rayonsports.com

Logo of a major college football program, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. This logo was used from 1962 until 1973, when the ‘Huskers were a member of the Big Eight Conference, and usually battled rival Oklahoma for conference superiority. They currently play in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska’s program has claimed a total of 5 national championships over the years. The school has had three Heisman Trophy winners – Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier and Eric Crouch. Former Cornhuskers who’ve played in the NFL include Hall of Famers Guy Chamberlin and Bob Brown, along with George Sauer, Roger Craig, Neil Smith, Will Shields and Tom Rathman.

Logo of the Ohio Valley Ironmen, a member of the old Continental Football League. The team was based in Wheeling, West Virginia, and played as the Wheeling Ironmen until 1968. They were sort of an “unofficial” farm team for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The franchise lasted all four seasons of the league’s existence, and their most famous alumnus was probably Bob Brown, who later played for the Green Bay Packers.

Logo of the San Diego Chargers pro football team, used from their inaugural year in San Diego, 1961, until 1963. The team won the American Football League championship in that ’63 season with a club that was dominant on both offense and defense, winning the title game with a rousing 51-10 victory over the Boston Patriots. The club’s roster that year was loaded with talent, including the league’s MVP, receiver Lance Alworth. Coached by Hall of Famer Sid Gillman, they also had some other top players of the day in the AFL – John Hadl, Paul Lowe, Keith Lincoln, Earl Faison, Ernie Ladd and Ron Mix.

Logo of the Virginia Tech Hokies, a major college football team, used from 1966 until 1971. The team has played in the Atlantic Coast Conference since 2004,and were members of the Big East prior to that. The Hokies currently have the second longest streak in the nation for bowl game appearances, having played in a post-season bowl every year since 1993. Tech players who’ve gone on to NFL careers include Bruce Smith, Don Strock, Antonio Freeman and current players Michael Vick, DeAngelo Hall, Kam Chancellor and Eddie Royal.

Logo of a top college football program, the Georgia Bulldogs, first used in 1964. Georgia’s program has been in existence since 1894, and they’ve won five national championships. Two Bulldogs – Frank Sinkwich and Herschel Walker, won the coveted Heisman Trophy. Countless Georgia players have gone on to play in the NFL, including Walker, Charley Trippi, Fran Tarkenton, Jake Scott, Terrell Davis, Richard Seymour and Hines Ward.

Logo of a college football team, the Villanova Wildcats, whose program began in 1894 and ran until 1980, when the school dropped the sport. Football was reinstated on a smaller level in 1985, and the ‘Cats currently play in the Colonial Athletic Association. A total of 40 Villanova players have been drafted by the NFL over the years, the most famous being Brian Westbrook and Hall of Famer Howie Long.

Logo of the recently crowned Canadian Football League champion Saskatchewan Roughriders, who won this year’s Grey Cup by defeating the Hamilton Tiger Cats. This logo was used between 1960 and 1984, an era that included the franchise’s first Grey Cup title, in 1966. That team was led by a CFL legend, quarterback Ron Lancaster. The club has won four Cups in its’ history and has had 20 players inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame.

Logo of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, used from 1962 until 1973. They are a major college football program that plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team has won four national championships over the years. They’ve never had a Heisman Trophy winner, despite the fact that John Heisman, who the trophy is named after, once coached at the school. Also known as “The Ramblin’ Wreck”, the school has sent many players on to the NFL, including Maxie Baughan, Billy Shaw, Joe Guyon, Pat Swilling and current stars Calvin Johnson and Demaryius Thomas.

Not a team logo, but an NFL promotional logo for their annual “Thanksgiving Classic” football games. The league has played a game on the holiday in Detroit since 1934, and added a second game in 1966, to be played each year in Dallas. Recently, a third, evening, game was added, originally only airing on the NFL Network, but now televised on NBC.

Logo used on the helmets of one of the original eight teams in the American Football League, the Boston Patriots. The logo was used in the inaugural 1960 season, then replaced with the “Pat Patriot” logo, a minuteman hiking a football, for the rest of the ten year AFL history, on into the team’s NFL days. The team finished last in the AFL’s Eastern Division that first year, under coach Lou Saban, who would go on to have great success in later years at Buffalo. Although they had a losing year, the Patriots had some players on their roster that first year who would be mainstays in their AFL years – Gino Cappelletti, Jim Lee Hunt and Bob Dee – all of whom have had their uniform numbers retired by the franchise.