The Philly Flyers Has a Ring To It
Ed Snider, the vice president of the Philadelphia Eagles at the time, brought hockey back to Philly in 1966. In search of a new name, the Philadelphia franchise turned to a name-the-team contest.
It is reported that Snider’s sister, Phyllis, suggested the name ‘Flyers.’ Snider and his sister both agreed that the name ‘Flyers’ had great flow with Philadelphia and that it would be the perfect fit.
The Philadelphia Flyers were then introduced. Besides the name not having any specific significance, Philly joined the NHL with a clever and fun name.
Penguins Live In Igloos
The Pittsburgh Penguins joined the NHL in 1967. Despite running a name-the-team contest, Pittsburgh’s team name did not come as the result of fan submissions.
Partial team owner Jack McGregor’s wife Carol was responsible for the Penguin’s beloved team name. McGregor’s wife told the story of the team name origins; she said that she was thinking of words with ‘P’ and upon learning that the Civic Arena’s nickname was the “Big Igloo,” she decided upon ‘Penguins’.
As it turned out, more than 700 of the 26,000 contest entries were for the “Pittsburgh Penguins.” The name ‘Penguins’ seemed like a fit for a home team playing in the igloo.