New Orleans Pelicans Southern Association Legacy Honored In New Diamond Vault Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Official League is proud to debut the New Orleans Pelicans first Diamond Vault release with Series 5, dedicated to one of the most historic franchises in southern baseball history. For more than half a century, the Pelicans stood at the center of professional baseball in New Orleans, building a legacy that helped expand America’s pastime across the southern United States. With each Diamond Vault release, we continue our mission of preserving the stories, identities, and eras that left a lasting mark on baseball culture. Series 5 carries that tradition into the big easy, honoring a club whose influence extended into modern professional sports.
The Pelicans became vital in professional baseball’s expansion in the south, being one of the earliest professional clubs and a founding member of the Southern Association of Professional Baseball. Playing before generations of fans across multiple ballparks in New Orleans, the club established itself as one of the premier organizations in Minor League Baseball during the first half of the twentieth century. The Pelicans captured nine association championships throughout their history, including back-to-back Southern Association titles in 1933 and 1934, the franchise’s final championships.
When designing the New Orleans Pelicans Southern High Pro, we wanted to take inspiration from the Pels’ over half century as part of the Southern Association. Combining multiple visual chapters of the club’s history into a single heritage-driven silhouette, each side features a different era. The front logo features the Pelicans’ final primary mark used throughout the 1950s seasons, placed against a crisp white crown and royal blue visor inspired by the club’s classic color palette. At the left side, a throwback Pelicans primary logo from the 1940s era serves as a tribute to one of the franchise’s most recognizable periods, while an additional right patch commemorates the club’s consecutive Southern League championships in 1933 and 1934. Finished with an adjustable snapback closure, the release brings together decades of New Orleans baseball history through premium construction with a high pro design.
Before being sold in 1958, the Pelicans were the top affiliate for multiple clubs, including the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals. The club name was revived for one year in 1977 before being brought back permanently in the NBA when the New Orleans Hornets rebranded in 2012.
The Diamond Vault Series 5 stands as a tribute to the lasting legacy of the New Orleans Pelicans, preserving the history of a franchise that helped define baseball in New Orleans and across the American South.
Blog posts
Hippo Campus and Minnesota Aurora FC Unite for First Local Legends Collection of 2026
EAGAN, MINNESOTA — We're proud to unveil our first Local Legends release of 2026 with the debut of the Hippo Campus x Minnesota Aurora FC collection. Bringing together two of...
Official League Brings Local Legends to Soccer with USL Artist Collaborations
PORTLAND, OR – Official League's acclaimed Local Legends series is expanding into soccer for the first time, bringing together some of music's most influential artists and some of the country's...