Oregon baseball team unveils new uniforms paying homage to exploding whale

EUGENE Ore. (KPTV) - An Oregon minor league baseball team introduced new uniforms on Thursday that pay homage to a famous Oregon event: The exploding of a giant, dead sperm whale.

The Eugene Emeralds are a Northwest League team affiliated with the San Francisco Giants based in Eugene.

The 45-foot-long, eight ton whale was detonated in Florence in November 1970 after it washed ashore on the coast.

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Introducing our new “Exploding Whales” threads for the 2023 season 🐳🧨#RootedHere pic.twitter.com/ve4MQytNlL
— Eugene Emeralds (@EugeneEmeralds) March 23, 2023

The beaches were under the jurisdiction of the state’s Highway division, and after consulting with the US Navy, they decided to remove the whale with dynamite. The hope was that it would result in small pieces for animals to consume. The result was an event that would be remembered in the history books.

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“Starting in April, the Emeralds will become the Exploding Whales for four different games (April 12, April 22, May 6 and August 19),” the team announced on social media Thursday. “The Emeralds have worked with the city of Florence, the mayor, city counsel and other business leaders in Florence to carefully create this alternate identity.”