The Lehigh Valley, in Pennsylvania, has a minor league baseball team called the "Iron Pigs". I know that this is an odd name for a baseball team. The word "Iron" is supposed to reflect the fact that Bethlehem (part of the Lehigh Valley) had Bethlehem Steel Co. Years ago, Bethlehem Steel had made the steel that supplied many bridges, buildings, etc. throughout the country. Bethlehem Steel no longer exists in Bethlehem. It is now known as the Beth Steel site. It will now consist of casinos, hotels, shops and residences on that property. Parts of Beth Steel will be preserved as a museum.
Anyway, the "Iron Pigs" Stadium is to be completed this spring.
Now the "Iron Pigs" of course has a mascot. I bet you can't guess what it is. What was that you said? You're right! The mascot is a pig.
A while back, a contest was run to name the mascot. Many participated and came up with many different names. The winning name originally was "Pork Chop". A little boy came up with the name and many, including myself, thought it was cute.
Not long after publicizing the name, a select few were totally against naming the mascot "Pork Chop" because it was offensive. Many of us did not see that. The story behind it is the fact that during the days when Bethlehem Steel was still in business, some of the steel workers were called "pork chop". These are the people that took offense to the name. Because of a handful of people, the name of the mascot was changed to "Ferrous". Personally, I preferred the name "Pork Chop" to "Ferrous" (which, by the way, was the second place winner).
So, here you have it. The Lehigh Valley "Iron Pigs" is a minor league baseball team that has a mascot by the name of "Ferrous".
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