One of our very favorite parts of Eternal Baseball is the creation of the Birmingham Knights, comprised of the greatest players in the history of the Negro Leagues.

We love the idea that these incredible ballplayers are getting the (digital) opportunity to compete against other incredible talents on the same playing field – an opportunity denied them during their actual playing careers.

We originally considered placing the team in Kansas City, where the Negro League Hall of Fame is located and the Monarchs played, but they are in the new American League South, which has the Kansas City Royals already.

We decided to place them in Birmingham, both as the hometown for the Black Barons team from the Negro Leagues, and as a focal point for so much of the civil rights movement.

Originally, we thought of using the Black Barons name, but eventually decided we wanted to create something new that paid tribute to all the players from the Negro Leagues by building something completely unique.

Birmingham Knights Logo

The two guys running Eternal Baseball were baseball and soccer teammates as children, but also members of the school chess team. We both loved the idea of a chess piece as the base icon for the new franchise, and the name “Knights” has been used in professional sports with the NHL’s Las Vegas franchise and the fictional pro team of Roy Hobbs in the film “The Natural.”

We enlisted the help of visionary graphic designer J. Gonzo to craft the visual identity of the Birmingham Knights.

He is well known for his visual style as the creator of the “La Mano del Destino” comic series and his incredible, innovative talent for logo creation.

We couldn’t be happier with his work here, and we are so proud to offer the first look at the logo and wordmark for the Birmingham Knights.

You can see more of J. Gonzo’s work on his Instagram page.