Fifty years ago this week, the Philadelphia Flyers announced their new name, according to an article on the NHL Hockey News website.

“When the National Hockey League awarded a conditional expansion franchise on Feb. 9, 1966 to a Philadelphia-based group of bidders (Philadelphia Hockey Club) eventually led by Ed Snider, the new team did not yet have a name.”

The organization toyed with a plethora of name ideas, although none conveyed the intended concept.

Just like any great idea, the name came to them at an unforeseen moment. While enjoying ice cream, following a Broadway show in Manhattan, Ed Snider’s sister Phyllis spontaneously suggested the potential name: Flyers.

It felt right to Ed and the business partners.

To market their name, the team decided to have a “name the team” contest. It would be open to the public with a grand prize to the winner. Contest winners were “chosen among entrants who suggested Flyers or Fliers.”

The contest was co-sponsored by Acme grocery stores and ran for 10 days in July. On August 3, 1966, at a press conference on the construction site that would become the Spectrum, the new team name and contest winner were announced.

The winner was nine-year-old Alec Stockard from Narberth, whose “Fliers” name suggestion earned him an entry into the final prize drawing.

While other names like Liberty Bells, Quakers, Ramblers, Arrows, Acmes, the Philly-Billies, and the Stars and Stripes were suggested, none of them swayed the business partners’ minds from Phyllis’ original suggestion.

Local firm Mel Richman, Inc.’s Tom Paul headed the project and graphic designer, Sam Ciccone designed the logo. Bill Putnam’s love for the University of Texas Longhorns influenced the color scheme.

“Fifty years later, the name, the logo, and more or less, the uniform are the same.”
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Top photo credit: Mike Richards via photopin (license)