CLEVELAND — Late last year, Cleveland announced it will soon separate from the Indians name.
It sparked a great debate, with fans throwing out names like "The Spiders,” “The Buckeyes” or maybe even “The Guardians.”
Tim Schifle, a graphic designer by day and a trivia host by night, is a huge fan of Cleveland baseball.
"Nothing better than a dog and a beer on a nice Saturday afternoon," he said.
So when an online contest called for entrants to design a new logo and uniforms for the team, he was all in.
But first, he had to choose a name: "I was driving down the Carnegie Bridge and saw the guardians and said 'Done.' This is it."
He's referring to "The Guardians of Traffic," four towering statues sculpted by Henry Hering, which have watched over the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge since the 1930s.
“The Cleveland Guardians," he said it's a no brainer to him. So he put a lot into perfecting his designs.
“I probably spent somewhere in the neighborhood — hour-wise? Probably 40 or 50 (hours)," he said.
That work paid off. Schifle won the contest's fan vote and his designs have been shared among fans across the state and the country.
"It was surreal. That’s the best way I can describe it," he said.
The organization has not yet announced when they will determine a new team name, but Schifle said it sure would be cool to see his work out on the field.
