Columbus Scrambled Dogs, Close to 40 Years in the Making

Photo Courtesy of David Welch, Stadium Journey

An idea born at the end of the Reagan Administration is now the latest alternative identity in minor league baseball. But how did an idea from nearly 40 years ago endure scrutiny and persist through the decades?

Steve Bryant purchased the Southern League Columbus Astros for $950,000 in June of 1988 and wanted to change the name of the club. The Double-A affiliate shared its name with the parent club in Houston, which was quite normal for many franchises at the time.

However, the ball club was struggling to draw crowds at the then-called Golden Park, and Bryant wanted to start with a brand-new name for his newly acquired team. To establish this new identity, a team contest was launched, attracting 750 entries. The final candidates included an array of nicknames like Cannons, Crush, Colonels, Explorers, Mudcats, Pride, River Rats, and Scrambled Dogs.

He liked the name Scrambled Dog and Pride, but knew the latter would be obsolete since there was a chance the team might skip town after two seasons, and embarrassing for community apathy. The Scrambled Dogs' name was different, but could be just different enough to make a big hit. However, he had reservations.

“If I thought it would have been accepted without being laughed at, I would have done it.

Photo Courtesy of the Dinglewood Pharmacy

According to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, the scrambled dog’s history in the city stretches back to 1908 to Firm Roberts, who opened a “cigar-news stand” on Broadway. He served chili and hot dogs, but soon learned that customers enjoyed them mixed; soon, a new menu item was created. 

The dish later made its way to the Dinglewood Pharmacy’s menu in the 1930s, when Henry “Sport” Brown took a job at Dinglewood. Almost a century later, the dish can still be found on its menu. The hot dogs are chewy, the chili is a secret recipe, and the bun is soaked beyond belief. 

Bryant admitted that the unusual name was his top choice and believed it would capture national attention. The unique dish was popular in town, but nowhere else. The Dinglewood Pharmacy’s version consisted of a hot dog nestled in a bowl of chili, diced hot dogs, oyster crackers, pickles, and other toppings.

However, he struggled to find an artist to bring his idea to life. It is not known if any of these prototypes were developed, but Bryant pivoted to his second choice, the Mudcats, which worked out quite well for him.

After the 1990 season, the franchise relocated to Zebulon, North Carolina, where it became the Carolina Mudcats. Minor league baseball continued in Columbus, with the Indians/Redstixx and the Catfish operating between 1991 and 2008. In subsequent years, collegiate wood bat league teams also played in Columbus.

In 2025, minor league baseball returned with a new Southern League club, the Clingstones, who moved into a renovated Synovus Park, but earlier this April, they brought back an old idea and finally gave it a new logo.

The idea of naming the local professional baseball team after the iconic local dish went full circle when, in early April, it was announced that the Clingstones would play three games this season as the Columbus Scrambled Dogs with an unveiling at the Dinglewood Pharmacy. 

Jones holds up his design at the Dinglewood Pharmacy, photo couresty of the Ledger-Enquirer.

“It’s one of those things; if you know, you know,” said Mike Jones, Brand Experience Lead at Heyo, who created the logo. “Every hot dog restaurant in town has their version of it. Dinglewood Pharmacy is where it got its fame. It’s an overwhelming chili dog that is swimming in chili.”

To Jones, it is a dream come true, and just like many graphic designers can remember drawing sketches and logos on their book covers as a kid. His involvement with the design process came from an impromptu phone call to the designer of the Clingstones, Dan Simon of Studio Simon in Louisville, Kentucky.

The logo features a personified smiling hot dog submerged in a bowl of chili with other fixtures. He is holding a spoon over his head with chili dripping from it. It was created by local Columbus-area artist Mike Jones, who told me that it is a dream come true for him.

“I had called Dan and told him that I was a huge fan of his work and his creation of the Columbus Clingstone image. We talked for about 45 minutes about Columbus and the challenges he faced in creating a logo for the ball club. He looked at my work and asked what I was doing with my designs.”

A few weeks later, Simon called up Jones to tell him that Clingstone GM Pete Laven was going to have him create an alternative identity for the team. Work began on the design in November 2024 and was completed three months later in February. Through the process, Simon helped guide Jones. 

“I did about 10-12 sketches, and one version had a cap that was made from pickles, but it looked like a railroad conductor’s hat. Dan walked me through the art directing and provided me with feedback. We rearranged the head, making different shadows and adding thick lines.”

A year later, the identity was announced, complete with a uniform that Jones also designed. The jerseys mirror what a bowl of chili and toppings would be in a bowl. 

Official on-field caps, photo courtesy of the Ledger-Enquirer.

The opportunity to design a logo for a minor league team is a dream come true. The former indoor football player has also created the tea-m identities for the Columbus Lions of the American Arena League and the former Columbus Rapids of the National Indoor Soccer League.

“I love minor league baseball, and it can be a lot of fun to work on a branding. In minor league baseball, we can have fun and pay tribute to something locally that has some history or vibe. That is the beauty of the minor leagues.”

The Columbus Scrambled Dogs, which was once seen as a zany idea by Steve Bryant in 1988, has now become a reality. A concept that was ahead of its time or one that had to be precisely timed. Whatever the reason, fans will be able to see them in action for games on May 30, July 31, and September 5 this season.

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Follow all of Marc’s stadium journeys on Twitter @ballparkhunter and his YouTube channel. Email at Marc.Viquez@stadiumjourney.com