An April Fools Prank Takes on a Life of its Own in London, Ont.

Photo Courtesy of the London Majors

What was supposed to be a social media prank last week for a baseball team might have turned out to be the best promotion the team has ever had. And just like 100 years of baseball traditions have been turned upside down on its head in London, Ontario.

The London Majors of the Intercounty Baseball League sent a post across social media platforms that it would be rebranding as the Forest City Cobra Chickens on April 1st. However, within a few hours and 100,000 views across the team’s social media pages, it was apparent that the joke was no longer an April Fools prank.

“I did not think this would go this far,” said Matt Hiscox, the team’s social media manager. “Ownership allowed me to come up with something, and the name we kept going back to was the Cobra Chickens.”

Hiscox said that the response was felt not only in London but throughout as far south as Laredo, Texas, on the Mexican border. Folks responded with requests for caps and t-shirts and loved the colors Miami Vice electric blue and fluorescent pink. Hiscox soon realized that his prank was about to take on a life of its own.

“By noon on April 1st, my phone had died because of all the calls and texts. I said to the owner that they had to do something about this. The ball keeps getting bigger and bigger with the new logo."

If you are unaware of the Majors, they have been around for a century, playing baseball at Labatt Park. They handle their business in the same manner as the New York Yankees and have worn their Old English L. It is not hard to spot someone in London wearing a Majors cap. To suddenly decide to make a radical change is somewhat unusual for the ball club.

“We're a traditional club with 100 years of history, but when it took off, we had to take advantage of it. I don’t want to say that we went into full panic mode, but more of a full-tilt “let’s go!” mode. I asked my graphic designer at 1 p.m. to start designing a jersey, and I added Hiscox.

However, asking for 60 jerseys to be designed and delivered is easier said than done. There also has to be merchandise ordered for fans and staff at the game, along with working with the league to ensure that whoever the opponent is that night won’t have a similar colored top jersey to clash with London’s tops.

Hiscox added that the April Fools prank was in the making for six months and has received many requests for hoodies, track pants, to Hawaiian shirts. He has also appeared in numerous interviews this past week about the promotion in entire 7 years that he has been with the Majors. However, he gives credit to his wife for helping out with the name of the graphic design team with creating the colors and the logo.

*UPDATE: The Cobra Chickens released renderings of their jerseys that will be teal blue and hot pink from head to toe. They should be a hit with fans and players alike.

Photo Courtesy of the London Majors

There is no date set for the Cobra Chickens game, but things have been moving quickly since the announcement last week. Team management wants to make sure that all merchandise has been delivered to the stadium for players and then for fans to purchase at the game or online.

The Majors begin their season on the road in Brantford on May 11 and open the season at Labatt Park on May 16 against Guelph. Hiscox hopes to have further Cobra Chicken news on all social media platforms sometime soon.

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Follow all of Marc’s stadium journeys on Twitter @ballparkhunter and on his YouTube channel. Email at Marc.Viquez@stadiumjourney.com