OHL's London Knights new "retro" logo

[steve61]

I may be one of the few people here to say so, but I actually like the return to the original(ish) logo and can't wait to see how it looks on the new jerseys. As much as I like their current logo, I think the new/retro one looks a lot more like a knight's helmet.

[DelayedPenalty]

also something i saw on the london website look at the banner ad for try recycling and let the pictures change until theres a pic of del zotto and tavarse in jerseys i have never seen before.... and they are mighty ugly look like very detailed gold like castle on the bottem.... i just might be crazy but i live in london and never seen em...

I saw those too. They do seem to have some wierd gold thing at the bottom.

Those are warm up jerseys that they are auctioning off

http://londonknights.com/auction/QuickAuction.asp

I'm still disappointed that they're changing their logo. If any team had a logo perfectly suited for the Edge uniform system it was the Knights. I'll hold off full judgement until I see the uniforms and full logo set, but the primary logo I'm not liking at all right now. It looks very cheap and amateurish compared to what they have now (one of the best logos in the CHL, and better than some pro level logos too).

What I'm also hating is the retro logo plunked onto the modern shield logo they had with the old logo set. Scroll around the site and it shows up occasionally.

Also, if you go to http://www.knightshistory.com/ and look at the green toned images to the right of the Launch Site button, there is clearly a Shanahan picture of him in a Whalers uniform with a retro Knights logo PShopped on the jersey (Photo #6 of 25 if you do a player search for him and choose Photos).

[IceCap]

Not a fan. I love their current identity, that used an updated design based off of the 1978-92 look. The green alts with "KNIGHTS" Ranger style is one of the best sweaters in the OHL.

Going back to the original Knight though? It's just a dated design. Keep it in the past.

What the heck is the Spider Knight?

This abomination, used between 1992-2002....

[OHLArenaGuide]

Not a fan. I love their current identity, that used an updated design based off of the 1978-92 look. The green alts with "KNIGHTS" Ranger style is one of the best sweaters in the OHL.

Going back to the original Knight though? It's just a dated design. Keep it in the past.

What the heck is the Spider Knight?

This abomination, used between 1992-2002....

Not to nitpick (ok, yes to nitpick) but they used those from the start of the 1994-95 season to February of 2002.

[charger77]

Has London ever issued an explanation or apology for those jerseys?

-Dan

[tajmccall]

Wow i'm new to those 'Spider-Knight' Unis. Those are so awful I feel the need just to pile on.

Seriously.

Those are effing AWFUL.

[DelayedPenalty]

Not a fan. I love their current identity, that used an updated design based off of the 1978-92 look. The green alts with "KNIGHTS" Ranger style is one of the best sweaters in the OHL.

Going back to the original Knight though? It's just a dated design. Keep it in the past.

What the heck is the Spider Knight?

This abomination, used between 1992-2002....

Not to nitpick (ok, yes to nitpick) but they used those from the start of the 1994-95 season to February of 2002.

To nitpick even further, the jerseys were not black, they were eggplant.

Charger, here's the best explanation for that abomination

Knightmare and Redemption 1994?2000

In 1994 the Knights were sold to St. Thomas, Ontario, real estate developer Doug Tarry, Sr.. He died before the team had played a game under his ownership, and the team was inherited by his son, Doug Tarry, Jr.. Upon taking command, Tarry carried out further renovations on the Gardens including a name change to the "London Ice House." He also alienated a fair portion of the team's fan base by changing the team's uniforms from traditional green and gold to eggplant and teal, and changing the logo to a cartoonish Spider-Man caricature, instantly and derisively nicknamed "Spiderknight"[1] by the faithful. The 1995?96 OHL season went down in history as the worst in the history of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights set a new record for futility by winning only three games all season in sixty-six tries, finishing with nine points and a 3-60-3 record. The years following the so-called "Knightmare" season were improved, but the team was still a long way from the league's upper echelon. Meanwhile, the Ice House was falling apart as the Tarry family had stopped putting money into it as a part of their lobbying the city of London for a new arena. However, the re-signing of former Head Coach Gary Agnew, and the signing of future NHLers Rico Fata and Tom Kostopoulos heralded a marked turnaround for the team's fortunes. In 1999, the Knights went on an unexpected playoff run, in which they defeated the number-one-in-the-CHL Plymouth Whalers in seven games in the quarterfinals and ultimately went all the way to the OHL championship, which they lost in seven games to the Belleville Bulls.

[Linus]

Wow, 3-60-3? LOL They should have switched the unis right after that season.

[DelayedPenalty]

Wow, 3-60-3? LOL They should have switched the unis right after that season.

It was beyond horrible, there aren't even words to describe it. I remember the 98-99 playoff run very well. Plymouth was the top team in the league that year and London was basically expected to roll over and die. I was at game 6 of that series at the Ice House, and London absolutely throttled them! 6-1 or 7-2 or something like that. They went on to win the series in game 7, absolutely stunning Plymouth.

Oddly enough the following year I would end up moving to Ann Arbor, 20 minutes from Plymouth. Every time London comes to play I go to the games, wearing my jersey with pride, carrying my "Harpoon the Whalers" sign with bloody whale speared by Spiderknight! I'll take a picture and post it!

[DelayedPenalty]

Found this on the Whaler's website

Plymouth took their first lead of the series the next night in a 5-4 victory before 3,326 at the Compuware Sports Arena. Mara and Ward scored two apiece for the Whalers; Legwand the other. Barch tallied a pair for London Doyle and Fata the others.

"Every game this series the team with the early lead gets the win," Julian Smith said. "A quick start was the key."

Sure enough, the Whalers led 3-1 and 5-2 to hang on for their first lead of the series.

It would be Plymouth's last lead of the season.

The Knights came out flying in game 6. Before another sellout at the Ice House, London hammered Plymouth, 8-2, to send the series back to the Compuware Sports Arena for a 7th and deciding.

And just like in the first 6 games, the club that scored first, won. Tom Kostopolous scored less than a minute into regulation time, and started the Knights on their road to a birth in the Western Conference Finals.

You play the regular season for home ice advantage in the playoffs. The Whalers CHL-best record gave them home ice. But with nearly 2,000 London fans at the Compuware Sports Arena, the advantage took a different tone.

The Knights took full advantage of the pro-London atmosphere at the Compuware Sports Arena, never trailing in a 10-3 victory to advance to the OHL Finals.

[OHLArenaGuide]

Has London ever issued an explanation or apology for those jerseys?

-Dan

In a nutshell, a new owner bought the team who knew and cared nothing about hockey, and wanted to put his own "stamp" on the team.

[CC97]

Wow, 3-60-3? LOL They should have switched the unis right after that season.

And then about a decade later they went 59-7-2 including a 29-0-2 start to the season

[Jer15]

Wow, 3-60-3? LOL They should have switched the unis right after that season.

And then about a decade later they went 59-7-2 including a 29-0-2 start to the season

It's amazing what new ownership will do.

I think the whole city of London took a collective breath of fresh air when the Hunters bought the team....I might have even heard it faintly here in Brampton, lol.

[DelayedPenalty]

Wow, 3-60-3? LOL They should have switched the unis right after that season.

And then about a decade later they went 59-7-2 including a 29-0-2 start to the season

It's amazing what new ownership will do.

I think the whole city of London took a collective breath of fresh air when the Hunters bought the team....I might have even heard it faintly here in Brampton, lol.

It was a joyous occasion, that's for sure! A hockey family who understood the game, loved the game, and wanted to dominate the game!

[IceCap]

My mom, who's from London, bought me one of those when I was a kid. Even at ten I think my expression was "WTF?"