Atlanta was awarded an expansion franchise in 1971. A contest resulted in "Flames" being on 198 of 10,000 ballots. Tom Cousins, the franchise's first owner, selected the name to honor the burning of Atlanta by Union soldiers during the Civil War.
When the Flames moved to Calgary in 1980, the new ownership held a contest and ultimately decided to keep the Flames name, changing the logo from a flaming "A" to a flaming "C."
by Crunchin-
4 Comments
Should have kept the WHA name like other franchises and been the Cowboys, but whatever. Go Flames.
At the time, Calgarians were tired of Western themed names…Stampeders….Cowboys….Wranglers. So a non-cowboy name had instant appeal.
Also though, and I’m an American who has been a Flames fan since the late 80s… at the time the Flames moved to Calgary, there was a natural symbiosis with the idea of the Olympic flame and preparations for the 1988 Winter Games and the idea of the oil industry and the flames that burn out of oil wells. Then they won the Cup in 1989 right after the 88 games… the nickname just seemed to still work from Atlanta to Calgary.
But also, I always found the Civil War reference a little weird for an Atlanta team… I mean Sherman burned the city to the ground. Granted it eventually rose again but wouldn’t the imagery of a phoenix or something rising from the ashes have been better than the weird/insulting image of the city and state of Georgia burning to the ground?
https://youtu.be/gvjOG5gboFU?si=FBS532CW3acTM-h_