An old, dusty cardboard box was found in a disused storage room as we were preparing for construction after the 2022 season. That old, dusty cardboard box was put off to the side in a different storage room in the stadium to be dealt with later.
The box stayed in storage all through a very successful 2023 season and was never thought of until this past offseason when members of the front office were putting away the patio tables and chairs. Those members brought the box into our brainstorming meeting the next day to see if there was anything inside to give us ideas for the 2024 season.
There were some old Appleton Foxes Base Brau cans and programs dating back to the 1940’s. A few autographed baseballs and Appleton Papermakers team photos were in there, too. We found old Appleton Baseball stock certificates, board meeting minutes, and a few old pictures.
At the very bottom of this old, dusty cardboard box was a red Appleton Papermakers scrapbook. What we found inside the scrapbook left us amazed and breathless.
The alternative to the original name of Appleton Papermakers prior to their inaugural season of 1940 was Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. It’s our current name, but the logo was done in the style of most team logos at the time. In honor of this amazing discovery, the Timber Rattlers will be wearing Fauxback hats and jerseys on Friday, July 12th.