Logo of a college football team that plays in the Big Sky Conference, the Weber State Wildcats. The school first fielded a team in 1962, and they joined the conference the following year and have been members ever since. Wildcat alumni who have gone on to play professional football in the NFL include Mike Humiston, Jamie Martin, Tom Neville, Bob Pollard, Alfred Pupunu and Roger Ruzek.
Logo of a team from the Indoor Football League, the Green Bay Blizzard. This logo was used from the team’s inaugural season in the IFL, 2010, until 2014. They were members of the old AF2 ( a now defunct minor league of the Arena League) prior to that since 2003. Former Green Bay Packer linebacker Brian Noble was the team’s head coach in 2004, and in 2006 led an investment group that secured ownership of the team.
Logo of a football team that plays in the National Football League, the current Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. This logo was used from the team’s days in the old American Football League, in 1968, until the early 1990s. That era included a total of four Super Bowl appearances, all losses. All time Bronco players who starred for the team in that era include Floyd Little, Tom Jackson, Randy Gradishar, Lyle Alzado, Rich “Tombstone” Jackson, Al Denson, Haven Moses, Karl Mecklenberg and the early years of John Elway.
Logo of an old professional football team, the Tonawanda Kardex, who are credited with a single season existence in the National Football League, even though they played only one game in that season, 1921. The league was known as the American Professional Football Association that year, but eventually that league morphed into the NFL. Not much is known about this team, but they lost their only completed contest, 45-0, to the Rochester Jeffersons. The club also had a game earlier that year against the Syracuse Pros, a non-APFA team, but that game was cut short after 17 minutes of play due to inclement weather.
Logo of the Los Angeles Rams football team, used from 1946, when the franchise moved west from Cleveland, until 1950. The L.A. team was a star-studded unit that included many Hall of Famers during their initial term in the California city before relocating to St. Louis in 1994. The Rams are the only NFL franchise to win championships in three different cities – Cleveland, Los Angeles and St. Louis.
Logo of a team that plays in the National Hockey League, the St. Louis Blues. This logo was used from the team’s inaugural year in 1967 until 1984, and a variation of it has been in use to this day. The Blues were part of the six team expansion in ’67 when the league added to their “original six” franchises by adding six more clubs who became known as the “additional six”. They were the most successful of the six new franchises early on, reaching the Stanley Cup finals in their first 3 years under coach Scotty Bowman.
Logo of the National Football League’s 1990 college player draft. The draft wasn’t the major event then that it is now, but that year’s draft had some memorable moments. The Atlanta Falcons had the top pick but traded it to the Indianapolis Colts, who chose QB Jeff George, a move they probably regretted. The ’90 draft produced a number of notable players, including Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith, Shannon Sharpe, Cortez Kennedy and Junior Seau. Another Hall of Famer, John Randle, was signed as a non-drafted free agent that year by the Vikings.
Not a team logo, but the logo commemorating the golden anniversary of the pro football championship game, Super Bowl 50. The game has grown into the biggest sporting event in the world, and is almost a national holiday. The league decided to drop the Roman numerals usually used for each game, and painted the 50 yard line in each NFL stadium in gold to commemorate the 50th also. The logo includes the gold number 50, and also the Vince Lombardi trophy that is awarded to each year’s winning team.
Logo of the Morgan State Bears, a college football team that began play in 1898 and currently plays in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The school has a proud gridiron tradition despite their small school status, having four Pro Football Hall of Famers among their alumni – Len Ford, Leroy Kelly, Willie Lanier and Roosevelt Brown. Frenchy Fuqua, Raymond Chester and Cornell Gowdy are other former Bears who moved from the small black college to the pros.
Used from 1947 until 1956, this is a logo of a college football team that plays in the Big Ten Conference, the Illinois Fighting Illini. The school’s program, which began play in 1890, has claimed 5 national championships and 15 Big Ten titles over the years. Although not a football power in recent years, Illinois boasts 6 Pro Football Hall of Famers among their alumni – George Halas, Red Grange, Shorty Ray, Dick Butkus, Ray Nitschke and Bobby Mitchell. Other notable pro players include Doug Dieken, Bill Brown, Jeff George, Tony Eason, Ernie McMillan, Ed O’Bradovich, Preston Pearson and Simeon Rice.