Logo of a college football team that plays in the Ivy League conference, the Brown University Bears. They are one of the oldest college programs in existence, having first played in 1878. The Bears have won 4 Ivy League titles over the years, and some of their alumni who have gone on to play pro football include Zac DeOssie, Steve Jordan, Don Colo, James Develin and Fritz Pollard.
Logo of a defunct college football program, the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks. The historically black college had a storied program but the school discontinued football in 1980. From 1946 until 1970, the school’s gridiron team won 76% of their games so the disbanding of the program was a huge loss to the university and its’ alumni. Former Hawks who went on to distinguish themselves in pro football include Art Shell, Emerson Boozer, Roger Brown, Jim Duncan, Charlie Stukes, Sherman Plunkett, Johnny Sample, Carl Hairston, Gerald Irons and Mack Alston.
An alternate logo for the National Football League’s Washington Redskins, used in the early 1970s. The team had hired Vince Lombardi to be its’ new head coach and went into a bit of a tailspin as the new decade began as he succumbed to cancer. The hiring of George Allen for the ’71 season revitalized the franchise and they were in the Super Bowl in 1972. Notable Redskin players of that era include Billy Kilmer, Sonny Jurgensen, Charley Taylor, Larry Brown, Jerry Smith, Chris Hanburger, Pat Fischer, Mike Bass, Brig Owens, Richie Petitbon, Jack Pardee, Roy Jefferson and Ron McDole.
Logo used by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League after they won the league’s championship in 1953. The team was a dynasty in the 1950s, winning 3 titles – in 1952, ’53 and ’57. Unfortunately, the championship they captured in 1957 was their last one to this day. Some notable Lion players from this era are Bobby Layne, Doak Walker, Joe Schmidt, Jack Christiansen, Lou Creekmur, Frank Gatski, Yale Lary, John Henry Johnson and Dick Stanfel.
Logo of a football team that played in the original XFL, the Chicago Enforcers. The team, like the league they played in, lasted only a single season before folding. They originally lined up Chicago Bear legend Dick Butkus to be their head coach, but when he took a job in the XFL front office just prior to the season, former NFL coach Ron Meyer took the job. Some of their players included Bennie Anderson, Tyji Armstrong, Aaron Bailey and running backs LeShon Johnson and John Avery, who was the league’s leading rusher.
Logo of a college football team that plays in the Mid-American Conference, the Central Michigan Chippewas. A historic program that began play in 1896, they have won 16 conference titles and a Division II national championship in 1974. Chippewa alumni who have gone on to play pro football include Walter Beach, Ray Bentley, Joe Staley, Antonio Brown, Eric Fisher, Gary Hogeboom, Frank Zombo and Cullen Jenkins.
This is a logo of one of the teams that will begin play in Vince McMahon’s new XFL when it commences operations in 2020, the St. Louis BattleHawks. The team will compete in the East Division of the new league. They will be the only XFL club to not share the market in their city with an NFL franchise, since St. Louis lost 2 NFL teams, the Cardinals and the Rams, over the years. Former NFL player Jonathan Hayes will serve as both coach and general manager, and their coaching staff includes a former member of the St. Louis Rams’ “Greatest Show On Turf”, Az-Zahir Hakim.
This season many NFL teams are celebrating anniversaries, whether it’s 100 seasons as an NFL franchise or 60 years as an AFL charter member. This logo, appropriately, was issued in 1995 to celebrate the 49th anniversary of the San Francisco 49ers franchise. The team had just completed the highly successful Joe Montana era where they captured 4 Super Bowl championships and was into the Steve Young era, where they added a fifth. “Winning With Class” as the logo displays, was a definite true statement for the team at that time.
Logo honoring the 60th season of the Kansas City Chiefs’ existence as a franchise. The team started out as a charter member of the American Football League in Dallas as the Texans, and moved to Kansas City in 1963. The logo includes a football containing the initials of their founder and original owner, Lamar Hunt. The Chiefs’ 87 victories were the most of any team in the 10 year history of the AFL, and the franchise capped off the pre-merger AFL era by upsetting the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. Legendary Chief players include Hall of Famers Len Dawson, Bobby Bell, Willie Lanier, Buck Buchanan, Jan Stenerud, Emmitt Thomas, Curley Culp, Johnny Robinson, Willie Roaf and Tony Gonzalez.
This is a logo for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, commemorating their 60th year of existence in 2019. While the NFL is embarking on it’s 100th season, the Bills, and the rest of the American Football League, played their first games in 1960. The Bills were a bit of an enigma in those early AFL days, as they won back-to-back league championships on the strength of their defense in a league known for wide open offense. Founded and owned by Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. until his death, the franchise has a colorful history, and some of their top players over the years have been Jack Kemp, Tom Sestak, Billy Shaw, Cookie Gilchrist, Joe Ferguson, O.J. Simpson, Tony Greene, Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith and Darryl Talley.