Las Vegas 51s is the former name of a Minor League Baseball club, which today is known as Las Vegas Aviators. But the original name of the franchise, established in 1983, was the Las Vegas Stars, and this was until 2000 when the team played as the Stars as the Triple-A affiliates of San Diego Padres. However, the affiliation stability finished with the franchise’s rebranding in 2001.
While playing under the Las Vegas 51s name, from 2001 to 2018, the team has changed three Major League Baseball affiliates: in the very beginning it was the Los Angeles Dodgers, then, in 2009, the 51s became the farm club of Toronto Blue Jays, and finally, switched to New York Mets in 2013. The rebranding to Las Vegas Aviators was followed by another partnership change, so starting the 2019 season the club plays as the Triple-A affiliate of Oakland Athletics.
As for the professional achievements of the club, most of them were reached under the “Stars” nickname, with two league titles won in the 1980s. While playing as the 51s, the franchise has only managed to get three Division titles, and the first season of the Aviators was also marked by one.
In terms of visual identity, the Las Vegas 51s team was quite fun. The head seen on the logo of the club belonged to one of the extraterrestrial creatures allegedly living not far from the team’s hometown.
The brand identity plays with this legend. The Las Vegas 51s logo features the head of a grey alien with baseball stitching on it. The head is placed over the blue figure “5” from the name of the team. The large blue number “51” has a grey outline. The text “Las Vegas” in smaller letters is placed above.
Being located in Las Vegas, the team received its current nickname from the Area 51 situated less than 100 miles north of its home city. Some UFO believers suppose that aliens, who crashed landed in the desert, inhabit Area 51 and that it’s also one of the places where the American government stores spaceships.
Grey seems the most natural part of the Las Vegas 51s logo as it is used to depict the legendary grey alien. Paired with white and a dark and saturated shade of blue, it helps to create a noble and distinctive design.