The Toledo Mud Hens are getting ready for opening day! Our beloved "Hens" will pack the ball park at Fifth Third Field. It never fails on opening day - there won't be standing room left!
You see, we here in Toledo, Ohio, are mighty proud of our Mud Hens. We truly enjoy one of America's oldest and most attended sports. And, if ya wanna know the truth, we really adore the mascots - Muddy and Muddonna.
Now, some folks wonder what in the world is a Mud Hen. On doing a little research the team's website has about the most concise definition:
A Mud Hen is a marsh bird with short wings and long legs that inhabits swamps or marshes. Such birds have been known as marsh hens, rails, coots, or Mud Hens.
The Toledo baseball club earned its present name in 1896 and has kept it with very few exceptions ever since. In that year the team played at Bay View Park. The surrounding marshland was frequented by these strange birds. The abundance of Mud Hens near the park brought about the nickname and the rest, as they say, is history. (courtesy of Toledo Mud Hens)
Being that Toledo, Ohio was developed on swamp and marshland, it only seems right that our home team would carry a moniker symbolic of that heritage. And just to put it all in perspective, here is what a mud hen really looks like:
**These graphics borrowed from the official Toledo Mud Hens website**
The season opener for the Toledo Mud Hens will take place on April 3, 2008, at Fifth Third Field in downtown Toledo, OH. There will be a buzz going all evening
The Toledo Board of Realtors has been working diligently to promote our area and to let the consumer know that Toledo is a viable market with many great buys available.
In order to facilitate that effort, we came up with a website to help the consumer understand the homebuying process and to encourage those that are able to get out there and make their dream come true.
Our new website, Why Buy Toledo, will be promoted by a banner flying over the ball park on opening day. A small plane will be flying a trailer/banner over the park in hopes that curiosity will cause folks to check us out - to get on board.
So - spring has sprung! The Boys of Summer are back! Batter up!!!!!!
Carol Smith
Casmi Photography
Mebane, NC 27302
919-418-6549
casmiphotography@triad.rr.com
Rich - The Mud Hens are awesome! And when they are playing a home game the park is absolutely packed. You would have to park on the other end of downtown and walk back. It's great! And there are all ages - from infants to great grandparents. Baseball truly captures the heart of Americana.
Debbie - Come on up for a game! You will definitely enjoy yourself. And there are some really neat little restaurants around the park that would cause you to have difficulty choosing what you wanted to eat.
Muddy and Muddonna are funny. I remember watching M*A*S*H and I think I thought the Toledo Mud Hen's were as made up as Clinger... At some point I heard there really was a team named the Toledo Mud Hens.
Carol, the Muds Hens is as well known a name as any in baseball, so go ahead and be a little proud.
Maureen - I always thought they were made up, too, till I moved to Toledo! LOL There are all the ladmarks here that Klinger spoke of on M*A*S*H.
Steve - So I have learned! And they are great to watch. We go to the games as often as possible.
Carol
I'm in Detroit and the way the Tigers are playing we may have to switch teams and bring up the Mud Hens to save the season.