On a day when Bees baseball makes yet another debut in Salt Lake City — the home opener for the 2006 Salt Lake Stingers-turned-Bees is tonight at Franklin Covey Stadium — the question is whether to look forward or back.
On the one hand, it's the beginning of a new era, although a largely symbolic one since the only thing changing about professional baseball in Salt Lake City is the nickname.
On the other hand, there's all the nostalgia associated with reconnecting with the state's oldest pro sports nickname.
Long before the Jazz — and about an eon before Real Salt Lake — there was the Bees.
The nickname dates back 91 years, to the spring of 1915, when the San Francisco franchise of the Pacific Coast League moved to Salt Lake City.
The new owners wanted a new nickname, even though the existing nickname — in San Francisco they were the Missions — could have fit with the local culture.
In a citywide name-the-team contest, "Bees" was suggested by five people, all of whom won identical first-place prizes.
That five people would choose "Bees" in 1915 was hardly surprising, since not only is the Utah state symbol the beehive but the original name of the territory, Deseret, is a Book of Mormon name that means honey bee.
The original PCL Bees lasted 11 seasons until the franchise moved in 1926 to Hollywood and became the Stars. After that, a variety of lower-level pro teams called themselves Bees until in 1958 those same Hollywood Stars fled L.A. after the arrival of the Brooklyn Dodgers, returned to Salt Lake and became the Bees again.
Since the demise of those Bees in 1965, only Salt Lake's 1969 entry in the Pioneer League claimed the name. Since 1970, Salt Lake has had the Padres, Angels, Gulls, Trappers, Buzz and Stingers. But until now, no Bees.
Of all the various vintage Bees, it's the 1958-65 version that prompted current franchise owner Larry H. Miller's blast back to the past. This year's uniforms and logo are from that era and the large team photo on the "Return to Classic Baseball" sign at the ballpark is the 1960 Bees.
A lot of people who are older now but were younger then — like Larry H. and like me — remember those Bees as Salt Lake's baseball heyday.
Those Bees had Dick Stuart, the home run-stroking minor league superstar who hit 66 home runs two years before he came to Salt Lake and was called "Dr. Strangeglove" for his poor fielding and is still probably the most legendary figure in local baseball lore.
And those Bees had the 1959 "worst to first" Bees, who were in last place in late June and in first place when the season ended in September.
But it was a short-lived heyday. Stuart played only 80 games (and hit only 30 home runs) for the Bees before he was called up to the major leagues, and the franchise never drew more fans in a year than the 217,448 it attracted its first season — accounting for the team's collapse.
If this year's Bees don't draw 500,000, they'll be disappointed. As nostalgic as it is, the return to classic Bees baseball will definitely be selective.
Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.