Logo of a former minor league baseball team, the Piedmont Boll Weevils, who played in the South Atlantic League from 1996 until 2000. Players who spent part of their minor league careers with the Weevils include Marlon Byrd, Jimmy Rollins, Brett Myers and football player Rickey Williams, who played for the team in the late 1990s while also playing college football at Texas.
Logo of a current National Basketball Association team, the New Orleans Pelicans. This franchise started out in 1988 in Charlotte as the Hornets, but relocated to New Orleans in 2002, keeping the “Hornets” nickname until this past season, when the name was changed to honor both the state bird – the Brown Pelican – and the history of a minor league baseball team that used that name from 1901 until 1957. The team’s current owner is Tom Benson, who also owns the NFL’s New Orleans Saints.
Logo of a professional hockey team that began in the old World Hockey Association, the Quebec Nordiques. The Nordiques played in the WHA until the league merged with the NHL, when they joined the established league, which set up a natural rivalry with the storied Montreal Canadiens. This logo was used during the team’s WHA years, from 1972 until 1979. The franchise had been awarded to San Francisco and was to be named the San Francisco Sharks, but the ownership group collapsed prior to playing a game and the team was relocated to Quebec City.
This isn’t a “team” logo, but with the NFL draft just concluded, I thought it would be interesting to feature a logo that I was surprised even existed – a logo for the 1995 expansion draft that stocked the two teams entering the league that year, the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars. Unlike in prior expansions, the league was generous with the new clubs in dispersing players from the existing teams, and also gave the two new teams the first two picks in the college draft. The generosity was mainly due to the huge “entry fees” the new cities paid to join the NFL. Both the Panthers and Jaguars parlayed the generosity into early success, as both qualified for their conference’s championship game by their third season.
Logo of the National Basketball Association’s Portland Trailblazers, a franchise that came into existence when the league expanded in 1970. This logo was used from 1970 until 1990. The club won the NBA championship in 1977, under the direction of Hall of Fame coach Jack Ramsay, and led by star players like Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas and Lionel Hollins. Four Blazer players have been named Rookie of The Year over the years, and six former players are in the Hall of Fame, including Walton, Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippen and Lenny Wilkens, who also coached the team at one point.
The very first “Classic Team Logo of The Day” that I posted five years ago, back in April of 2009, was that of the old American Basketball Association’s San Diego Conquistadors. So it seemed fitting, on the fifth anniversary of the beginning of this blog, to post the logo of the team the Conquistadors morphed into – the San Diego Sails. The “Qs”, as they were known, existed from 1972 until 1975, then were sold to Frank Goldberg, who renamed them the Sails. Unfortunately, the Sails lasted only 11 games in that season before folding for financial reasons, finishing 3-8.
Logo of a Canadian major junior hockey team, the London Knights. The team has existed since 1965, and were known as the Nationals until 1968. They used this logo from 1974 until 1981. The Knights play in the Ontario Hockey League and are coached by former NHL player and coach Dale Hunter. Former Knight players who went on to play in the NHL include Dino Ciccarelli, Brad Marsh, Rob Ramage and current NHLers Corey Perry, Rick Nash, Patrick Kane and John Tavares.
This is a logo used by the Buffalo Bills in their inaugural season in the old American Football League in 1960. It seems appropriate to feature with the recent passing of the team’s original and only owner, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Wilson originally wanted to place his AFL franchise in Miami, but couldn’t get a lease deal in place to use the Orange Bowl, so he settled on Buffalo. The first Bills’ team wore blue and silver uniforms modeled after Wilson’s hometown team, the Detroit Lions, but switched to blue and red with the standing red buffalo helmet logo for season two. Two defensive players on that original team, Jim Wagstaff and Richie McCabe, would go on to become assistant coaches for future Bills’ teams.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, this is a logo of the Shamrock Rovers Football Club, a “football” team that is the most successful soccer team in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1901 in Dublin, the club has won the League of Ireland title a record 17 times and the FAI Cup a record 24 times.
Logo of a major junior hockey team that plays in the Ontario Hockey League, the Erie Otters. Based in Erie, PA, they are one of only three American teams in the league. The franchise has existed since 1943, when they were the Windsor Spitfires, and has played in Erie since 1996. They won the Robertson Cup as OHL champs in 2001/02, and Otter players who’ve gone on to play in the NHL include Brad Boyes, Ryan O’Reilly, Tim Connolly and Steve Montador. A player considered to be a top NHL future prospect, Connor McDavid, currently plays for the Otters.