The 25 Best Athletic Logos of All Time
Graphic design. March Madness style.
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Every great sports franchise has a look, something that allows the club to transcend player changes and the on-going coaching carousel to keep fans connected generation after generation. Success hinges on traditions—those dealing with wins most important—which for an identity that connects team to audience and binds those fans in common adoration.
Whether on the baseball diamond, gridiron, hardwood, or rink, logos play an important roll in America's sporting history.The icons give voice to local traditions, team history, or (in some cases) the whims of owners past and present. Looking across the college and professional ranks, presented here are the finest examples of graphic design geared to team pursuits. Some are created by noted designers, others by ambitious amateurs. However, in all cases the tone fits the bill and the resulting logos have stood the test of time—even if the team's represented have not.
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Green Bay Packers
25. Green Bay Packers
Designer: George "Dad" Braisher
Year Logo Introduced: 1961
This one has a unexpected twist. Think the "G" stands for Green Bay? Oh, no. Logic doesn't rule in Northern Wisconsin. Instead, George Braisher (equipment manager turned one-time graphic designer) wanted his oval letter to stand for greatness. This was the first, and only, Packer logo to appear on a team helmet. And, the general look is trademark by the Pack too. That means that when you see it on the likes of University of Georgia Bulldag equipment, the NFL team has granted permission.
Arkansas Razorbacks
24. Arkansas Razorbacks
Designer: Unknown
Year Logo Introduced: 1964
In 1910, the University of Arkansas student body voted to change the school's mascot to the Razorbacks. The name change was spurred by a tough nosed battle with rival LSU, during which the team was described by head coach Hugo Bezdog as a bunch of Razorback hogs. "Big Red," aka the "Fighting Razorback" eventually took hold on the football helmets and remains the only official athletic mascot in Fayetteville.
Miami Dolphins
23. Miami Dolphins
Year Team Founded: William Bodenhamer Sr.
Year Logo Introduced: 1966
Harvey Green, the Dolphins' vice president of media relations once said of Bodenhamer's design, "This one was probably ahead of its time." The leaping Dolphin, created over two days for a fee of just $250, came into play in 1966 and has served as the basis for Dolphins' logos ever since (minor revisions to the Dolphins look and the sunburst have done little more than adjust the initial idea). Bodenhamer grounded the NFL in South Florida, he also created the iconic University of Miami logo giving him a double win in the world of Athletic logos.
Portland Trailblazers
22. Portland Trailblazers
Designer: Frank Glickman
Year Logo Introduced: 1970
Trailblazer's founder Harry Glickman practiced some nepotism hiring his cousin, Frank Glickman of Boston, to design the team's original logo. The pinwheel interprets the game of basketball itself, two teams of five facing off in spirited competition. In that, the logo is one of the most conceptual in all of sports. Portland native Steve Sandstrom updated the logo in the early 2000s but didn't dare mess with the initial idea.
Seattle Supersonics
21. Seattle Supersonics
Designer: Unknown
Year Logo Introduced: 1975
Hornell Anderson designed the last NBA logo used in Seattle. In play from 2001 through 2008, the design brought back the team's classic yellow and green, but didn't hold a candle to the team's second logo—the last to reference the team by the full name of Supersonics and the only one to call out Seattle's distinct skyline (including the famous Space Needle).
MLB's San Diego Padres 1969-84
20. San Deigo Padres
Designer: Unknown
Year Logo Introduced: 1969
Certainly one of the quirkiest sports logos of all time, the original Swinging Friar held a position on the field from 1969 through 1984. A tribute to the Spanish missionaries settled by Franciscan friars prominent when San Diego was founded, the pudgy guy was traded in for a more professional logo in the mid-80s. However, while the Friar isn't the official logo any longer, he still makes regular appearances on jersey sleeves...a testament to the legacy of the character.
St. Louis Blues
19. St. Louis Blues
Designer: Unknown
Year Logo Introduced: 1967
Fun (perhaps redundant) fact: The Blues name comes from W.C. Handy's 1914 song "St. Louis Blues." The logo, naturally, is a blue musical note with added wings that are all about action. It has been refined over the course of the team's history, slowly becoming better (i.e. more balanced) design while retaining the original flavor.
Milwaukee Brewers 1978-93
18. Milwaukee Brewers (1978-93)
Designer: Tom Meindel
Year Logo Introduced: 1978
Tom Meindel, an art history student at UW-Eau Claire, designed this iconic logo for the Brewers 1978 season. The "M" and "B" form a glove, such an obvious but delightful graphic form. Meindel's logo successfully defined the club through 1993. In 1994, the Brewers celebrated 25 years with a new logo—only used for 5 years—and then unveiled another in 2000. Despite the changes, Miendel's creation remains the team's best and an icon the city has not forgotten.
New England Patriots
17. New England Patriots
Designer: Phil Bissell
Year Logo Introduced: 1960
What's not to like about this logo? Employed by the franchise through 1992, it speaks to region, heritage, and sport in one fell swoop. Bissel, an illustrator at the Boston Globe, was hired by owner Bill Sullivan almost immediately after he'd decided on a name. "Pat" took some changes (mostly in his stature) in his 32-years, but Bissel's initial concept remained true until the redesigned logo used today was introduced in 1993.
Dallas Cowboys
16. Dallas Cowboys
Designer: Jack Eskridge
Year Logo Introduced: 1960
A former equipment manager, Jack Eskridge gave America's team its celebrated blue star identity in 1960. One of legendary coach Tom Laundry's first hires in Dallas, Eskridge worked for the Cowboys through 1973. The initial star was white, he made it blue, and in doing so gave the Texas-based team an icon that transcends football.
Quebec Nordiques
15. Quebec Nordiques
Designer: Unknown
Year Logo Introduced: 1972
Quebec's hockey team moved south to Colorado in 1995. Still, the team's logo, first used in 1972, lives on in the memory of many hockey fans. The igloo shape, giving the "n" a distinct look, paired with a hockey stick, pays respect to the fact of the team's location-initially it was the northern most franchise in the WHL.
San Jose Sharks
14. San Jose Sharks
Designer: Terry Smith
Year Logo Introduced: 1991
Designer Terry Smith has his own athletic legacy: He played college basketball at Stanford. Smith is responsible for a slew of sports team logos, the most famous being his aggressive design for the San Jose Sharks. Debuted in 1991, the logo was in use through 2007 when it was given a subtle refresh.
New York Mets
13. New York Mets
Designer: Ray Gatto
Year Logo Introduced: 1962
Cartoonist Ray Gatto made clear that the New York Mets represent the entire metropolitan New York area with his design for the team's logo. Introduced in 1962, the skyline features notable features in the New York skyline—including the Williamsburg Savings Bank, the Woolworth Building, the Empire State Building, and the United Nations Building. The bridge, not surprisingly, acts as a link between the boroughs. Surround all by a baseball and you've got a perfect athletic logo.
Notre Dame
12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Designer: Theodore Drake
Year Logo Introduced: 1963
$50. That's all cartoonist Theodore Drake was paid for one of the most iconic logos in American sports history. His Leprechaun, with dukes up, first appeared on a pocked schedule for Notre Dame's football team. Due to its popularity, the fighting figure quickly found form elsewhere and was featured on the cover of Time in November of 1964.
The City logo for Golden State
11. Golden State Warriors
Designer: Unknown
Year Logo Introduced: 1969
Employed for just a fleeting moment, the Warriors famous "The City" logo isn't so much successful in graphic integrity as it is in simple assertion. The Warriors became the Golden State's team in 1972, but before then the franchise allowed San Francisco opportunity to claim top status in the Bay Area. A testiment to the logo is the rehashing and reworking of it for the current Warriors uniform. "The City" is universally acknowleged as one of the coolest logos in basketball history.
Chicago Bulls
10. Chicago Bulls
Designer: Dean Wessel
Year Logo Introduced: 1966
Paid in season tickets, Dean Wessel made only one change from his initial design for the Bulls' raging bovine logo-he added blood. This feature came at the bequest of team boss Dick Cline.
Baltimore Orioles 1966-88
9. Baltimore Orioles
Designer: Stan Walsh
Year Logo Introduced: 1966
Walsh, famous for creating breakfast cereal legends Snap, Crackle, and Pop, is one of several artist's who've contributed to the design history of the Baltimore Orioles. His mascot, which carried the team to the '66 world series, led to the iconic "Cartoon Bird," or simply "The Bird," that featured on team caps from 1966 through 1989.
Denver Nuggets
8. Denver Nuggets
Designer: Unknown
Year Logo Introduced: 1982
Who loves Tetris? Who loves this logo? Exactly, everyone. The delightfully analog conception of the Nuggets "Rainbow City" logo, used from 1982 through 1993, pits city scape against mountains and succeeds in giving a rather simple idea a cool twist.
Seattle Seahawks
7. Seattle Seahawks
Designer: Michael Gaines and Amy Yutani
Year Logo Introduced: 1976
The Seattle Seahawks logo draws inspiration from Northwest Coast Indian art—specifically Kwakiutl/Haida styles. The result, created by team lead by Michael Gaines at NFL Properties, is one of the finest helmets in the sport of football and one of the best logos in regards to expressing the history and culture of a region. Fun fact: A Seahawk is an Osprey.
Texas Longhorns
6. Texas Longhorns
Designer: William "Rooster" Andrews
Year Logo Introduced: 1961
The Longhorns nickname traces back to 1903, when journalist D.A. Frank added the moniker to a laundry list of words-Steers, Varsity, etc.-used to describe the University of Texas football team. A Longhorn logo was first employed on a blanket gifted the squad in 1913. After that, history finds Longhorn images all over Memorial Stadium and closely associated with the orange-wearing school from Austin. It was not, however, until 1961 that the Longhorn we now know and love appeared. In the grand tradition of sporting logos designed by amateurs, this one was created in crayon by sporting-goods merchant William "Rooster" Andrews. His longhorn head silhouette first adorned helmets when the Longhorns hit the field on September 23, 1961 in Berkley, California. The image hasn't faded from memory since.
Montreal Canadiens
5. Montreal Canadiens
Designer: Unknown
Year Logo Introduced: 1917
George Kennedy and the Canadien Hockey Club purchased Montreal's team in 1916, an ownership change that would in turn lead to the formal adoption of the logo we see here. Three years prior, the elongated "C" had featured an "A" at center. The "H" stands, of course, for hockey. The Canadiens entered the NHL in 1917, the logo has been tweaked just a little since then to form the icon celebrated today.
Detroit Red Wings 1948-Present
4. Detroit Red Wings
Designer: Unknown
Year Logo Introduced: 1932
"Hockeytown, USA" owes its fine Redwings logo not to a famous designer but to Canada. In 1932, grain merchant James E. Norris purchased the then Detroit Falcons and changed the name to the Red Wings. He'd previously been a member of the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, which was based on cycling, and loved the winged wheel logo. Naturally, the owner adopted that icon, which ended up fitting in perfectly with the D's auto-focused economy.
Oakland Raiders
3. Oakland Raiders
Designer: Al Davis
Year Logo Introduced: 1963
Coach Al Davis didn't, by definition, design the iconic Raiders logo. He did, however, change the tone of the famous pirate in 1963. He switched the team's colors from black and yellow to black and silver, giving the franchise its trademark look. A year later, the logo became the one we know today. Originally chosen by then team owner Chet Soda, the image features the likeness of actor Randolph Scott dressed as a pirate with crossed swords behind. Scott never once played a pirate on screen, but that hardly matters. What does is that his face, Davis' fiery nature, and a strong color combination turned the logo into one that Raider-nation (regardless of where the team has played) has hung on to for 50 years.
Hartford Whalers
2. Hartford Whalers
Designer: Peter Good
Year Logo Introduced:1979
Gone, but not forgotten, the Hartford Whalers introduced Peter Good's design in 1979 and used it up through 1992 (when it was given a slight update of color scheme). The success of the logo is in the manipulation of the negative space to form an "H" within the whale shaped "W." Hockey's finest ever logo.
New York Yankees
1. New York Yankees
Designer: Louis B. Tiffany
Year Logo Introduced: 1909
No sports logo has the power of the interlocking "NY" worn by the New York Yankees. It transcends the game of baseball, serving as Big Apple's symbol (alongside Milton Glaser's famous I heart NY). The history of the lettering foreshadows its eventual adoption by the five borough's greater population-Louis B. Tiffany's design was created for a medal given by the New York City Police Department to Officer John McDowell, the first NYC policemen shot in the line of duty. It first appeared on a baseball uniform for the team, known then as New York Highlanders, in 1909, eventually becoming the Yankees standard in 1922.