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This is a logo of the New York Jets football team that plays in the National Football League. It was used from 1978 until 1997. The franchise originated in the American Football League in 1960 as the New York Titans, and was renamed the Jets after being purchased by Sonny Werblin in 1963. The name was chosen because the Jets would play their home games at Shea Stadium, near LaGuardia Airport. Werblin also hired a formerly successful NFL coach, Weeb Ewbank, to coach the team, and he held that post for 11 seasons, winning the Super Bowl in 1969. Players in the Hall of Fame who played the majority of their careers with the Jets are few, including Joe Namath, Don Maynard and Curtis Martin.

Used from 1997 until 2001, this is an alternate logo for the San Diego Chargers NFL football team. Recent Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Beathard served as the team’s general manager during this era, but they didn’t have much on-field success. It wasn’t due to Beathard not stocking the team with talent, however, as the Chargers’ roster at the time included star players like Stan Humphries, Junior Seau, Rodney Harrison, Eric Metcalf, Drew Brees, Doug Flutie, Ladaimian Tomlinson and Marcellus Wiley.

This is an early logo of the Denver Broncos football team, used in their days in the old American Football League in the 1960s. Although they are an iconic franchise now, the Broncos were a study in futility in their AFL years. Despite winning the first-ever AFL game over the Patriots in 1960 and being the first AFL team to beat an NFL club (beating the Lions in a 1967 preseason game), Denver’s franchise had a losing record in all 10 seasons of their AFL existence. Some players from their early years included Frank Tripucka, Gene Mingo, Lionel Taylor, Ike Lassiter, Wahoo McDaniel and Austin “Goose” Gonsoulin.

Logo of an old, defunct pro football team that played in the All America Conference, the Miami Seahawks. Although they lasted only a single season, in 1946, in the AAFC before folding, the Seahawks were the first professional sports franchise based in Miami. They played their home games at Burdine Stadium, which would later be renamed the Orange Bowl. The team was woefully underfunded and not very good on the field either, as they stumbled to a 3-11 last place finish in the AAFC Eastern Division. The Seahawks folded at the end of the ’46 season and the franchise was sold to a Washington, D.C. lawyer, who reformed the team in Baltimore as the Colts.

Logo of a small college football program that’s been in existence since 1904, the University of Tennessee at Chatanooga Mocs. They have been members of various conferences over the years and currently play in the Southern Conference and their legacy includes 7 conference titles. For a small school, the Mocs have an impressive list of former players who have gone on to play professionally, including Travis McNeal, Buster Skrine, Drayton Florence, Jack Gregory, Charley Long, Jim Bradshaw and recent Hall of Fame inductee Terrell Owens. He didn’t play pro football, but another famous former Moc player is Hugh Beaumont, who played Ward Cleaver on the old Leave It To Beaver television series.

Used from 1990 until 2002, this is the logo of a college football team that currently plays in Conference USA, the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. Their program came into existence in 1912 and the school boasts 8 conference championships and 78 consensus All Americans among their former players. Southern Miss alumni who have enjoyed success in pro football include Sammy Winder, Hanford Dixon, Louis Lipps, Jerrel Wilson, Patrick Surtain and a couple of Hall of Famers, Brett Favre and Ray Guy.

Logo of a college football team, the San Jose State Spartans, who play in the Mountain West Conference and have fielded a program since 1893. This logo was used in the 1950s. The Spartans have won 16 conference titles over the years, and the list of SJS alumni who have gone on to play pro football is extensive, and includes Steve DeBerg, Kim Bokamper, Gill Byrd, Stacey Bailey, Dan Colchico, Charlie Harraway, James Jones, Art Powell, Mel Tom, Louis Wright and Jeff Garcia.

Logo of a small college football team that plays in the Football Championship Subdivision, the Marist College Red Foxes. The school’s gridiron program has existed since 1978, and they currently play in the Pioneer Football League. The Red Foxes have claimed 4 conference titles in that time, the most recent in 2013. Despite their small college status, the school has had a couple of players move on to play in the NFL – Terrence Fede and a current  player, placekicker Jason Myers.

Logo of a Western New York high school football team, the West Seneca West Indians, who won the New York State Class A championship in 2017, led by quarterback Matt Myers, who is now enrolled at the University of Buffalo. Notable WSW alumni include Olympic volleyball player Matt Anderson, former NFL players Jeremy Kelley and Matt Strzelczyk and famed video journalist Josh Pohlman. The 2018 Indians’ club also has high hopes, and their roster includes Juston Johnson, Liam Scheuer, John Speyer, Bryan Ball, Kyle Haettich, Jeb Braunscheidel and Connor Pohlman.

Logo of the Brooklyn Bolts,  a football team that was a charter member of the Fall Experimental Football League, a defunct league that had hoped to be a developmental system for the NFL. The Bolts played from 2014 until 2016, and won the league championship in its’ first 2 seasons. Serving as consultants or coaches for the team were former NFL players and coaches like Rod Rust, Don Strock, Marvin Jones and Nate Poole. Their most recognizable player was quarterback Josh Freeman, who had a stint in the NFL.