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This is a logo, used from 1962 until 1973, of a defunct college football team that once played in the Big West Conference, the University of Pacific Tigers. Their program began play in 1895 but disbanded due to financial problems in 1995. They won 6 conference championships over the years. Tiger alumni who enjoyed careers in pro football include Eddie LeBaron, Dick Bass, Bruce Coslet, Tom Flores, John Thomas, Duane Putnam, John Nisby, Mike Merriweather,  Lionel Manuel, Willard Harrell, Carl Kammerer, Wayne Hawkins, Gene Cronin, and Bob Lee, who also served as the school’s athletic director.

Logo of a charter member of the American Professional Football Association, the Akron Pros. They were not only a founding member of the league that would eventually become the NFL, they were also the league’s inaugural world champions, having secured the title in 1920. The team originated as the semi-pro Akron Indians in 1908 and changed their name when they joined the APFA. Fritz Pollard, pro football’s first black coach, led the Pros as a player/coach in 1921 and Paul Robeson, another African American, played for the team that year as well, before the NFL segregated the game between 1934 and 1946. The Pros disbanded as a franchise in 1927 due to financial troubles.

Logo of a college football team that plays in the Mountain West Conference, the Colorado State Rams. Their football program has existed since 1893 and they’ve won 15 conference titles over the years. Ram alumni who have gone on to play pro football include Hall of Famer Jack Christiansen, and also Al Baker, Mike Bell, Brady Smith, Tom Rouen, Oscar Reed, Joey Porter, Lawrence McCutcheon, Clark Haggans, Gary Glick, Dale Dodrill, Jim David, Kevin Call and current players Shaq Barrett and Michael Gallup.

Brand new logo of the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers, who enter the 2020 season in their new stadium, donning new uniforms and of course, this new logo. It’s a tip of the cap to the team’s history of wearing powder blue. The franchise actually began it’s existence in L.A. and played their for a season in the old American Football League before moving to San Diego. Ownership, unable to get a new stadium deal, moved the team back to the City of Angels, where they will now share the new stadium with the Rams.

There have been many fan suggestions for renaming the Washington NFL franchise, and one of the most popular is the Washington Red Tails, who were an African American fighter pilot group in World War II that got little to no recognition after the war. This is a rendition of a logo that could be used should the team adopt that name. The original Red Tails were Tuskegee Airmen who comprised the 332nd Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps whose mission was primarily as bomber escorts. Their exploits were featured in the movie Red Tails, starring Cuba Cooding Jr. and Terrence Howard.

It’s pretty generic, not very much of a classic and most likely temporary, but this is the logo of the NFL team formerly known as the Washington Redskins. The team, under pressure, retired the racist nickname recently.  Until they decide on a permanent name for the franchise, they will go into the 2020 season as simply the “Washington Football Team”. Owner Dan Snyder did make a positive move this week, hiring Jason Wright as the first Black NFL team president in league history.

Logo of a small college football team that plays in the Division II South Atlantic Conference, the Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears. The school’s football program began play in 1907 and they’ve garnered 22 conference titles and an NAIA national championship in 1960. Despite it’s small school status, the Bears have sent 3 players – Craig Keith, John Milem and Terence Steward, to the pros, along with a long-time NFL assistant coach, Perry Fewell. The Bears produced another draftable pro prospect this season in safety Kyle Dugger.

It’s not exactly a “classic”, it’s the brand new logo of the Los Angeles Rams, a pro football team that plays in the NFL. The Rams will be moving into their brand new stadium in 2020 and decided to freshen up both their uniforms and logos for the move. The franchise relocated from Cleveland in 1946 and stayed until a move to St. Louis in 1995. They returned to L.A. in 2015. Some players from their glory years in the City of Angels include Bob Waterfield, Norm Van Brocklin, Tom Fears, Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch, Les Richter, Roman Gabriel, Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, Roosevelt Grier, Eric Dickerson, Fred Dryer, Jackie Slater and Jack Youngblood.

Logo of a college football team that plays in the Big Ten Conference, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Their program began play in 1882 and has won 18 conference titles and 9 national championships. The Gophers have produced an outstanding 7 Pro Football Hall of Famers – Carl Eller, Bronko Nagurski, Bobby Bell, Leo Nomellini, Charlie Sanders and coaches Bud Grant and Tony Dungy. Other notable former Gophers who have played in the NFL include Gino Cappelletti, Tyrone Carter, Eric Decker, John Williams, Rick Upchurch, Milt Sunde, Mike Mercer, Karl Mecklenburg, Gale Gillingham and Gordie Soltau.

Logo of a college football team that plays in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Eastern Kentucky Colonels. Their finger-lickin’ good program began play in 1891 and over the years they’ve won 21 conference titles and a pair of small college national championships. Former Colonels who have enjoyed careers in pro football include Yeremiah Bell, Tim Lester, Aaron Jones, Myron Guyton, John Jackson, Jason Dunn, Chad Bratzke and Wally Chambers.