Almost immediately after the announcement of the return of football to the City of Brotherly Love, new owner Sy Thompson put out a name-the-team contest in The Philadelphia Inquirer, stating a preference for patriotic themed names. The only name that was excluded was the Federals, a former name for one of the football teams in the city, now being used by Washington. Among the names that were seriously considered were the Liberty Bells, Rattlesnakes, Keystones, Stars, Patriots, Cannons, and Americans. The Americans, Stars, and Patriots were almost immediately ruled out due to Washington owner Bernard McCullough putting a moratorium on any blue/red/white identities to not be so close to the Federals. Thompson would then meet members of the press at the Warwick Hotel to unveil the new team to the world: the Philadelphia Rattlesnakes. The name comes from the Gadsden flag, an early symbol of the Revolutionary War, and the timber rattlesnake being one of the old national symbols of the U.S.,...
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