Major league quality minor league logos

[walby2]

How are we defining "major league quality"? Do we mean that the effort and methods utilized by the graphic designers creating the logos in question hewed to a high and exacting standard? Or, rather, do we mean that we could see the logos cited actually being utilized by a franchise operating in MLB, the NBA, the NFL, or the NHL? While I'd argue that the vast majority of the logos cited in this thread have been designed by professionals who are committed to producing top-quality marks, there are many that I don't believe a major-pro franchise would consider adopting.

I couldn't agree more. There are a lot of decidedly minor-league looking logos in this thread. But what is it exactly that makes them minor-league? I think I know a minor-league logo when I see one, but it's hard to define.

As far as I can tell, major league logos tend to be a bit more minimalist. It's as though the designers know that they will soon become iconic and there is no need to explain what they stand for. Something like the Cowboys' star or the Cubs' roundel are quintessential major league logos: they don't tell you what they are yet everyone knows what they are.

Contrast with minor-league logos which seem to be predicated on the idea that people won't know (or even care) what they stand for. So they try to hit you over the head with an identity by literally spelling out the team's name, city and occasionally even the sport (at the very least there will be a visual clue as to the sport in the form of a baseball, a hockey stick, a basketball or a football), and then usually incorporates some super-gimmicky cartoon figure which I presume is intended to help sell merchandise to children. The Lakewood Blue Claws and New Hampshire Fisher Cats (shown above) are pretty classic minor-league logos by that measure.

Of course, that isn't to say you don't ever see minor-league logos at the major league level... there is one NHL team that for many years had a ECHL-worthy logo, but that's definitely the exception.

[LAWeaver]

I think if a logo is a bit cartoonish like the Reading Phighting Phils Ostrich, Albuquerque Isotopes, and maybe the Trenton thunder, then I consider it minor-league. Others would be the Rockford Ice hogs or the Milwaukee Admirals.

Major League league quality logos look like they have real thought into the design and are well executed. AHL logos I can think of would be the new Hershey Bears primary from this past season, the Hamilton Bulldogs, and (you may disagree with me on this one) the new Syracuse Crunch or Utica Comets logos.

[CON40]

The defintiion of a Majoe League brand:

Simplicity and economy of visual elements while attaining a unique, well-defined, discernable mark in a timeless graphic style.

Examples: New York Yankees, Chicago Blackhawks, Hartford Whalers, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Bulls, Boston Red Sox, Oakland Raiders, Detroit Tigers, etc...

Most of the minor league brands shown here are cartoonish, busy, too colorful, and dated to be considered Major League. Exceptions might be the St. Paul Saints, Durham Bulls, and Brooklyn Cyclones (a Todd Radom creation).

[stumpygremlin]

As for caps:

Which team is this that's using what looks an awful lot like the Taco Bell logo?