With this being Thanksgiving week, we’ll highlight a logo for an annual tradition, NFL football in Dallas. The league has had it’s annual game on that day in Detroit since 1934, but added the additional game in Dallas in 1966, and it’s become the second part of the annual Turkey Day celebration ever since, with a couple of exceptions in the 1970s when St. Louis hosted the second game. The NFL also plays a night game on Thanksgiving now. The Cowboys’ all-time record on the holiday is 31-22-1.
No, it’s not Bugs Bunny, it’s the old logo, used from 1971 until 1990, of a college football team, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. A functioning gridiron program since 1900, the school currently resides in the Missouri Valley Conference. They’ve won 2 MVC titles, and 15 other conference championships as members of other leagues. Former Jackrabbits who have played pro football include Steve Heiden, Jim Langer, Pete Retzlaff, Adam Timmerman, Adam Vinatieri, Wayne Rasmussen and current players Dallas Goedert and Cade Johnson.
Used from 1965 until 1995, this is the logo of a college football team that resides in the Big Sky Conference, the Montana State Bobcats. Born in 1897, their program has claimed 16 Big Sky titles and 3 national championships at lower levels. They have been sending players on to pro football since the NFL’s inception, and that list of Bobcat alumni includes Cory Widmer, Jan Stenerud, Sam McCullum, Bill Kollar, Ron East, Jon Borchardt, Michael Person and Bob Schmitz.
Logo of a professional football team that plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Established in 1950, the franchise has won a total of 8 Grey Cup championships over the years. The Ti-Cats have 35 former players in the CFL Hall of Fame. That list includes Angelo Mosca, Damon Allen, Darren Flutie, Dieter Brock, Tom Clements, Tony Gabriel, Ron Lancaster and Bernie Custis, who is credited with being the first black quarterback in CFL history as he quarterbacked Hamilton in 1951.
Logo of a defunct football team that played a single season in the National Football League, the Phil-Pitt Steagles. As a result of losing many players to military service during World War II, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles franchises temporarily merged to form one team to compete in the NFL in 1943. Since the remaining players had to have draft deferments to be able to stay out of the military and play, the combined team players that were left included Tony Bova, who was blind in one eye and partially blind in the other, Ed Michaels and Ray Graves,who were both deaf, and John Butler, who had poor eyesight and bad knees. The team still managed a winning record for the year at 5-4-1.
Logo of a college football team that plays in the Mid-American Conference, the Akron Zips. The school played it’s first season in 1891 and has appeared in 3 bowl games and won 1 conference title. Former Zips who have gone on to play pro football include Chase Blackburn, Victor Greene, Charlie Frye, Dwight Smith, Domenik Hixon, Reggie Corner and Hall of Famer Jason Taylor.
Logo of a small college football team that plays in the Gulf South Conference, the University of West Alabama Tigers. Their program was formed in 1938 and won an NAIA national championship in 1971. They also have 11 bowl appearances, with 5 victories, in their long HBCU history. Tiger alums who have gone on to play pro football include Malcolm Butler, Deon Lacey, Seth Roberts, Charles Martin and Tyreek Hill.
This menacing-looking creature is the logo of a long defunct college football program, the Morris Brown College Wolverines. Their gridiron program was discontinued in 2003. The historically black college had a good football pedigree during the time it was active, sending a good amount of players to the pros for a school that size. Those alumni include Ezra Johnson, Alfred Jenkins, George Atkinson, Charlie Bivins, Tommy Hart, Nick Ferguson and Donte Curry.
Used from 1933 until 1936, this is the logo of a franchise from the National Football League’s bygone days, the Boston Redskins. The team entered the NFL in 1932 as the Boston Braves but changed their name the following year. Owner George Preston Marshall moved the team to Washington in 1937 and won the league championship that year. Their first coach, William “Lone Star” Dietz, claimed to be part Sioux. Players on the roster from the Boston years include Turk Edwards, Wayne Millner, Rick Concannon, Jim Musick and Hall of Famer Cliff Battles.
Logo of the University of California at Santa Barbara Gauchos, a school that has had a football program twice in it’s existence. Although they haven’t fielded a gridiron team since 1969, the Gauchos have had some representation in the pro ranks, as former players Johnny Morris, Dave Chapple, Sam Cathcart and coach Mike Martz have spent time in the NFL.