Baseball Logos: Three Out!
I love baseball history, and within that I love the rich visual history of the old logos, mascots and uniforms. All of my favorite logos are those iconic marks that have existed for decades (Yankees interlocking NY, the Dodgers LA, and the Boston B). All timeless marks that tip their cap to the golden age of America’s pastime. With the baseball season soon upon us (Go Sox!), I thought I’d take a moment to highlight three teams that would be wise to revert to some of their finer logos of the past, as their current logos all swing and miss.
Milwaukee Brewers
Ok, I understand the correlation between The Brewers and the beer industry, but this just looks like it belongs on the side of a beer can. The colors (dark blue and gold) however are a nice touch that are both modern and classy. The M/B Glove icon on the other hand is just a brilliant graphic design, but the colors are dated. They ceased using it in 1993, but did bring it back last year as an alternate home cap logo, in the old color scheme. My solution: dump the beer can and apply the current color scheme to that M/B glove. Robin Yount would approve, and C.C. might have stayed!
Seattle Mariners
Similar to the Brew Crew’s glove, the Mariners also boast a strong design from their past. The inverted trident M is a stunningly clever design that was used in a few variations from 1977-1986. The current design was adapted in 1993 and is overcomplicated and unappealing. It also bears some signs of being dated itself (I’m looking at you teal). My recommendation: bring back the trident M in some form. Whether it’s one of the old ones or a new twist on it, and do it in a new nautical color scheme – but wait until Junior takes his final curtain call.
Toronto Blue Jays
Canada’s team introduced their current look in 2004, after dropping the awful burly Blue Jay after just one year. This new logo is a predictable aggressive icon, in line with many of the trendy sports logos of today. It has never really been fully embraced by fans, leading to the reintroduction of the original logo last year (in an alternate role). The original logo was one of the longer running logos in the modern era, being used for almost 20 years from the team’s inception in 1977 all the way to 1996. It remains popular today, with it’s throwback appeal on the signature two-tone cap. My advice for the Blue Jays: go back to the drawing board. The new logo has few redeeming qualities (though it does look good on a black cap), and the old logo is too retro to be refreshed or recycled. So take a another crack at it, nodding to the past while avoiding the cliches of modern sports logo design. Maybe then you’ll be able to attract some free agents north of the border.
PLAY BALL!
All logos via Chris Creamer’s Sports logo Page.
3 Responses to “Baseball Logos: Three Out!”
Jason Dorn - April 2, 2009
Good post here Cam, although I must confess, I like the new Brewer’s logo, although it might just be the fat sweeping script I have a soft spot for.
Just on sports logos in general I’ve always been fascinated by how well they preserve design trends over the years when you look back at them. Typically they are smack dab in the middle of the design curve and although they don’t always age well they do provide an instant record of what was popular at the time. Even though they are often lambasted upon their release, they often end up being the iconic classics years down the road.
Tim - April 3, 2009
the current m’s logo has lasted longer than any other in their history, so it seems to have stood the test of time more than any other you mention…
admin - April 3, 2009
Not longer than the original Jays logo…but basically all you’re saying is it’s older than the others here and is more hurting for a reboot. I hear ya Tim.
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