an O with a lightning bolt through it). The series recognizes Jarrod Dyson (April 21), Mike Sweeney (May 5), Jeff Montgomery (June 9), Kevin Seitzer (July 14) and the late Dan Quisenberry (Aug. 25). Additional giveaways include a replica of Rosenblatt Stadium June 23.
The Storm Chasers are conducting a fan vote for the 50th Season team. They’ve partnered with 1620 The Zone sports talk radio to sponsor a fan vote through April 6. Fans can select a player at each position, as well as a manager. The all-star team will be announced later in the season.
Former Omaha players will visit the stadium throughout the season, including Sweeney, Angel Berroa, Harold Reynolds, Chris Hatcher, Dwayne Hosey, Dave Ullery, Ken Harvey, Frank White, manager Jack McKeon and former team officials Bill Beck and Bob Quinn.
The Storm Chasers have additional celebrations of their 50 seasons, as well as additional promotions. Of course, the annual Independence Day fireworks show will follow the July 3 game against Nashville.
In addition to the on-field action, Omaha plans to honor former General Manager Bill Gorman by renaming the office suite after him. Gorman managed the team for 30 years, from 1971 to 2001. Steve Pivovar covered the team for decades as a sportswriter for the Omaha World-Herald, before passing away in 2017. The team will rename its press box after the sports journalism veteran.
The 2018 season gets underway March 26 when the Storm Chasers host the parent club Royals in an exhibition game. The regular season starts April 5 when the Chasers host Pacific Coast League rival Colorado Springs. Omaha expects to top the 3-million mark in fan attendance since moving to Werner Park in 2011. They’ve attracted nearly 15 million fans in franchise history.
More activities for the 50th season can be found here.
