Logo of a small college football team that plays in the Colonial Athletic Association, the University of Richmond Spiders. Their program has been in existence since 1881 and won the Football Championship Subdivision national title in 2008. Former Spiders who have had success in pro football include Jeff Nixon, Mike Bragg, Bruce Gossett, John Hilton, Barry Redden, Paris Lenon and Matt Joyce.
Logo of the Oakland Raiders football team, used for only a single season in 1963, when they were members of the American Football League. It was the first year the team changed their primary colors from black and gold to the silver and black they are known for today. The Raiders, under new coach Al Davis, went 10-4 in ’63 and finished second in the AFL’s Western Division. Key players on that team, which had a 1-13 record the previous year, were Cotton Davidson, Tom Flores, Clem Daniels, Art Powell, Fred “The Hammer” Williamson, Jim Otto, Bo Roberson and Ken Herock.
Logo of a defunct college football team, the Vermont Catamounts. They started play in 1886 but discontinued their football program in 1974. They were members of the Yankee Conference at that time. They have a very short list of players who went on to play pro football, the last being Frank Triglio in 1946. The only others to play more than a single season in the pros are Art Harms and Lou Little.
Used from 1948 until 1954, this is an early logo of a college football team from the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Duke Blue Devils. The team, whose program began play in 1888, plays in the conference’s Coastal Division. They won unofficial national championships in 1936 and 1941, and compiled a 6-8 record in bowl games over the years. Blue Devil alumni who have had success in pro football include Sonny Jurgensen, Brian Baldinger, Wray Carlton, Bill Bryan, Dave Brown, Mike Curtis, Al DeRogatis, Bob Matheson, Ed Newman, Ace Parker, Chuck Walker and current players Daniel Jones, Jamison Crowder and Breon Borders.
Logo of a defunct football team that once played in the Canadian Football League, the Sacramento Gold Miners. They were the first American team to be added to the CFL when they began play in 1993, but unfortunately only lasted 2 seasons before relocating to San Antonio. Their head coach was Kay Stephenson and former NFL player Jack Youngblood served in their front office. Their roster included some players who had NFL success, like Mike Oliphant, James Pruitt, David Archer and Bobby Humphery.
Logo of an independent college football team, the New Mexico State Aggies. Their program began in 1893 and they have been members of various conferences in the past, most recently the Sun Belt Conference in 2017. The school is undefeated (3-0-1) in bowl games. Aggie alumni who have gone on to play pro football include Duriel Harris, Charley Johnson, Pervis Atkins, Leo Barker, Andy Dorris, Roy Gerela, Walter Johnson, Fredd Young, Joe Pisarcik and Danny Villenueva.
Logo of a defunct football team that played in the Arena Football League from 2001 until 2013, the Chicago Rush. They made playoff appearances in 10 of their years of existence and won the Arena League title in 2006. Former pro quarterback Mike Hohensee served as their head coach for all but 3 years and the franchise retired the jersey numbers of 2 players who played for them – John Moyer and Bob McMillen, who is also a member of the Arena League Hall of Fame.
Not a team logo, but the logo of the National Football League used from the first season as the NFL, in 1921, until 1929. The league was known as the American Professional Football Association when it organized into a single league and began play in 1920, and became the NFL in 1922. Teams came and went in the early years, but some lasted until today, including the Chicago Staleys, who became the Bears, the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Cardinals, who currently reside in Arizona.
Has anyone ever seen the 1963 alternate Chicago Bears’ logo and their former coach, Mike Ditka, in the same room together? Many people say they resemble each other. All joking aside, Ditka not only was a star tight end for the ’63 Bears, who won the NFL Championship, but also went on to coach them to a Super Bowl title following the 1985 season. Other than founder/owner/coach George “Papa Bear” Halas, Ditka may be the man most closely associated with the franchise.
A logo from the game that became known as Super Bowl I, played on January 15, 1967 between the NFL champion Green Bay Packers and the NFL’s best, the Kansas City Chiefs. At the time, the title game was a brand new concept, developed as part of an agreed merger of the two leagues, and was named the AFL/NFL Championship Game, only later, before the fifth game of it’s kind, to be called the Super Bowl. The Packers won the game 35-10 and their quarterback, Bart Starr, was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.