Logo of an old minor league hockey team that played in the American Hockey League, the Quebec Citadelles. The team relocated to Quebec from Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1999, and was the city’s professional team after the NHL Nordiques moved to Colorado. Although originally popular, they lasted only 3 seasons in Quebec before moving to Hamilton, Ontario. Some of their notable players include Eric Landry, Darryl Shannon, Jose Theodore, Michael Ryder and Arron Asham.
Logo of a former minor league hockey team that played in the American Hockey League, the Albany River Rats. The franchise existed in Albany from 1993 until 2010, when it was relocated to Charlotte, NC. They were a long time affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, and won the league’s Calder Cup championship in 1994/95. Some of their notable players include Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora, Sheldon Souray, Brian Rolston and Keith Aucoin.
Logo of a legendary baseball team that played in the old Negro Leagues, the Homestead Grays. The team was founded in 1912 but found most of its’ fame after joining the Negro National League in 1935. Powered by Buck Leonard and the player known as the “black Babe Ruth” – catcher Josh Gibson – the Grays won 9 National League titles and 3 Negro World Series titles. A total of 12 former Grays are in baseball’s Hall of Fame, including Leonard, Gibson and other Negro League legends like Judy Johnson, Smokey Joe Williams and Cool Papa Bell. The team played its’ home games at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, but starting in 1940 also played “home” games in Washington, DC, and eventually became known as the Washington Grays.
Logo of another legendary team from the old Negro Leagues, the Newark Eagles. Playing in the Negro National League from 1933 to 1948, the team boasted many famous African American future major leaguers, including Larry Doby, the first player to integrate the American League, Monte Irvin, Don Newcombe and four players who never got the opportunity to play in the majors but were elected the baseball’s Hall of Fame on the merits of their Negro League years – Willie Wells, Ray Dandridge, Biz Mackie and Leon Day. The Eagles were said to be, in Newark’s black community, the equivalent of what the Dodgers were to Brooklyn.
Logo of a baseball team that played in the old Negro Leagues, the New York Black Yankees. The club played a barnstorming schedule in the early 1930s and also in the Negro National League and existed from 1932 to 1948. Dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson was a co-owner of the franchise, and some of their notable players included pitcher Satchel Paige, outfielder Fats Jenkins, who was the club’s first All Star, Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe and George “Mule” Suttles.
Alternate logo of a team that plays in the National Basketball Association, the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors entered the league in 1995 along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, but when the Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2001 they became the only NBA team based in Canada. They won a division title in 2006-7, but have mostly struggled to win. Some key Raptor players over the years include Damon Stoudamire, Vince Carter, John Salley, Marcus Camby and the recently departed Chris Bosh.
Logo of a football team from the old World Football League, the San Antonio Wings. The team played the 1974 season as the Florida Blazers, then moved to San Antonio for the ’75 season, playing their home games at Alamo Stadium. Their quarterback, Johnnie Walton, led the WFL in passing for the season, and the team finished with a 7-6 record, winning all 7 of their home games and losing all 6 of their road contests.
Classic logo of the newest Super Bowl champions, the New York Giants, used from 1945 through 1949. They were coached by Steve Owen during this era, and made the playoffs in 1946, losing the NFL title game to the Chicago Bears. Some notable players from these years include Charlie Connerly, Mel Hein, Emlen Tunnell, Ken Strong and Jim Lee Howell.
The iconic logo of a football team that plays in the National Football League, the Washington Redskins. This particular logo was used during the team’s golden era in the 1980s and 1990s under coach Joe Gibbs, when they reached the Super Bowl four times, winning three of them. While most multiple Super Bowl winning teams of a specific era are the result of a great coach/quarterback combination, Gibbs managed to win his 3 titles with 3 different QBs – Joe Theismann, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien. This era also included some colorful players, including a group of small, fleet wide receivers known as “The Smurfs” and a group of tough offensive linemen dubbed “The Hogs”.
It’s not a team logo, but the logo of the 2011 Grey Cup Championship game, the Canadian Football League equivalent of the Super Bowl. The iconic title game will celebrate it’s 100th anniversary when it’s played in 2012 in Toronto. Toronto has hosted the most Grey Cups, 45, and the hometown Argonauts have won 15 titles, most of any CFL franchise. Some notable players who’ve won the game’s MVP award are Doug Flutie, Warren Moon, Tom Clements, Rocket Ismail, Jeff Garcia and Tom Cousineau.