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Logo of a pro football team that played in the old World Football League, the Portland Thunder. The team began play in 1974 as the Portland Storm, but changed their name in ’75, their only year with that name. The league only made it through half a season in ’75 before folding. Hall of Fame tackle Ron Mix was the club’s general manager, and they were coached by Dick Coury, a former Denver Bronco assistant. One standout player for the team was running back Rufus “Roadrunner” Ferguson, while the short-lived franchise also had a couple of aging former AFL veterans on the roster – QB Pete Beathard and DE Ben Davidson.

Logo of a football team that plays in the new spring league, the United Football League, the Michigan Panthers. The team comes over from the newest version of the USFL, which merged into Duane “The Rock” Johnson’s new version. The logo is a slight modernization of the Panthers’ logo from the original USFL of the 1980s. Some current Panther players are QBs E.J. Perry and Danny Etling, WR Marcus Simms and RB Wes Hills.

Logo of an FCS level college football team that plays in the Big South Conference, the Kennesaw State University Owls. A fairly new program that came into existence in 2015, the school has won 3 conference titles and made 4 playoff appearances. The first game they ever played in the fall of 2015 was a rousing success, as they hammered East Tennessee State 56-16. In 2023, defensive lineman Travis Bell became the first Owl to be drafted by the NFL when the Chicago Bears took him in the seventh round.

Logo of a small college football team that plays at the Division II level in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, the Missouri Southern State University Lions. Located in Joplin, Missouri the program came into existence in 1968 and they’ve won 2 conference titles and a small college national championship in 1972. Former Lions who have gone on to play pro football include Rod Smith, James Thrash, Richard Jordan, Allen Barbre, Brandon Williams and Terry Joyce.

Logo of a small college football team that plays in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, the Missouri Western State University Griffons. The gridiron program began play in 1970 and they play their home games at Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph, Missouri, and have won 2 conference titles over the years. Former Griffons who have played pro football include Greg Zuerlein, Jonathan Owens, David Bass and Mike Jordan.

Not a team logo, but a logo of a defunct college bowl game, the Bluebonnet Bowl. It was played in Houston at Rice Stadium from 1959 until 1967, the moved to the Astrodome where it was renamed the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl. The game lasted into the mid-1980s but was discontinued due to poor ticket sales and lack of a corporate sponsor. Most years the game featured a team from the Southwest Conference against an at-large opponent, and 19 of the 29 games played featured a team from Texas.

This a very rare pennant featuring the logo of a football team that played in the Continental League from 1965 through 1969, the Orlando Panthers. They had a history playing in other cities and in various minor leagues before joining the COFL and settling in their home at the Tangerine Bowl. The league was trying to rival the NFL. Their first head coach in ’65 was Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren, and despite financial woes they were one of the league’s more successful teams, winning titles in 1967 and ’68.

Logo of a pro football team that began life in the old American Football League, the Cincinnati Bengals. Founded in 1967 by legendary coach Paul Brown, they first played in the AFL in the ’68 season, and although they won only 3 games, they boasted the AFL’s Rookie of The Year in halfback Paul Robinson. Brown built the Bengals into a winner rather quickly, as they won the AFC Central Division title in their third year of existence, and their first in the newly merged NFL. Players on those early Cincinnati teams included Robinson, Lemar Parrish, Ken Riley, Bill Bergey, Bob Trumpy and future Bengal head coach Sam Wyche.

It’s December, and we’re headed into prime college bowl game season, so this is not a team logo, but the logo of a bowl game, courtesy of SportsLogos.Net, the Pop Tarts Bowl. Played annually in Orlando, Florida, the game has existed since 1990 under different sponsorships, most recently the Cheez-It Bowl. 2023 is the first year under the Pop Tarts name. The game has conference tie-ins with the Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference.

Logo of a football team that played in the old Continental Football League, the Montreal Beavers. The team began play in the league as the Ft. Wayne Warriors but was sold and moved to Montreal in 1966. The franchise lasted 2 seasons there before folding prior to the 1968 season. Some former Beavers include Mike Hafner, Jim LeClair, Ronnie Lamb and Bob Brown, all of whom went on to play in the AFL or NFL.