Giraffe Logo on 1961 Lakers cards

[neo_prankster 3,393]

I was browsing on Ebay for Lakers gear from their early days in Los Angeles and found a few cards with an unusual logo featuring a giraffe in front a basketball.

Rod Hundley

Jerry West

Elgin Baylor

Rudy LaRusso

[Brave-Bird 08 1,740]

are you sure that's not the card brand logo? just asking. i would have no idea about that kind of thing.

[neo_prankster 3,393]

are you sure that's not the card brand logo? just asking. i would have no idea about that kind of thing.

I'm guessing that it is the card company's logo, but I'm not sure which company it is.

[mania 381]

Other cards in the set have their logos, or at least, what appear to be approximations of them, don't know why the Lakers would get the company's logo.

[EddieJ1984 1,657]

Well im guessing its Fleer cards (its in the header)

hetes a pic of it with other nba cards

maybe it was a lakers logo lol.

lookin up 1962 fleer cards I got this interesting picture as well

never seen that red sox logo ever before.

[Cujo 4,797]

Look, a giraffe!...

[CJworks 70]

That is very wierd, maybe they're trying to take their own spin-offs on some logos? But then aren't there copyrights?

[keynote 453]

But why some logos and not others? It's almost as if they weren't authorized to use the logos for every team (kinda like how basketball video games from the 90s couldn't include Michael Jordan or 23 on the Bulls, and had to use an anonymous "Player #24" instead).

Perhaps the licensing deals were negotiated on a team-by-team basis. That wouldn't necessary surprise me; I'm sure that creating a centralized licensing body like NBA Properties came later in the league's evolution.

[Old School Fool 4,240]

What the hell?!

EDIT: Did a quick Google search, and this forum post came up. http://apbr.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6659 Judging from this thread, the Lakers logo was a freakin' GIRAFFE when they first arrived in L.A.!

[keynote 453]

Frankly, it's not surprising that, during the era of cutsier logos, a basketball team would use a giraffe in its logo. Yeah, they're herbivores (most animal mascots are either carnivores or omnivores), but they're tall.

Frankly, other than horses/colts/stallions/broncos, I can't think of too many teams that use herbivores as mascots.

[Quillz 1,356]

The Toys 'R Us Lakers

Geoffrey Giraffe, #24

[neo_prankster 3,393]

What the hell?!

EDIT: Did a quick Google search, and this forum post came up. http://apbr.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6659 Judging from this thread, the Lakers logo was a freakin' GIRAFFE when they first arrived in L.A.!

I would like to see more photographic evidence of the Lakers' giraffe symbol.

[DustDevil61 988]

Los Angeles Griaffes--I like the ring of that!

[NJTank 1,129]

It was their first or second year in LA maybe they toyed with a name change.

[Quillz 1,356]

It was their first or second year in LA maybe they toyed with a name change.

The only reason I can even think they'd change their name to the Giraffes (have to agree, though, LA Giraffes almost sounds kind of cool) is because of nearby Griffith Park and the LA Zoo. Otherwise, a giraffe is probably one of the more random mascots I've encountered for any sports club.

[DarkJourney 186]

Maybe Fleer didn't have rights to license the Lakers logo

[Old School Fool 4,240]

I honestly believe this, as insane as it is. There's been no documentation I know whatsoever of the Lakers having any well known logo until they got the purple/yellow uniforms. No way they used the yellow/purple ball logo when they had blue uniforms.

[Discogod 427]

If a giraffe falls down, it will be unable to get up and will die. Very fragile creatures, giraffes. Might be a better logo for the Blazers...

Pretty sure Fleer had full logo rights to the Lakers, or else they wouldn't have been able to use photos of the players in uniform. Remember the trading cards where guys like Wilt & Willis Reed had back-to-front jerseys 'cause the card manufacturers only got player licenses, not team licenses?

[Gothamite 24,104]

Frankly, it's not surprising that, during the era of cutsier logos, a basketball team would use a giraffe in its logo. Yeah, they're herbivores (most animal mascots are either carnivores or omnivores), but they're tall.

Exactly. Once you eliminate the "we must have aggressive, nasty logo or somebody will question our collective manhood" silliness, a graffe makes some sense for a basketball team. They're not only freakishly tall, but can run fast as hell.

Frankly, other than horses/colts/stallions/broncos, I can't think of too many teams that use herbivores as mascots.

Don't forget the Bucks, a herbivore also chosen for its basketball-like attributes (in this case, jumping ability). That was only a couple years after the Laker giraffe logo. That one has always amazed me, given hunting's popularity in Wisconsin.

[Gothamite 24,104]

UniWatch comes through again.

This ad was scanned from a Lakers vs. Syracuse Nationals game program (which would date it between 1961 and 1963). Check out the souvenir basketball: