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The very first “Classic Team Logo of The Day” that I posted five years ago,  back in April of 2009, was that of the old American Basketball Association’s San Diego Conquistadors. So it seemed fitting, on the fifth anniversary of the beginning of this blog, to post the logo of the team the Conquistadors morphed into – the San Diego Sails. The “Qs”, as they were known, existed from 1972 until 1975, then were sold to Frank Goldberg, who renamed them the Sails. Unfortunately, the Sails lasted only 11 games in that season before folding for financial reasons, finishing 3-8.

Logo of a Canadian major junior hockey team, the London Knights. The team has existed since 1965, and were known as the Nationals until 1968. They used this logo from 1974 until 1981. The Knights play in the Ontario Hockey League and are coached by former NHL player and coach Dale Hunter. Former Knight players who went on to play in the NHL include Dino Ciccarelli, Brad Marsh, Rob Ramage and current NHLers Corey Perry, Rick Nash, Patrick Kane and John Tavares.

This is a logo used by the Buffalo Bills in their inaugural season in the old American Football League in 1960. It seems appropriate to feature with the recent passing of the team’s original and only owner, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Wilson originally wanted to place his AFL franchise in Miami, but couldn’t get a lease deal in place to use the Orange Bowl, so he settled on Buffalo. The first Bills’ team wore blue and silver uniforms modeled after Wilson’s hometown team, the Detroit Lions, but switched to blue and red with the standing red buffalo helmet logo for season two. Two defensive players on that original team, Jim Wagstaff and Richie McCabe, would go on to become assistant coaches for future Bills’ teams.

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, this is a logo of the Shamrock Rovers Football Club, a “football” team that is the most successful soccer team in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1901 in Dublin, the club has won the League of Ireland title a record 17 times and the FAI Cup a record 24 times.

Logo of a major junior hockey team that plays in the Ontario Hockey League, the Erie Otters. Based in Erie, PA, they are one of only three American teams in the league. The franchise has existed since 1943, when they were the Windsor Spitfires, and has played in Erie since 1996. They won the Robertson Cup as OHL champs in 2001/02, and Otter players who’ve gone on to play in the NHL include Brad Boyes, Ryan O’Reilly, Tim Connolly and Steve Montador. A player considered to be a top NHL future prospect, Connor McDavid, currently plays for the Otters.

Logo of an indoor football team that plays in the Arena League, the San Jose SaberCats. The team  played in the original Arena League for its’ entire existence from 1995 until 2008, winning three league titles in that time. That league eventually folded, but the SaberCats  were revived in a new version of the AFL starting in 2011.

Logo of a longstanding college football bowl game, the Sun Bowl. Played in El Paso, Texas, the game has existed since 1935, and is the second oldest bowl game (along with the more heralded Orange and Sugar Bowls), second only to the Rose Bowl. Some famous players who’ve won the game’s MVP Award include Jim Kiick, Bert Jones, Cornelius Bennett, Thurman Thomas and Priest Holmes. Like every other bowl game, it has a corporate sponsor, and is now known as the Hyundai Sun Bowl.

Here is a logo of another old college football bowl game, the Tangerine Bowl. Known as the “Little Bowl With The Big Heart”, it was played in Orlando, Florida from 1947 until 1982, when it was renamed the Florida Citrus Bowl, and eventually the Capitol One Bowl, which still exists today. In 1958, the University of Buffalo was invited to play in the game, but the team’s players voted unanimously to skip the game when they were informed their black players would not be welcome to participate. Times changed, however, and in 1966 Morgan State became the first historically black college to play in and win the game.

Not a team logo, but a logo of a defunct college football bowl game from the past – the Peach Bowl. Played in Atlanta, Georgia, the game was an annual fundraiser for the Lions Club, but after interest waned, the game was taken over by the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Beginning in 1998, sponsorship of the game was taken over by a local company, Chick-fil-A, and the company took over full naming rights to the contest in 2006. It has since been known as the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Logo of the Indianapolis Capitols, a member of the Continental Football League from 1968 until 1970. The team made some headlines in their short-lived existence in the league by making a contract offer to O.J. Simpson when his agent was in a stalemate with the Buffalo Bills, and also for being one of the first pro teams to start an African American quarterback when Johnnie Walton became their starter in 1969.