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Best classic major professional sports logo


amare32

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Well, to me it's a toss up between the Celtics, Blackhawks, and Red Wings. The rest are just fancy monograms that, while classic, can be barely considered a LOGO. (And the cowboys is, well, just a star and that's that.) I'm gonna say Blackhawks on this one, it's just so clean and honorable.

In all honesty though, my favorite logo, and I'm sure a lot of people's favorite logos, aren't in this thread.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

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To add to what Roger Clemente just said, let me ask just what determines which mark represents a team's classic... "logo"?

Frankly, while the Boston Red Sox "B" and New York Yankees "NY" are universally recognizable, they're really just letters from stylized alphanumeric FONTS that are used on caps and jerseys.

When I think of the Red Sox LOGO, I picture a pair of red socks superimposed over a baseball, with "BOSTON" arching over the ball in blue, block-like letters and "RED SOX" curving under the ball in red, highly-stylized letters. The entire logo is surrounded by a circular, red border.

When I think of the Yankees LOGO, I picture the word "Yankees" in red, stylized cursive script. The upright of the "k" in "Yankees" is rendered as a baseball bat, which is topped off by an "Uncle Sam"-style top hat. All of this is superimposed over a baseball.

I guess what I'm asking, based on Roger Clemente's comment about "fancy monograms, is whether or not some of the images in the example post should be changed from "fonts" to true "logos"?

Brian in Boston

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How the Blackhawks logo isin't winning is beyong me. THe Bruins logo is a B in a pinwheel. It is a good logo, but better than the Blackhawks, the best logo in all of sports, modern or classic? I don't think so.

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Although I am not a Red Wings fan, I had to vote for their logo.  I agreee with the others saying most are just simple icons or fonts.  I would have liked to have seen the other logos for some teams (Yankees, Sox, Tigers & Bears).  So once you take those out, you are left with the Celtics, Blackhawks and Red Wings.  The Celtics logo is too busy, with his vest, bowtie, cap and all.  The blackhawks logo seems like it belongs on an old box of cigars.  So that leaves me with the Red Wings, whose logo is very clean, and crisp, and it is very recognizable among any sports fan.

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It might just be me being a 49er fan, but I just don't think the Cowboys logo belongs in that group. You have the Boston B, Detroit D and monogram NY which have been used by their respective teams, basically since the teams' inception. Then, you have the Celtics logo, which I think has been used since that teams' inception in I think the late '40s? Then we have the Bears' C and the Packers G, which have been used since teams started putting logos on helmets in the '40s. I'm not too sharp on hockey, but I believe the spoked B, wheeled wing, and Blackhawk logos have been used since the Original Six were formed. The Cowboy star has only been used since the sixties...I really wouldn't consider it "classic"...yet. The Cowboys just seem like the oddball in that group, to me anyway...

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Do you know the Original Six does not have the feature the original NHL teams, other than Montreal, and depending on how you look at the name and ownership changes, Toronto. I'm not trying to say these logos shouldn't be considered classic, but the "Original Six" as you and so many others call them (I won't because they aren't original, not to mention I don't care for most of the teams.) have only been around since the fifties, so don't argue against the Cowboys for only having the star in the sixties. Also, I'm not sure that the Celtics have had that logo as long as many think. Dunno where to find info to back that up yet though.

I'm not saying any of the are classic or not, just trying to inform you.

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Well, I really didn't know. I probably should have looked up more of my information. I know the 3 baseball logos are old. I thought (but I'm not sure) that the Celtics used an older form of their current logo back when they started. The Bears used a plain white wishbone C on their helmets when teams started putting logos on helmets, which was in the late 30's-early 40s. Hockey was where I was unsure about. At Logoserver, the earliest Blackhawk indian logo is 1926, earliest C-H Canadiens logo is 1917, and the Boston Bruins have a B similar to the one used in the spokes in 1931, but the actual spoked B is dated 1948.

Now looking at the Celtics, they had a weird-looking guy smoking a pipe, wearing a crown with a walking stick in his hand in 1950, but it doesn't look much like the logo they had in about 1968, which is obviously a precursor to the current Celtics logo. Even with the current Celtics logo being 1968, I still don't think the Cowboys star belongs in that group. I look at the Celtics logo and I immediately think 9 consecutive championships, Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Red Auerbach, etc. I look at the Cowboy star and think of a team that was obviously great in the 70's. (and 80's and most of the 90's, I can't deny that even as a Niner fan  :D) But I guess the Celtics logo screams history at me, while the Cowboys logo really doesn't. I guess all this really doesn't matter anyway, seeing as how the Cowboys logo has only 2 votes  :D

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Actually STL Fanatic, your NHL history lesson is off by about twenty years.  

If you want to be completely accurate, each of the NHL teams identified (albeit, erroneously) as the "Original Six" were operating under their current names, in the very same league competition, by the start of the National Hockey League's 1930-31 season. That was the season that the Detroit Cougars officially changed their identity to the Red Wings. Just to review:

Montreal Canadiens - Under their official name, Club de Hockey Canadien, the Montreal Canadiens were one of five founding NHL clubs for the 1917-1918 inaugural season. They were joined by the Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Arenas and Quebec Bulldogs. Quebec ultimately decided to sit out the season. Prior to helping found the NHL, the Canadiens had been playing as the Club Athletique Canadien, in the National Hockey Association, since January of 1910. They have always been publicly known as the Montreal Canadiens, or by the nickname "Les Habitants".

Toronto Maple Leafs - One of five founding NHL clubs for the 1917-18 inaugural season, although they were then known as the Toronto Arenas. Beginning with the 1919-1920 season, the Arenas changed their name to the Toronto St. Patricks (often shortened to St. Pats). In time for the 1926-27 NHL season, the St. Patricks changed their name to the current Toronto Maple Leafs.

Boston Bruins - Granted membership as the National Hockey League's first American-based club in time for the 1924-25 season. They have been known as the Boston Bruins since their very first season.

Chicago Blackhawks - Granted National Hockey League membership in time for the 1926-27 season. They have been known as the Chicago Blackhawks since their very first season.

New York Rangers - Granted National Hockey League membership in time for the 1926-27 season. they have been known as the New York Rangers since their very first season.

Detroit Red Wings - Granted National Hockey League membership in time for the 1926-27 season, although they were then known as the Detroit Cougars. Beginning with the 1930-31 season, the Cougars changed their name to the current Red Wings.

Whether or not the Dallas Cowboys' Star constitutes a "classic" logo, I have no idea. However, there is no getting around the fact that the identities of the NHL's so-called "Original Six" franchises pre-date the Cowboys' identity by at least (in the case of the Red Wings) 30 years.

Brian in Boston

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Thanks JQK... I had just caught that. The Canadiens organized the franchise in 1909, but the club didn't actually play a game until January of 1910. I've got another correction, and a few clarifications as well.

With regard to the Red Wings, I must have completely blown a synapse, because I forgot that they played two NHL seasons as the Detroit Falcons: 1930-31 and 1931-32. They then adopted the Detroit Red Wings identity for the 1932-33 NHL season. Which means that name-wise, Detroit has 28 years on the Cowboys.

As for logos, the breakdown for the "Original Six" goes something like this:

Boston Bruins - The "Spoked-B" design was introduced during the 1948-49 season as part of the celebration marking the team's 25th Anniversary in the NHL. (See "Spoked-B" on the "AtoZHockey" website  www.azhockey.com )

Chicago Blackhawks - I have collectible hockey cards from the Beehive company that were left to me by my grandfather. They seem to indicate that the Blackhawks were wearing jerseys emblazoned with an Indian head remarkably similar to their currrent logo, as early as the 1920s. The only difference is that the Indian head was enclosed in a circle. This circle contained the words "BLACKHAWKS" above, and "CHICAGO" below. According to team management, the

team nickname appeared as "BLACK HAWKS" because of a stitching error. visiting www.beehivehockey will show you that the Blackhawks began wearing this logo no later than the mid-1930s to early-1940s. In addition, "AtoZHockey" seems to indicate that if this logo was, in fact, not simultaneously introduced along with the Blackhawks name, it followed only a short time after.

Detroit Red Wings - "AtoZHockey" states that Detroit's new name and logo were introduced simultaneously for the 1932-33 NHL season. Both were adopted from the Winged Wheelers hockey club. Several Beehive hockey cards in my possession (along with the website) indicate that the logo was adopted no later than the mid-1930s to early-1940s.

Montreal Canadiens - My Beehive cards (as well as the website) show that the Canadiens were wearing a version of their famous logo by the early-1940s.

Toronto Maple Leafs - Toronto has utilized a logo combining a depiction of a  Maple Leaf along with the team name since at least 1928.

New York Rangers - To the best of my knowledge, this club introduced the "New York-Rangers-Shield" device in the early-to-mid 1970s.

Brian in Boston

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Ok Brian. The logos did indeed exist earlier, but still, the the so called "Original Six" was not until the 1940's, in correction to my 50's. Anyway, doesn't matter. Still, I won't refer to any of those teams as the original six. I will give Montreal and Toronto the original four or five depending on how you count Quebec.
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No, STL Fanatic, it wasn't the 1940s. The so-called (I'll grant you that) "Original Six" were all using their current names as members of the NHL by the 1932-33 season.

As for their logos, I've already conceded that the Rangers probably (to the best of my knowledge) introduced their "Shield" in the 1970s. But my research shows that only the Bruins' logo can be CATEGORICALLY linked to the 1940s. Even if, for the sake of argument, I grant you that the Canadiens introduced a version of their current logo in the 1940s, Toronto has still been using some version of a blue Maple Leaf along with their team name since the 1928-29 season. And their are arguments, as well as some sources of evidence, that show that both the Blackhawks and Red Wings may have introduced their logos as early as the 1920s (Chicago) or 1930s (Detroit).

Brian in Boston

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Brian I've taken this off topic sort of with the arguement I am making, and it's not contrary to yours. I understand that the names and logos were around then. But this "Original Six" was in the '40's after the Brooklyn Americans folded. That's no longer on the topic of what we were once discussing, but I can't stand to hear them called "Original Six" when they are not.
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