The Durham Tobacconists
As the City of Durham, North Carolina celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2019, the Durham Bulls took it back to 1902. That year, the Durham Tobacconists took the field as Durham's first professional baseball team, with the name an ode to the agricultural industry at the time. As no images of the Tobacconists team of 1902 could be found, the Bulls unveiled a modern take with these "fauxback" uniforms that I designed. During the 2019 season, the Bulls played as the Tobacconists five times.
The Tobacconists colors were inspired by the golden leaves of harvested tobacco, the natural wool of old-time uniforms, and the red, well, that gave the whole look a bit of fire and flash with modern flair. I edited photos of turn-of-the-century ballplayers, found scans of local newspapers from 1902, and applied some texture and grit reminiscent of the area’s red clay soil to create the background of social and in-game graphics.
In addition to the uniforms and the suite of in-stadium graphics for each game, I also designed apparel, promotional giveaways, and social media graphics. On Saturday, April 13, 2019, the Durham Tobacconists were featured on ESPN's Minor League Promotion of the Week segment.
"We designed everything in-house. Amy [Morgan], our designer, took the lead
and we started with a blank slate. We said, 'OK, if we were to create this uniform, what would it look like?'" Bulls director of marketing and communications Matt Sutor said. "That's why we used muted colors. With the crimson red, we took it into the 21st century a bit. But with the muted yellow, and a simple tobacco leaf, the simple DT, we went with [a vintage feel]. It was her design, and for the most part we were all in agreement about the DT style to go forward. We all knew that was what we wanted, and it was her brainchild. ... In terms of actually building a brand, building a style guide, this was the most in-depth [design work] she's done for us."