One of the eight teams in the new Alliance of American Football calls itself “Arizona Hotshots”. In February when they begin playing games in Arizona State’s Sun Devil Stadium they will wear yellow helmets and jerseys with dark green pants. The team’s logo features flames and crossed *Pulaskis (although on their website they are called “cross-axe Pulaskis”).
The origin of the name definitely is inspired by firefighting Interagency Hotshot Crews (IHC). Here is an excerpt from their website:
The Hotshots draw inspiration from the more than 100 elite teams of exemplary, ferocious wildland firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service and other federal, state and county agencies, mostly located in the west. Hotshot firefighters are highly successful and an essential line of defense in battling the most serious wildfires across the country.
The Arizona Hotshots will gratefully display the firefighters’ familiar cross-axe Pulaskis in their logo. The color scheme and designs tip their helmets to the heroes who confront orange-fire disasters wearing yellow helmets and shirts with dark green pants.
(UPDATE September 30, 2018)
*A couple of people have pointed out that the firefighting tools in the logo look more like a fire axe used by structural firefighters than a Pulaski.The people that have pointed this out are correct, but the team calls them Pulaskis and the only people that will notice the difference are wildland firefighters. Maybe it is not a big deal.
Ranger Edward Pulaski invented or improved the tool for wildland firefighters soon after the fires of 1910. The Collins Tool Company sold a similar tool beginning in 1876.
That’s really a great way of recognizing all those who in work in the wildland fire community.
Amazing! For many years, an almost unknown resource (“Do you mean smokejumpers?”).
Back in the day when there were just a few Hotshot Crews sprinkled around Southern Cal, they were mostly know only to the folks in the local communities where the crew paid the light bill at the local tavern whenever they came from a stretch on the road. LONG before “work/rest” guidelines were instituted. Proud to have been part of that era on the LP Shots!
This makes me happy. jw
This is great news!